Hellenikon Idyllion for reader and orchestra

Hellenikon Idyllion is extracted from the incidental music written for the Greek play “Diakos” in 1961. The play deals with the life of the Greek hero Athanassios Diakos, whose courageous actions inspired his compatriots in the early stages of the Greek revolution against Turkey in 1821. This music employs Greek rhythms meant to portray characters of rural Greece. The play was presented in New York by the Lemos Greek Theater in 1961.

This piece was commissioned for the 2004 Olympics and refers to the Hellenikon Idyllion resort in the Pelopenes. It was performed five times in Greece by the French Youth Orchestra of Strasbourg.