A genuine creative laboratory from which some of the brightest names of the dazzling new generation of soloists on the world music stage have emerged: that is the Rising Stars scheme, now running for thirty consecutive years under the auspices of the European Concert Hall Organisation (ECHO), of which Megaron the Athens Concert Hall is a founding member.
Janine Jansen, Igor Levit, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Kirill Gerstein, Renaud Capuçon, Khatia Buniatishvili, Jörg Widmann, Antoine Tamestit, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Emmanuel Pahud, along with the Modigliani, Casals and Belcea quartets — and, among them, a number of Greece’s finest soloists… the list is truly long. In their footsteps over recent years have followed newer stars such as Isata Kanneh-Mason, Kian Soltani, the van Kuijk Quartet, Emmanuel Tjeknavorian, Simon Höfele, Diana Tishchenko, Pablo Ferrández and Edgar Moreau, leading up to last year’s “rising star” — the already rapidly ascending Lukas Sternath — whom Megaron’s audience has the chance to hear in the upcoming Piano Days at the end of January.
Two of the six Rising Stars of this season — the Trio Concept from Turin and the brilliant Georgian pianist Giorgi Gigashvili — appear in a special double Sunday concert. Beyond their Rising Star distinction, they also share certain affinities in their programmes: for instance, while the trio unveils a little-known yet fascinating early work by Shostakovich, the pianist offers his own interpretation of a major work from the composer’s maturity. Maurice Ravel also features prominently in both recitals, whether through the piano cycle Miroirs or the celebrated Piano Trio. In yet another fortunate coincidence, both the trio and the soloist turn to the music of the remarkably gifted early-20th-century French composer Lili Boulanger, who, before her untimely death, managed to leave behind a small but unmistakable legacy of genuine genius and became the first woman ever to win the prestigious Prix de Rome. A rare opportunity for music-lovers to discover her work!
ECHO RISING STARS:
As part of their concert appearances, the artists also take part in parallel educational and cultural outreach activities organized by the Megaron for vulnerable communities.
