THE MAIDEN AND DEATH

The Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra presents two powerful works by Franz Schubert and Nikos Skalkottas, both exploring the theme of premature death. Schubert’s Death and the Maiden was originally composed as a string quartet and is widely regarded as one of the cornerstones of the chamber music repertoire. It was later arranged for string orchestra by Gustav Mahler, in the version that will be performed in this concert. A gripping “dance of death,” the work was composed at a time when Schubert was coming to terms with his own premature mortality. Overwhelmed and disillusioned by life, the composer channels his profound anguish and conveys his despair through this breathtaking masterpiece.
The ballet The Maiden and Death (I Lygeri ki o Charos) is among the most significant works by Nikos Skalkottas and a landmark of Greek music more broadly. In this, his first ballet, the composer draws on the eponymous folk song, in which Konstantis willingly descends into the Underworld to wrest his beloved Lygeri from the grasp of Death.
Between these two masterpieces, two distinguished artists, Savina Yannatou and Kyriakos Gouventas, enrich the programme with four exquisite traditional songs of related thematic content.