Athens State Orchestra at Stegi

The title of Calliope Tsoupaki’s new composition, “Salto di Saffo”, combines allusion to the legend that Sappho leapt to her death off a cliff in Lefkada with the composer’s personal memories of her first trip to Holland. The composer creates an antiphonal effect between the soloists' duo consisting of an ancient Greek and a Renaissance instrument (Pan Flute and recorder), and the body of the symphonic orchestra, by drawing elements from both byzantine and medieval music.

Chaya Czernowin’s composition, at times delicate and diaphanous, at times robust and dynamic, depend on continual fluctuations in the density of sound. Indeed, the exceptional skill with which she choreographs the movement of sound in space is utterly captivating and a true auditory treat.

At the core of Dimitrios Skyllas’s musical inspiration are hymns of funerary and Epitaphic lamentantion, traditional laments from the region of Epirus and ancient Greek tragedy. From this core, he creates an utterly contemporary symphonic sound rooted in the meaning of sacredness and rituals of lamentation.