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Museum of Islamic Art "Searching the meaning of spirituality" Soprano Maira Milolidaki and countertenor Nikos Spanatis perform for two concerts the masterpieces of western religious music of 18th century Stabat Mater by Pergolesi, Stabat Mater by Vivaldi and the mystagogue play by Dimitris Maragkopoulos Nel fiore del mio terzo Aprile in poetry by Dionisios Solomos. The Islamic identity of the space, the secular poetry of Solomos in Maragkopoulos play and the Christian lamentation of the Virgin in Pergolesi, indicate, in a unique way, the universal dimension of spirituality.
Maira Milolidaki, soprano
Benaki Museum Event
Program Antonio Vivaldi "Stabat Mater" Intermission
Music of Islamic Art
Admission: € 12
Dimitris Maragopulos, composer The composer Dimitris Maragopulos was born in Athens where he was a student of Yannis Papaioannou after which he completed his studies with F.M. Beyer at the Music Academy of Berlin (Universitat der Kunste). His compositions have been performed in many countries such as USA, Canada, Russia, Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, and UK etc. His symphonic compositions have been performed by such orchestras as the B.B.C. Orchestra, the Moscow Philharmonic, Sofia Philharmonic, Karlovy Vary Symphony Orchestra, Athens State Orchestra, Camerata etc, with Operas staged by the National Opera of Greece and special commissions for the opening ceremony of the new Planetarium in Athens together with a special music theatre piece for the opening ceremony of the 2004 Olympics which has been in repertoire at the Laterna Magica Theatre (National Theatre of Prague) in Prague. The composer has also written for film and stage, with productions of the Greek Classics for the Arts Theatre, Athens, under the direction of Karolos Coun together with collaborations with directors Spyros Evangelatos, Iakovos Kampanelis, Andreas Voutsinas and Sotiris Chatzakis. His church music has included performances at the Cathedral of Santa Margarita in Venice, Westminster Abbey, Westminster Cathedral, Canterbury Cathedral, Munich and Linz –Austria (European Capital of Culture). In 1993 he became artistic director of the musical cycle “Bridges” at the Athens Concert Hall. Professor of Composition at the Department of Musical Studies of the Ionian University who has also lectured at Royal Academy of Music , King’s College London and University of Music in Vienna.
Born in Athens, she studied piano and classical singing at the Athens Conservatory. As a scholar of the Onassis Foundation she pursued her vocal studies in Milan, Italy, with Maria Luisa Cioni and in Rome with Renata Scotto as a member of the Opera Studio in the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. She won the Enrico Caruso competition for young lyric voices (Milan 2003) and the Francesco Martini bel canto competition (Veneto, 2003). As a debutante, she has participated in the international young artists program of the Aegean Opera under the direction of the conductor Peter Tiboris and the baritone Sherrill Milnes. She is currently studying with the vocal coach Neil Semer and Aris Christofellis. In November 2007, she has made her American debut performing at Carnegie Hall, New York in a recital with the quintet Melos Brass. She has sung for the National Theatre of Greece, the Opera House of Athens, the Chamber Opera of Athens, the Municipality Theatre of Athens, the Apollon Theatre of Patras, the Megaron – Thessaloniki Concert Hall, the Megaron - Athens Concert Hall, the Ancient Drama Experimental Festival of Athens, the Aegina International Music Festival, the Rennaissance Festival of Rethymno, the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia (Rome), the Maggio Fiorentino Musicale, the Teatro dal Verme (Milan), the baroque music festival Casa de Mateus (Portugal), performing roles such as Serpina (Pergolesi, La Serva padrona), Lucia (Donizetti, Lucia di Lammermoor), Magda (Puccini, La Rondine), Schleppenträgerin, (Strauss, Elektra), Clytemnestra, (Eschyle, Eumenides), Rosina (Rossini, Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Woman (Poulenc, La Voix Humaine), Violetta (Verdi, La Traviata), Königin der Nacht (Mozart, Die Zauberflöte), in productions staged among others by M. Hampe, R. Scotto, C. Scarton, A. Bernard. As a soloist, she has appeared with national and international ensembles and artists such as The Orchestra of colors, the Camerata Orchestra Friends of music, the Ensemble of Contemporary Music, the Symphonic Orchestra of Athens, the State Orchestra of Athens, the quintet Melos Brass, the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra Sinfonica Tito Schipa, the Orchestra I Pomeriggi Musicali, the baroque ensemble Sinfonia, the organist J. Geffert, the New Hellenic Quartet, the Academica Athens Orchestra, under the direction of conductors such as A. Myrat, M. Logiadis, Christopher Warren Green, J. Arnell, G. P. Sanzogno, N. Conti, W. Schroeder, N. Athinaios. Particularly committed to chamber music and the contemporary production, her repertoire includes the Sequenza III for solo voice by L. Berio, the Missa Resurrectionis for solo soprano by N.Hakim, the Poèmes pour Mi by O. Messiaen, the Akhmatova songs by J. Tavener, and numerous vocal works by Greek composers. Along with the pianist Titos Gouvelis they organize Music Tones, an annual music festival held at Beton 7, Keramikos. She is a membre of the Contemporary Music Theatre Company “RAFI”. She has a PhD in semiotics from the Sorbonne University (Paris 4).
Iason Ioannou was born in Drama, a small town in northern Greece. He completed his cello and his higher theoretical studies in Greece, graduating with distinction. For the years between 2003 and 2006, he was awarded scholarships to continue his research with Susan Sheppard, as a MMus and PGAd student, on the baroque cello at Trinity College of Music in London graduating with distinction, and was awarded the ‘City Livery Prize 2004’, the ‘Wilfred Stiff Prize 2004’ and the ‘Edgar Comley Certificate of Excellence 2005’. He was then appointed a Junior Fellow at T.C.M along with his group Melopoetica with which he traveled all over Europe and South Africa giving chamber concerts.
Katerina Ktona was born in Athens. She received a piano diploma (1st Prize) from the Athens Conservatory. With a scholarship from the German government, DAAD, she specialized in harpsichord and clavichord with Hedwig Bilgram at the Staatliche Hochschule fur Musik in Munich, where she graduated in 1976 with the highest dinstiction. She has also attended seminars with Kenneth Gilberd in Belgium and Ton Koopman in Scotland. In 1977 she has started her professional career in Greece. She has collaborated with several international artists such as Marcel St-Cyr, Roberto Fabbriciani, Carlo Denti, and Nicolas Kynaston with whom she has presented works for organ and harpsichord. She is a founding member of the Greek baroque ensemble SINFONIA, which quite often collaborates with soloists such as Nancy Argenta, Greta de Reyghere, and with conductors such as Eric van Nevel and Paul Dombrecht. SINFONIA has also appeared together with the British ensemble His Majesties Sugbutts and Cornets. Katerina Ktona has performed as soloist with the Orchestra of the Greek Radio and Television, the Athens State Orchestra, and the Greek chamber orchestra Kamerata, with which she has collaborated in the first Greek performance of the Concerto for Harpsichord and Strings by Nicolas Gorecki. She has also given the first Greek performance of works for solo harpsichord based on Byzantine themes by the Greek composer Dion Aryvas. K.Ktona is harpsichord professor at the Nakas Conservatory. |
Maira Milolidaki, soprano
Carmen-Otilia Alitei, baroque violin
Laurentiu-Octavian Matasaru, baroque viola
Iason Ioannou, baroque cello
Katerina Ktona, harpsichord
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DOCTORAL DISSERTATION
VOCAL TEACHER
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