Athens State Orchestra

Leo Brouwer (1939–)
Concerto de Corinto, for guitar and orchestra (commissioned by the Athens State Orchestra and the Municipality of Corinth)
Dimitris Soukaras, guitar

Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904)
Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95, B. 178, “From the New World”

Nikos Haliassas, conductor

The concert will feature the Concerto of Korinthos by Leo Brouwer, a new composition commissioned by the Orchestra and the Municipality of Corinth from the renowned composer. The work is dedicated to the concert’s soloist, Dimitris Soukaras, who also gave its world premiere at the Athens Concert Hall on June 5th. This marks a notable moment for the Athens State Orchestra (ASO) and a collaboration with one of today’s most significant composers for the guitar.

Musical direction is undertaken by Nikos Haliassas, who in the second half of the concert will conduct Antonín Dvořák’s celebrated New World Symphony, one of the most popular symphonic works of all time.

The concert is held under the auspices and support of the Hellenic Parliament, reaffirming the Athens State Orchestra’s commitment to bringing music close to everyone through its continuous presence and activity throughout Greece.

The Athens State Orchestra, Greece’s oldest orchestral ensemble, was founded in the late 19th century as the Symphony Orchestra of the Athens Conservatory and gave its first concert under its current name on February 28, 1943. With more than 50 annual performances in Greece and abroad, the ASO presents both international and domestic repertoire while also carrying out significant educational and social work. Leading conductors who have collaborated with the Orchestra include Richard Strauss, Dimitri Mitropoulos, Hans Knappertsbusch, Lorin Maazel, and Vladimir Ashkenazy, along with internationally renowned soloists such as Rubinstein, Rostropovich, Barenboim, and Kavakos, among others. Its music directors have included Manos Hadjidakis and Byron Fidetzis, with Loukas Karytinos holding the position since October 2020.

Nikos Haliassas is the orchestra’s principal violinist. In 2000 he founded the orchestra INTRARTI. Born in Athens in 1968, he studied violin and advanced theory at the Athens Conservatory. In London, he pursued postgraduate violin studies at the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal College of Music, as well as orchestral conducting at Trinity College. He has conducted numerous symphony orchestras in Greece, Turkey, Sweden, Denmark, Estonia, and Kazakhstan. He has served or currently serves as artistic director of the “Symphonia” Festival of Piraeus and the Saronic Gulf, the “MusiKos” Festival, the Chalki Festival, and the Junior Camerata orchestra at the Athens Concert Hall.

Dimitris Soukaras is a Greek guitarist and arranger based in London, known for his technical mastery, rich tonal color palette, and imaginative approach to repertoire. Critics have described his work as “outstanding” (JazzNewsUK, Web International), while Kathimerini has called him “the classical musician of the new generation.” Meanwhile, publications such as BBC Music Magazine, Gramophone, and dCS have noted that his transcriptions and arrangements bring new coherence and depth to the guitar repertoire. He is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music (MA), the University of Surrey (PhD), and the Ionian University (BMus). He was awarded the DipRAM, the Academy’s highest performance distinction, and was the first student in the history of the Ionian University to complete his studies in just three years. He has won more than twenty international awards, including the David Russell Guitar Prize and the Mottola International Guitar Competition, and is the only guitarist to have been honored by the Academy of Athens. Deeply committed to contemporary musical creation, he has premiered more than twenty works written especially for him and has collaborated with composers such as Grammy winners Leo Brouwer and Sergio Assad. In 2025, Brouwer composed for Dimitris his latest guitar concerto, the Concerto of Korinthos, inspired by the performer’s homeland, which premiered with the Athens State Orchestra. Dimitris performs internationally as a soloist and chamber musician and regularly collaborates with artists such as Lotte Betts-Dean, Giancarlo Palena, Aphrodite Patoulidou, Belle Chen, Petros Klampanis, and Magda Giannikou, among others. Alongside his artistic career, he is the founder of the MUSA Music Festival in Ancient Corinth and regularly organizes the annual Athena Scholarship concerts. Through these initiatives, he creates opportunities for young artists and ensembles, fostering collaboration, artistic development, and cultural exchange. Central to his work is the creation of a vibrant cultural community bringing together music lovers, performers, educators, and artists.