The Heavenly Life

Starting off with an ethereal piece titled Fairies by Cypriot composer Andreas Keliris, this concert then moves on to Shostakovich’s Concerto in C minor for piano, trumpet, and string orchestra, completed in 1933 and, essentially, an experimentation by the composer with a neo-baroque combination of instruments. Despite the title, the role of the trumpet is, for the most part, confined to sardonic interjections, even though it does assume relatively equal importance during the conclusion of the last movement, immediately after the piano cadenza. Mahler’s Symphony no. 4, written in 1899–1900, incorporates, in its last movement, the composer’s 1892 song “Das Himmlische Leben” (The Heavenly Life), in which a child describes its vision of Heaven with some dark overtones, stating that the heavenly feast of which the song speaks takes place at the expense of animals, including a sacrificed lamb. Of course, Easter is just two weeks away…

Α. KELIRIS: Fairies

D. SHOSTAKOVICH: Concerto no. 1 for piano, trumpet and string orchestra, op. 35

G. MAHLER: Symphony no. 4 in G major

Soloists: Gareth Griffiths (trumpet), Gergana Georgieva (piano), Elli Koutsouli (soprano)

Conductor: Konstantinos Diminakis

Ticket prices:
€12, €7 (young people 18-26 yrs, pensioners), €5 (young people 12-18 yrs), €3 (children under 12)