Athens celebrates the 250th anniversary of Mozart’s birth
The year 2006 has been proclaimed the year of Mozart. In the great composer’s homeland, Austria, more than 700 events have been scheduled, including concerts, exhibitions and performances. In Greece, there will also be events to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s birth. Both young and established musicians will dedicate their performances to Mozart at the Athenaeum International Art Center and Conservatory. Events will run to May 31; they started earlier in the week, with the conservatory’s professors and the Athenaeum Saxophone Quartet launching an evening titled «From Yesterday to Today,» with Mozart as a reference point, and will continue tonight with a performance by the Athenaeum Chamber Music Ensemble. January 21 and 25 will feature works for two pianos and Mozart’s «Duetti» will be performed on January 26. «Today is Mozart’s Birthday» will follow on January 27, then chamber music on January 28 and «Mozart and his Era» on January 30. Further concerts have been scheduled until May 31, when the tribute will end with a performance by the Athenaeum Percussion Ensemble. Participating in the celebrations, the Athens Concert Hall is also organizing a series of concerts as well as opera productions. One of the latter will be «Cosi fan Tutte,» which will run on February 17, 18, 19 and 20, according to the historical direction that Giorgio Strehler did for the Piccolo Teatro di Milano. As part of the Mozart cycle, pianist Andreas Schiff will interpret works by Mozart on January 30 and 31, while on February 11 violinist Leonidas Kavakos and pianist Denes Varion will give a recital. From February 15 to 17, Kavakos will join forces with the Camerata Salzburg for Mozart’s violin concertos. The year of Mozart celebrations would not be complete without the National Opera. A new production, Mozart’s opera «The Marriage of Figaro,» has been scheduled to go on stage in March, directed by Nikaiti Kondouri and featuring conductor Miltos Logiadis. The sets and costumes will be by Giorgos Patsas.
