Journey to the Centre of Music

Journey to the Centre of Music is an interactive concert cycle of the Athens State Orchestra that combines orchestral performance with video and spoken commentary, presenting the symphonic repertoire with contextual narration between movements. On 7 and 8 March 2025 the orchestra, conducted by Lukas Karytinos, performed a programme of marches and processional music in the Christos Lambrakis Hall at the Megaron – The Athens Concert Hall. The programme drew on two centuries of the form: Schubert and Berlioz, Mendelssohn and Wagner, Meyerbeer and Verdi, Elgar and Sousa, with Malcolm Arnold among the modern composers represented.

The Athens State Orchestra was founded in 1943 and holds a residency at the Megaron. The Megaron, opened in 1991 on Vasilissis Sofias Avenue, is the principal concert hall in Athens. The Journey cycle is designed to present the symphonic repertoire to audiences without specialist preparation; the conductor addresses the audience directly and places each work in its historical context.