With great joy, the “Yannis Mantakas” Choir of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, together with members of the first‑year choir of the School of Music Studies “Trisevgeni Kalokyri,” participated in the official opening of the 13th Thessaloniki Piano Festival, presenting the emblematic work Axion Esti by Odysseas Elytis and Mikis Theodorakis in two consecutive concerts held on 14 March at the Ceremony Hall of the Aristotle University. The two performances were scheduled due to exceptionally high demand, confirming the enduring power and resonance of the work with audiences.
Our choir had the honour of collaborating with Piandaemonium, the world’s only piano ensemble consisting of six pianos and twelve pianists, which opened this year’s Festival. The ensemble offers a fresh sonic perspective on the work, translating Theodorakis’ multilayered musical language into an impressive piano soundscape. The performance was based on the arrangement for six pianos by Kostas Chardas and Nikos Poulakis, a bold and imaginative re‑examination of the work that highlights its dynamism through a contemporary orchestra consisting solely of pianos.
Axion Esti is described as a “hybrid sound world” where art music meets Greek folk traditions, while this new version for 6 pianos seeks a “renewed sonic approach to a cultural symbol that continually reinvents itself.”
Programme
Part I: Genesis
Introduction – Then He Said
Part II: The Passions
Behold, Here I Am
The March to the Front (reading)
A Single Swallow
My Foundations in the Mountains
With the Lamp of the Star
The Great Exodus (reading)
Sun of Justice, Intelligible Sun
Temples in the Shape of the Sky (instrumental)
The Blood of Love
Temples in the Shape of the Sky
Prophetic (reading)
I Open My Mouth
In a Distant Land
Part III: The Doxastikon
Axion Esti
Participants
Dionysis Pantis, conductor
Giorgos Gallos, narrator
Giannis Selitsaniotis, cantor
Yiannis Dionysiou, popular singer
“Yannis Mantakas” Choir, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
“Trisevgeni Kalokyri” Choir, School of Music Studies, AUTh
Erifili Damianou, choir director
Piandaemonium (in alphabetical order): Charalampos Agelopoulos, Antonis Anissegos, Eftihia Veniota, Evi Giamopoulou, Nikos Zafranas, Victoria-Fioralba Kiazimi, Giorgos Konstantinou, Christos Lenoutsos, Maria Mylaraki, Antonis Selemidis, Thodoris Tzovanakis, Kostas Chardas
