CULTURE

Yiannis Markopoulos ‘On Stage’

Next to the piano lies a lyre, next to the harp a flute, a santour and a clarinet. The familiar sounds of composer Yiannis Markopoulos will fill up the Herod Atticus Theater tomorrow at a concert dedicated to the young generation, titled «On Stage.» Among others, the composer will present new arrangements of works based on the poetry of George Seferis together with the soundtrack music he composed for the BBC’s award-winning series «Who Pays the Ferryman?» «Seferis is a grandfather who transcends time, somebody we must never forget, somebody we should listen to following the composer’s input! Think of real life, where we have to give a marriage a certain amount of freedom; the same goes for art, in order to have some kind of coherence. The unity of sound and speech is lost through the ages. The remnants of ancient drama are still to be found in demotic and Byzantine music. I have not moved away from this kind of tradition, which I consider as planning the future…» said Markopoulos at a recent press conference. On the subject of the upcoming concert, Markopoulos noted that in his oeuvre one finds «an innocent relationship with antiquity.» The first part of the concert will feature a tribute to Seferis with 15 songs, including a first rendition of «Lypimeni» (The Sad Woman), a song composed by the composer during his military service. «This is about the beginning of a period in which we were looking for a direction,» said Markopoulos. «I could never compose a work without including instruments which do not fit into a traditional orchestra. I can’t get rid of demotic song, its freshness and atmosphere.» In the second part of the evening, Markopoulos will present five themes from the popular soundtrack of «Who Pays the Ferryman?» interpreted by Sofia Spyratou’s Roes dance theater. Also on the program are two chorals from Aristophanes’ «Thesmophoriazusae.» At the Herod Atticus Theater, the Palintonos Harmonia Orchestra – established by Markopoulos in 1987 – will be conducted by the composer. The songs will be interpreted by Antonis Koroneos, Costas Makedonas, Manos Xydous, Lavina Vassiliki, Theodorou Koulis, Sofia Michailidi, and Nikos Androulakis. The Public Power Corporation’s Mastersingers mixed choir is also participating, under the guidance of music coach Constantina Papathanassiou. Tickets can be purchased at the Hellenic Festival Box Office, at 39 Panepistimiou (210.928.2900), and the Herod Atticus Theater Box Office.

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