Bach, Mozart, Satie… journey to the East

What happens when Bach, Mozart, Satie, or perhaps Coltrane meet Panos Dimitrakopoulos, Thomas Constantinou, and Dimitris Tsakas in an imaginary tour of Istanbul, Thessaloniki, and Athens? What happens when the harpsichord meets the oud, the organ meets the kanun, and together are in dialogue with a saxophone?

This is an encounter of moments in time and cultures, of musical sounds and practices, musical material, melodies, and images. A journey from the West to the East and vice versa: in the middle is Greece of the past and present.

In this first concert, “Transformations” bring together important works of classical music repertory and of Western European music in general, with musical sounds and practices of Greek traditional and Mediterranean music. Established virtuosos in their own right, Panos Dimitrakopoulos (kanun), Thomas Constantinou (oud), and Dimitris Tsakas (saxophone) have accepted our invitation as a creative challenge to experiment with, transform, and interpret known works of the classical repertory of Western music. Two worlds come together experientially through various transformations, creating a new world, fostering listening, and evoking the senses and thought.