The event is free, but reservation is mandatory.
Reserve your free ticket here. Registration opens May 1 at 10 AM.
We encourage you to order a ticket only if you are sure you can attend. Space is limited, and we would like to fill every seat. If you are unable to attend, please cancel so that we can give your place to someone else.
Thursday, 11 June at 5 pm to 6.15 pm
Ancient Greece and the lyrical texts of Sappho have been a central source of inspiration for the composer’s work, and the concert features an outstanding ensemble of musicians. The debut concert is a collaboration between Klang Festival, the Royal Danish Academy of Music, and the Glyptotek.
Athanasia Kotronia is a Swedish-Greek composer who has been based in Copenhagen since 2019 and is now debuting from RDAM.
“For a long time, I have been deeply engaged with the poetry of Sappho, which I initially read in Danish. This near-obsession with my own relationship to ancient Greece led to a series of works situated in an ancient and distant reality. Sappho is one of the nine lyric poets of ancient Greece. Her poetry is called lyric because it was originally sung to the accompaniment of the lyre. The word ‘lesbian’ derives from the island of Lesbos, where Sappho was from. Her poetry and song later earned her the title as the tenth muse.”
The concert is inspired by Sappho and consists of two parts based on the two contrasting figures of Greek mythology: Dionysus and Apollo. Dionysus symbolizes wine, ecstasy, and transformation, while Apollo represents light, knowledge, and order.
The concert blends ancient rhythmic forms and harmonic structures with contemporary musical treatment.
Dionysus Part Hydraulis – for solo accordion
Fragments I. But you have forgotten me – for solo soprano II. I am greener than grass – for soprano and harp
Grönare än – for wind quintet
Apollo Part Delphic Hymns – for solo violin To Aphrodite – for string quartet
Fragments III. To touch the sky – for soprano, double bass, and harp
Syrinx – for solo percussion
Text: Fragments of Sappho, translated by artist Mille Søndergaard and philologists Lene Carlskov and Signe Andersen.
During the concert, you will hear rhythmic structures inspired by ancient lyric poetry, such as:
Sapphic stanza – named after Sappho, characterized by a specific pattern of long and short syllables, originally sung to lyre accompaniment.
Dactylic hexameter – the classical verse form used in Hesiod’s Theogony and other epic works, consisting of six metrical feet combining dactyls (— ⏑ ⏑) and spondees (— —).
About harmony in the concert
You will hear the three tetrachords central to musical structure in ancient Greece: the diatonic, the chromatic, and the enharmonic tetrachord.
About melody in the concert
The programme includes fragments from the Epitaph of Seikilos, one of the earliest surviving complete melodies from antiquity. It also incorporates fragments of the Delphic Hymns, among the best-preserved ancient musical sources, composed in honor of Apollo.
Performers Bjarke Mogensen – accordion Zola Mennenöh – soprano Katerina Anagnostidou – percussion Adam Koch Christensen – violin Piotr Dubajko – double bass Vianne Cathérine Sali – harp
Novo Quartet – string quartet Kaya Kato Møller & Nikolai Nedergaard – violin Daniel Śledziński – viola Signe Ebstrup Bitsch – cello
V Coloris – wind quintet Stefan Diaconu – flute Jonas Frølund – clarinet Felicia-Gabriela Greciuc – oboe Niklas Kallsoy Mouritsen – horn Constantin Barcov – bassoon
For information about wheelchair accessibility, companionship arrangements, etc., read more here.
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In the café Picnic you can have a lovely dinner or enjoy a drink. Read more about the menu and table reservations here.
Photo: Siri Anna Flensburg