Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center
Cosmos Concert Series
ERT National Symphony Orchestra
Gustav Holst's The Planets
Carl Nielsen's Helios
Monday, February 26, 2018 / 20.30
Stavros Niarchos Hall
of the Greek National Opera
As part of
Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center's Cosmos music series,
ERT National Symphony Orchestra embarks on an interplanetary musical journey at
Greek National Opera's
Stavros Niarchos Hall.
Performing works by important Greek and international composers, and collaborating with acclaimed conductors and researchers since 1938, ERT National Symphony Orchestra presents
Gustav Holst's The Planets alongside
Helios Overture by Danish composer
Carl Nielsen under the music direction of
Nikos Haliassas.
Composed between 1914 and 1916, and originally titled "Seven orchestral pieces,"
The Planets (op. 32) is an orchestral suite, each part of which is named after a planet, namely Mars, Venus, Mercury, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Jupiter. Gustav Holst was inspired for The Planets by their importance and meaning in Greek mythology.
The composer described this work as "a series of mood pictures," each part evoking a different idea and emotion: Mars - the destruction of war (the piece was conceived in the aftermath of World War I); Jupiter - jollity and patriotism; Venus - peace; Mercury - fluidity and volatility; Saturn - the wisdom of old age; Neptune - infinity of space; and Uranus - the magic of the cosmos.
Paradoxically, the planets according to Holst are seven, rather than nine - Holst simply did not include the Earth and Pluto, which was to be discovered 14 years after the completion of The Planets and only four years before the celebrated British composer's death.
Inspired during the Danish composer's year of stay in Athens in the early 20th century,
Helios Overture (op.17) is one of
Carl Nielsen's most popular works.
One of the finest and busiest orchestral ensembles in Greece,
ERT National Symphony Orchestra has repeatedly performed at Herod Atticus Odeon during the Athens Festival, as well as at the Patras Festival, the Belgrade Festival, at the Cairo Opera, in Montreal, Cologne, Paris, Istanbul, at international music events in collaboration with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), at the Athens Concert Hall and in many cities in Greece.
Nikos Haliassas is the founder and artistic director of INTRARTI orchestra (2000); he has also conducted the Athens State Orchestra, the Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra, ERT Symphony Orchestra, the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra, the Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra, the Eskişehir Municipal Symphony Orchestra, the Thüringen Sinfoniker, Musica Vitae chamber orchestra in Vaxjo, Sweden, Klaasparlimang Sinfonietta (Estonia), Astana Symphony Orchestra (Kazakhstan), the Chamber Orchestra Copenhagen, the City of Athens Symphony Orchestra and the Symphony Orchestra of the Municipality of Thessaloniki.
The concert is a coproduction with ERT and is realized with an exclusive grant of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.
- Late seating is only possible only in the event of a pause.- Children six years and older may attend the concert.- Free entry via electronic pre-registration
- Pre-registration for the SNFCC Members will start on 19/2 at 12.00 noon (limited number of seats).
- Pre-registration for the public will start on 20/2 at 12.00 noon.
Venue
