200 Years of Ermoupoli
05
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On the occasion of the bicentenary of the city of Ermoupoli, this concert offers a musical journey through three emblematic dates. 1826 marks the debuts of Liszt and Chopin, major figures of Romanticism. 1926 opens a window onto America with Gershwin's jazz. Finally, 2026 showcases new arrangements of Greek traditional melodies.
Sofia Avramidou reveals another facet of her talent: as a singer and specialist of traditional music.
Early version of the exercises from 1826.
This early Polonaise in G-flat major, known as "Les Adieux" or "Farewell," was composed around 1826 when Chopin was just sixteen. Written as a parting gift for his friend Wilhelm Kolberg, it already shows the young Chopin's distinctive melodic voice and his instinctive command of the polonaise form. A touching document of the composer's youth.
The Rondo à la Mazur, Op. 5 in F major (1826) is one of Chopin's earliest published works. It combines rondo form with the rhythmic character of the mazurka, blending salon brilliance with folk-inspired charm. The piece is both a virtuoso display and a precocious foretaste of the mazurka style that would become one of Chopin's most personal modes of expression.
Gershwin originally conceived a set of preludes for piano, of which three were published in 1926–27 and became classics of the American piano repertoire. Their jazz-inflected harmonies, bluesy melodies and rhythmic vitality capture the energy of 1920s America. Additional unpublished preludes from the same period complete this set of five, offering a broader view of Gershwin's exploration of the border between classical and popular music.
"Les Adieux, in the manner of Janáček" is a short, concentrated piano piece by the Hungarian composer György Kurtág. It pays homage to the Czech master Leoš Janáček's distinctive style — terse, emotionally charged phrases with sudden silences. Kurtág distills the essence of farewell into a miniature of extraordinary intensity, characteristic of his lifelong exploration of small forms with vast emotional reach.
Composition VII is a recent piano work by Sofia Avramidou, the festival's composer-in-residence. The piece continues her series of numbered "Compositions" that explore the piano's timbral and dynamic possibilities through a personal language that integrates contemporary techniques with deeply expressive musical thought.
To celebrate the bicentenary of Ermoupoli, Sofia Avramidou reveals another facet of her talent: as a singer and specialist in Greek traditional music. This closing programme features new arrangements of Greek folk melodies for voice and two pianos.
