This year, on the night of the full moon on August 8 at 9 p.m., an event entitled “Magical Night – Mikis Theodorakis & Nikos Skalkotas” will take place in the garden of the Heraklion Archaeological Museum. Admission is free until all available seats are filled. The event is being held in collaboration with the Region of Crete and on the occasion of 2025, which is a year dedicated to our great composer Mikis Theodorakis, as part of the 5th Festival of Crete. The Athens String Quartet will present ten of the most beloved songs and a quartet by the honoured composer, as well as the vigour of five traditional dances from Crete, Epirus, the Peloponnese, and Central Greece, in the style of Nikos Skalkotas.

Of Cretan and Asia Minor descent, born in 1925 in Chios, Theodorakis shaped the Greek art music of the second half of the 20th century with works that combine folk music, Byzantine melodies, and the European classical repertoire. As one of the most influential figures of his time, having placed his art at the service of his fiery patriotic and political convictions in turbulent times, his songs inspired struggles, accompanied the daily lives of Greeks at work, at home, at celebrations, and comforted expatriates’ nostalgia. His other works, operas, symphonies, and chamber music, remained less known to the general public.

Twenty years older, born in Chalkida in 1904, Nikos Skalkotas had a different career path, which did not prevent the two musicians from forming a close friendship based on mutual respect.

A member of the Second Viennese School, Skalkotas combined the European classical repertoire with traditional Greek music, spreading it to opera houses and conservatories around the world. Following the modernist movement, Nikos Skalkotas was a prolific composer until his sudden and premature death in Athens in September 1949.

The Archaeological Museum of Heraklion, wishing to pay tribute to the two great composers who influenced contemporary music and at the same time made the culture of our country internationally known, on the night of the August full moon, it offers a selection from the above musical repertoires so that we may remember, get to know, and enjoy them.

They will be performed by soprano Vivi Sykoti and the Athens String Quartet, which consists of prominent members of the Athens State Orchestra and the Greek National Opera Orchestra, violinists Apollon Grammatikopoulos and Panagiotis Tziotis, violist Angela Giannaki, and cellist Isidoros Sideris.

Date: Friday 8 August 2025

Time: 21:00

Venue: Archaeological Museum of Heraklen-Garden

Admission Free

Schedule of events:

Mikis Theodorakis: Ten (10) songs for soprano and string quartet: Magical Night – The Shore – Beautiful City – My Love – If You Remember My Dream – My April – Make Your Bed – Margarita Magiopoula – It’s Raining in the Poor Neighborhood – Moon, You Cast a Spell on Me.

String Quartet No. 4 “Mass.”

Nikos Skalkotas: five (5) Greek dances: Epirote – Cretan – Tsamikos – Arcadian – Kleftikos.

Athens String Quartet:

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

It has given concerts that have been very well received by audiences in the most important concert halls in Athens, such as the Megaron, the F. S. Parnassos Hall, the Pallas, the Theocharakis Foundation, the Athens Conservatory, the Thessaloniki Concert Hall, as well as venues such as the National Archaeological Museum of Athens, the V. & E. Goulandris Foundation, the Benaki Museum, and the Acropolis Museum.

It has performed in many cities throughout Greece, including Thessaloniki, Heraklion, Chania, Rethymno, Arta, Corfu, Larissa, and Volos, as well as in concerts in Italy, France, and Romania. The quartet has also made a significant presence at distinguished international festivals, including the Athens and Epidaurus Festival, the Santorini Festival, the Paxos Festival, the Cyclades Festival, Koufonisia, the International Documentary Festival of Kastelorizo, as well as the “Armonie della Sera” and “Alba” festivals in Italy. The quartet’s concerts have been recorded and filmed by Italian Radio, Vatican Radio, and Greek Parliament Television.

It often collaborates with prominent Greek and foreign artists, and its repertoire includes the most important works of chamber music literature, as well as works by Greek and foreign composers that it has premiered. Particular emphasis has been placed on the quartet’s social work, giving concerts in collaboration with the Athens State Orchestra, the German Embassy, and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation in hospitals, rehabilitation centers, prisons, special schools, schools in disadvantaged areas, and remote areas of our country, bringing classical music to people who would otherwise have difficulty accessing concert venues.

The Athens String Quartet has been awarded by the international association “Gina Bachauer” for its high-level performances.

Vivi Sykioti:

Born in Athens, Vivi Sykoti has appeared as Valencienne (La Vedova Allegra) at the Politeama Greco Theater, as Lauretta (Gianni Schicchi) at the Greek National Opera, and as Musica, Speranza, and Proserpina (L’Orfeo) in performances in the Czech Republic and Italy. She has also participated in the Greek National Opera productions of The Magic Pillows and How a Crow Found Its Way into the Belly of a Whale. She was a member of the Greek National Opera’s Opera Studio (2019/20), where she appeared as Contessa (Le Nozze di Figaro) with the Athens Symphony Orchestra and also participated in the Europeras 1 & 2 production.

She has appeared as a soloist in works such as G. Fauré’s “Requiem” and A. Vivaldi’s “Gloria” with the ERT Symphony Orchestra conducted by M. Oikonomou, Mozart’s Requiem with the Athens Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by M. Oikonomou, and G. B. Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater conducted by T. Lembesis. In addition, she has participated as a member of the chorus in Euripides’ “Iphigenia in Tauris” (directed by G. Danouris, music by A. Triantafyllou) at the Ancient Theater of Epidaurus and on tour throughout Greece.

She is the winner of the International Competitions “Tito Schipa” (2024), “Ottavio Garaventa” (2023), “Let’s Sing” (2023) and the Panhellenic Competition Unesco & ERT (2020).

Finally, she has attended singing seminars with D. D’Annunzio Lombardi, B. Frittoli, F. Armiliato, M. Camastra, M. Habela, Chr. Poulitsis, D. Kavrakos, and T. Christoyannopoulos, while continuing to study with N. Syropoulos. He studied singing at the Municipal Conservatory of Nice with G. Filias (diploma with honors and first prize, 2019) and is a final-year student in the Department of Theater Studies at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.