Paxos Festival

Greek – Austrian Music Summer Events “Komm, liebe Zither, komm”

People might claim that Vienna is constantly concentrated on Italy; Deserts, facades of baroque churches, Mozart’s operas, the orangeries even schnitzel… all of the above and many more remind us or make us nostalgic of the South. This is the exact reason why so many Austrian composers wrote music for the mandolin among whihc Mozart, Beethoven and even Muller. So during this concert we will also follow that thread that unites Vienna with Naples and Venice with the Ionian Islands and Athens.

This evening is part of the Austrian -Greek Music Summer Events and it is kindly supported by the Austrian Embassy in Athens.

Program

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1770-1827)

Komm liebe Zither Zufriedenheit

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

Adagio ma non troppo WoO43b for mandolin and piano

AndanteconVariazioniWoO44b for mandolin and piano

Fritz Kreisler (1875-1962)

Rondino over a Beethoven Theme for Mandolin & piano

Victor Kioulaphides (1961)

Seven Ancient Greek Lyrics for Soprano & Mandolin

Raaele Calace (1863 – 1934)

Bolero, Tarantella, Serenata Gaia

Manos Hadjidakis (1925 – 1994)

Die Zeit der Melissanthe: Mother & Sister and other Songs

Nino Rota (1925 – 1994)

Canzone Arrabbiata, Parla più piano and other Songs

Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992)

Milonga of the Angel

Artists

Rosa Poulimenou (Mezzo Soprano)

She studied piano and music theory in the Corfu Conservatory; at Athenaeum Conservatory she studied classical singing. She continued her studies in Musicology and Classical Song at the University of London (Hons), Birmingham Conservatoire (MA Music) and at the Universität für Musik Darstellende Kunst in Vienna from where she received her Master’s degree in Lied and Opera singing. She studied operatic repertoire and performance with various prominent professors like F. Voutsino, R. Yakar, H. Wagner καιC. Ludwig. She won scholarships from the AcademieMusicaledeVillecroze,AcademieInternationaldeMusique“Maurice Ravel, “Crear” and Internationale Bachakademie, Stuttgart.

She has performed in many other countries except Greece (Italy, Spain, Israel, Belgium, France, UK, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Thailand, USA) performing from opera to music theater works and contemporary pieces. She has cooperated as a soloist with various ensembles and orchestras among which are Melos Brass, Il Canto delle Muse, Almasis Ensemble, Orchestra of Colors, Slieven Symphonic Orchestra, Athens State Orchestra, Thessaloniki State Orchestra, Manhattan Philarmonia of New York, Camerata, Athens Municipality Orchestra, National Television Orchestra, Royal London Philharmonic and has cooperated with various orchestra directors like Miltos Logiadis, Alkis Baltas, Loukas Karytinos, Peter Tiboris, Helmuth Rilling, Anthony Walker Daniel Hoyem-Cavazza and Alessandro Ferrari.

She is currently professor and cultural director of the Monody Studies at the Department of Music Studies (Ionian University). She has taught also in Music Academies and foreign Universities among which are: the Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia, Fondazione Paolo Grassi, Conservatorio di Monopoli, (Ιταλία), Musik und Kunst Privatuniversität der Stadt Wien, Universität für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Wien, Austrian Arts Sessions, UniversityofMahidol,(Thailand),UniversityofNevada,LasVegasκαιWilliam and Mary College, Virginia (USA).

She has also recorded songs and operas by Greek composers for the Alternative Stage of the National Opera, the Department of Music Studies of the Ionian University and for other Music Organizations.

Anastasios Strikos (piano)

Born in Athens in 1972. Graduate of the Attica Music School (Class of Dionysis Malouchos) with honours. Graduate of the Theatre School of the University of Athens. Won a scholarship from the Academy of Athens to study Orchestral Conducting and Opera at the Musical Academy of Wurzburg with Dr. Hermann Dechant and Peter Falk. Graduated having obtained the Konzertdiplom. He has participated in international seminars of orchestra conducting and took private lessons with Carlo Maria Giulini. He worked in the Wurzburg Opera Theatre as a musical trainer and orchestra conductor. He has also worked for the well known children’s choir Wiener Sangerknaben as pianist and director. His has a wide experience in conducting orchestras and choirs and has had numerous collaborators all over Europe. He has also performed in many important theatres in China, Korea and Macau. He has gone on tour with over seventy musical organizations including the most renowned youth orchestras of America. In 2005 he founded the Ensemble Retro Wien. He teaches and conducts in seven languages and he has translated theatrical plays and theoretical musical works into Greek. He is currently preparing his doctoral thesis on the musical theatre of the avant-garde Greek composer Anestis Logothetis.

www.strikos.at
www.ensembleretrovienna.com
www.austriahellas.org

Nataliya Striku (Mandolin)

She was born in Dniprpetrofsk and started music lessons at a very young age at her home town. She studied string instruments and especially the domnra in the State Conservatory of Dnyprpetrofsk and then continued at the University of Krivoj Rog to study Music Pedagogy. During her stay in the German speaking areas first in Wurzburg and then in Vienna, she started mainly focusing on the mandolin. She has performed in many European countries as a soloist, accompanied by piano or orchestra and as member of a chamber music ensemble. She is a regular leading member in various string ensembles and guest in many symphonic orchestras among which I Maestri of London, Cyprus Symphonic Orchestra, Vienna Symphonic Orchestra, Tonkünstler Orchestra of Austriaand the State Vienna Opera in works by Verdi, Muller, Respighi, Prokofiev.