64
T
he Cyprus Symphony Orchestra, under the
direction of the distinguished conductor
Michalis Economou, welcomed audiences to
two important symphonic creations by two great
classical composers, Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
and Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827).
Classical music lovers enjoyed Haydn’s last
Symphony No. 104 in D major and Beethoven’s
fi
rst Symphony No. 1 in C major op. 21. Written
in the same period, they present a very interesting
juxtaposition in the development of the symphonic
tradition, as well as excellent examples of the
special musical idiosyncrasies of their composers.
When Beethoven was in Vienna in 1792, he
studied with Haydn. At the time, the young
composer who was to leave a seminal legacy in
the symphonic genre, had not yet written any of
his symphonies, whilst Haydn, the creator of the
classical symphony, had already composed as
many as 98. Three years later, when Haydn was
composing his last SymphonyNo. 104, Beethoven
was making the
fi
rst sketches for the
fi
nale of his
fi
rst Symphony which was completed in 1800.
Two evening concertswere given on 20 September
2013 at the Pallas Theatre, Paphos Gate in
Nicosia and on 21 September 2013 at the Larnaca
Municipal Theatre.
The Conductor
Michalis Economou is one of the most promis-
ing conductors and composers of our time, He is
former Music Director of the Qatar Philharmonic
Orchestra, Chief Conductor of the Athens Sym-
phony Orchestra and Principal Guest Conduc-
tor of the National Radio Orchestra in Greece.
Born in Greece in 1973, he studied Musicology
at Athens University as well as Violin, Theory,
and Composition at the National Conservatory of
Athens. He received
fi
ve scholarships when he
moved to Boston in 1997, where he studied Or-
chestral Conducting and Composition with Lukas
Foss, Theodore Antoniou and David Hoose at
Boston University. In 1999, he earned his Mas-
ter of Music degree in Conducting and in 2001,
he received his Doctor of Musical Arts in Com-
position. His conducting teachers include among
others the highly acclaimed international
fi
gures
Jorma Panula and Gianluigi Gelmetti. Michalis
Economou is the winner of eleven national and
international competitions including the ALEA III
International Composition Competition and the
Dimitris Mitropoulos International Composition
Competition. He has conducted all major Greek
symphony orchestras, as well as numerous sym-
phony orchestras and ensembles in Europe, USA
andAsia. His works have been performed all over
the world and he has been commissioned to com-
pose music for Carnegie Hall and, among other
venues, for the Athens Megaron Concert Hall.
Currently, Michalis Economou teaches orchestral
conducting in Greece and has trained at least 50
young conductors since 2003. InMay 2004, he be-
came Chairman andArtistic Director of the Music
Department of theAthens National Technical Uni-
versity, a position that he holds until today.
Cyprus Symphony Orchestra Concerts
From Haydn to Beethoven – Two great classical composers
Conductor Michalis Economou
