Greece celebrated World Music Day on Sunday with a concert taking place at the Pnyx, a short walk west of the Acropolis.
Organized by the Athens Megaron Concert Hall in collaboration with leading European cultural institutions, the concert featured Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 (“Emperor”) with distinguished pianist Lukas Sternath as soloist, Mozart’s ballet music for the opera Idomeneo and his Symphony No. 35 (“Haffner”), as well as Dances No. 2, 1, and 4 from Nikos Skalkottas’ 36 Greek Dances.
The pieces were performed by the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen under the direction of internationally recognized conductor Constantinos Carydis.
The concert was broadcast live as part of EUROPIANO, a pan-European musical event produced by the ARTE and ZDF networks. EUROPIANO featured a continuous musical broadcast with live connections from iconic European venues, including the Wiener Konzerthaus, the Philharmonie de Paris, and the Belém Tower in Lisbon.
In Athens, the Greek participation was filmed on Pnyx Hill against the backdrop of the Acropolis. The Pnyx is one of the most significant sites in the world: it was the official meeting place of the Ekklisia (the Athenian democratic assembly) and is widely regarded as the birthplace of direct democracy.
Starting around 507 BC—following the democratic reforms of Cleisthenes—the citizens of Athens gathered here to debate laws, vote on declarations of war, elect officials, and deliver political speeches.
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