Athens String Quartet

Musical Interludes

Memorial Statue Square

The musical ensemble Athens String Quartet drapes this year’s festival with their magical sounds.

he Athens String Quartet was founded in 2010 and consisted of distinguished members of the Athens State Orchestra and the Orchestra of the Greek National Opera: violinists Apollon Grammatikopoulos and Panagiotis Tziotis, violist Angela Giannaki, and cellist Isidoros Sideris.

The quartet gave concerts that were very well received by audiences at the most prominent concert halls in Athens, such as the Athens Concert Hall (Megaron), the Parnassos Literary Society Hall, the Pallas Theatre, the B. & M. Theocharakis Foundation, the Athens Conservatoire, and the Thessaloniki Concert Hall. It also performed in venues such as the National Archaeological Museum of Athens, the Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation, the Benaki Museum, and the Acropolis Museum.

It appeared in many cities across Greece, including Thessaloniki, Heraklion, Chania, Rethymno, Arta, Corfu, Larissa, and Volos, as well as in concerts in Italy, France, and Romania. The quartet maintained a significant presence at prestigious international festivals, among which were the Santorini Festival, Paxos Festival, Cyclades Festival, Koufonisia Festival, the International Documentary Festival of Kastellorizo, and Italy’s “Armonie della Sera” and Alba festivals. Their performances were recorded and broadcast by Italian Radio, Vatican Radio, and the Hellenic Parliament Television.

The quartet frequently collaborated with distinguished Greek and international artists. Its repertoire included the most important works of the chamber music literature, as well as works by Greek and foreign composers that it presented in world premieres. A special emphasis was placed on its social outreach, with concerts—organized in collaboration with the Athens State Orchestra, the German Embassy, and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation—held in hospitals, rehabilitation centers, prisons, special schools, schools in underprivileged areas, and remote parts of Greece, bringing classical music to people who would otherwise have had limited access to concert venues.