Dear friends of the Thessaloniki State Symphony of 20th century Vienna. The story of Medea, as told Orchestra, through Benda’s groundbreaking work that thrilled Mozart, is presented by the great Karyofyllia Kara- it is with great joy and enthusiasm that we wel- mpeti, while our successful collaboration with the come and present to you the new program of the Thessaloniki Piano Festival continues, with two TSSO. The planning for this season includes produc- days of concerts for two pianos. Within the frame- tions of varying styles and genres, continuing the work of the program «Thessaloniki-Sofia, Balkan Cultural Bridge», we host here in Thessaloniki the Orchestra’s extroverted and exploratory presence. The month of May marks the revival and return of two most prominent choral ensembles from Bul- the esteemed «Dimitri Mitropoulos» Competition garia: the Sofia National Philharmonic Choir and the in Thessaloniki -endorsed by the Ministry of Cul- Choir of the Plovdiv Opera. A truly notable event ture-, one of the biggest international competitions is the first presentation (in unstaged opera form) and a cultural landmark for our country, that had of Emilios Riadis’ opera Galatea - possibly the most unfortunately been suspended in previous years emblematic work in Thessaloniki’s musical history due to the economic crisis. The legendary conduc- - in collaboration with the Greek National Opera tor Thomas Sanderling will be in our city as the and Thessaloniki Concert Hall, after its restitution President of the Jury for the competition, but also by Vladimiros Symeonidis. to conduct the TSSO, in a concert in collaboration Apart from purely symphonic concerts, we are in with TCH. the pleasant position to co-organize a new festival Within the framework of Recovery and Resilience of chamber music with the Archaeological Museum Facility Plan, our orchestra will travel to Rome, of Thessaloniki, which will offer its spaces for con- where it will present a palette of great works of certs that will often complement and go along with Greek and Italian composers. TSSO’s symphonic concerts. At the same time, we The planning continues to develop around thematic invest in strengthening our educational programs. cycles and concerts, including a multitude of works The final recipient of all of our ambitious efforts that will be presented in Thessaloniki and Greece will always be you, our city’s audience, as we aim for the first time: the cycle “Music from the corners to offer you the art of music at the highest level. of the Earth” takes us on a journey to the exotic We, your orchestra, wish to have you by our side Far East on Chinese New Year’s Eve, and to Latin on this new journey through the endlessly exciting America during the carnival period, while the con- world of music. cert titled “Cosmos” will take us beyond the Earth’s confines, accompanied by the astrophotography Simos Papanas, TSSO Director exhibition displayed in the foyer of Thessaloniki’s Concert Hall. The cycle «Dreams» includes two more concerts with a very unique character, the bi- zarre dark side of romanticism and the dreamy side 7