The Athens State Orchestra will again collaborate with internationally renowned conductor Christoph Eschenbach at the Athens Concert Hall (MEGARON) on April 11.
The conductor and orchestra will perform Gustav Mahler's Second Symphony. It is a piece exploring existential heartbreak that deifies human vulnerability.
Myrtò Papatanasiu and Nefeli Kotseli will perform with their unique voices, and part of the concert's proceeds will be donated to charity.
Buy tickets HERE.
Christoph Eschenbach on Wiki:
Eschenbach won numerous first-place piano competition prizes as a pianist, including the first prize in the Clara Haskil Competition in Vevey, Switzerland, in 1965. In 1964, he made his first recording (of Mozart) for Deutsche Grammophon and signed a contract with the label. Eschenbach continued to study conducting with George Szell, with whom he worked for over three years. In addition, he counted Herbert von Karajan as a mentor. As a pianist, he is particularly known for his Schubert and Mozart recordings, the latter often together with Justus Frantz. With him and Tzimon Barto, he played piano music for four hands or two grand pianos.
In 1981, Eschenbach became principal guest conductor of the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich and was chief conductor from 1982 to 1986. He was co-artistic director of the Pacific Music Festival from 1992 to 1998. He was chief conductor of the NDR Symphony Orchestra, Hamburg, from 1998 to 2004. He was the artistic director of the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival from 1999 until 2003 and became principal conductor of the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra in 2003. From 2000 to 2010, Eschenbach was music director of the Orchestre de Paris.
Eschenbach was music director of the Houston Symphony Orchestra in the United States from 1988 to 1999. Under his tenure, the orchestra toured Japan and Europe and made several recordings with Koch International Classics and RCA. In honour of his achievements and tenure with the Houston Symphony, the City of Houston placed a bronze commemorative star with his name in front of Jones Hall, the performance home of the Houston Symphony. He was also music director of the Ravinia Festival from 1994 to 2005.
Eschenbach has made over 80 recordings as a piano soloist, conductor, or both, has appeared in several television documentaries, and has made many concert broadcasts for different European, Japanese and U.S. networks. Eschenbach is credited with helping and supporting talented young musicians in their career development, including soprano Renée Fleming, pianists Tzimon Barto and Lang Lang, cellists Claudio Bohórquez [de] and Daniel Müller-Schott, and soprano Marisol Montalvo.
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