Carnival Celebration with the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra

The Cyprus Symphony Orchestra celebrated the Carnival with a pleasant programme in humorous rhythms. Protagonists at the concerts were two accordions, performed by Miodrag Djordjević and Nenad Ljubenović, with pianist Nikolas Melis, under the music direction of the orchestra’s artistic director, Alkis Baltas.

Three evening concerts were given on 26, 27 and 28 February 2014 in Limassol, Larnaca and Nicosia, respectively. The concerts were a unique occasion for the audience to hear and enjoy music, composed by the most important representatives of the tango.

  All three venues where filled with both adults and children, who had the opportunity to enjoy humorous musical evenings in the rhythms of Argentinean tango and got to know the accordion.

In the first half we enjoyed the Music for a Knights' Ballet by L.v. Beethoven, The Flower Duet, from Lakmé, (orchestrated by Vicky Sylianou) which is performed in numerous adaptations, as well as the Blue Tango by Leroy Anderson. The Blue Tango (1951) was the first orchestral recording ever to sell a million copies. A special work which was performed is La Chitarrata, a light, humorous and spirited piece imitating the abandonment of a guitarist to his improvisations (orchestrated by Alkis Baltas, for the celebration of the composer's 150th anniversary in 2011 in Corfu).

In the second half of the programme the audience had the opportunity to “dance” tango, with works by the most important Argentinean composers.

More specifically, we enjoyed works by Horacio Adolfo Salgan, Juan d'Arienzo and Osvaldo Pougliese, famous for their tangos, popular across the globe. Their works scored here for two accordions, piano and strings are: A Fuego Lento (In slow fire) by Salgan; Recuerdo (Remembrance) and La Yumba (a title imitating the instruments' sounds) by Pougliese; and Este es el rey (This is the king) by d'Arienzo. All have the controlled passion and  rhythmic power of the Argentine tango.

Finally, the concert concluded with the greatest Argentinean composer of the 20th Astor Piazzola and the tangos: Preparense, Chau Paris, S.V.P., and Plus Ultra. Piazzola’s oeuvre is enormous and includes both songs and tangos, as well as symphonic, chamber, and other types of art music.The concerts were a great opportunity for both adults and children to get to know the accordion through the rhythms of tango.