Μake us preferred on Google The Megaron Athens Concert Hall is set for a wide-ranging fall and winter season, bringing major orchestras and performers, contemporary music, jazz, dance, opera, theater, poetry and family programming to Athens through the end of 2026.
The new season features the first Greek appearance of The Cleveland Orchestra under Franz Welser-Möst on Oct. 21, the return of Pina Bausch’s Tanztheater Wuppertal with “Vollmond” from November 6-9, and a series of performances marking the 200th anniversary of Beethoven’s death. Advance ticket sales begin Sept. 10.
The program also includes the Vienna Symphony Orchestra under Petr Popelka on November 30, with pianist Mao Fujita, as well as the Chamber Orchestra of the Friends of Music under George Petrou, which will present Leonard Bernstein’s “Candide” on Dec. 10 and 11.
Beethoven, orchestras and chamber music
Mao Fujita Wiener Symphony Orchestra. (c) Dovile Sermokas Sony Music Entertainment.
The Megaron will launch its “Beethoven 200” cycle on October 7 with the Quatuor Modigliani, which will perform Beethoven’s final string quartet, Op. 135, alongside his early String Quartet Op. 18 No. 6 and Kryštof Mařatka’s “Amedea,” written specifically for the French ensemble.
Violinist Janine Jansen and pianist Denis Kozhukhin will return on Oct. 25 with a program devoted to Beethoven and Prokofiev.
The Cleveland Orchestra’s October 21 debut in Greece will feature Liszt’s “Orpheus,” Martinů’s Symphony No. 2 and Brahms’ Symphony No. 2.
The Vienna Symphony Orchestra will close November with Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 and Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21, featuring Fujita as soloist.
Other highlights include a Bach program by the Chamber Orchestra of the Friends of Music and violinist Elizabeth Blumenstock on October 27, performed on period instruments, and the orchestra’s second staging of Bernstein’s “Candide” in December.
Pina Bausch returns to Athens
Dance will take center stage in November when Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch presents “Vollmond” from November 6-9.
Created in 2006, the work is built around water that flows, falls and floods the stage. Its soundtrack ranges from Amon Tobin to Tom Waits and Cat Power, while the production explores human relationships, love and loneliness through humor, tenderness and emotion.
The engagement marks the return to Athens of the company founded in 1973 by the legendary choreographer Pina Bausch, whose approach combined movement, speech, music and imagery in a form known as Tanztheater, or dance theater.
Contemporary music and jazz
Contemporary music will feature prominently in October. A three-day tribute to Greek composer George Aperghis, marking his 80th birthday, runs October 9-11, with recitals by trumpeter Marco Blaauw and cellist Valerie Fritz, followed by a performance by the Ventus Ensemble.
The “Hybrid Horizons” festival, running October 16-18, will explore the intersection of live instruments, electronic sound and new technologies, including multichannel sound and artificial intelligence. The program will feature workshops, open rehearsals, presentations and three concert events, culminating in eight new works by Greek composers.
Jazz@Megaron returns for a fifth consecutive year, with legendary drummer Billy Cobham among its highlights on November 14. Cobham will present his “Time Machine” concert project.
The series will also feature the Andreas Polyzogopoulos Trio on Nov. 15 and vocalist Ekep Nkwelle with her quartet on November 18. On November 21, Katerina Polemi and Stathis Anninos will present “Topio Mystiko,” a tribute to the musical world of Greek singer-songwriter Dionysis Savvopoulos.
Opera, theater and special performances
Sylphides, Ballet of the Odesa National Opera.
The Megaron’s Metropolitan Opera HD Live broadcasts return with four productions: Mozart’s “Così fan tutte” on Oct. 11, Verdi’s “Macbeth” on Oct. 17, Saint-Saëns’ “Samson et Dalila” on December 5 and Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” on December 12.
The National Theatre Live series will bring filmed productions of “Dangerous Liaisons” on October 8 and Molière’s “The Misanthrope” on November 26, both in English with Greek subtitles.
The broader program will also include chamber music, with Schumann and Brahms on October 30, and the Orchestra Popolare La Notte della Taranta on October 31, bringing the traditional music and dances of Italy’s Salento region to Athens.
Other events include a Paris-themed musical portrait by pianist Cyprien Katsaris and Lutèce on November 24, a concert celebrating singer Spyros Sakkas on November 28, and a performance by the Athens Philharmonia Orchestra marking its 10th anniversary on December 5.
Family programming and the holidays
The Megaron will expand its family programming with concerts, workshops, open rehearsals and activities for different age groups.
“Baby Boom,” a concert designed for babies and children up to age four, returns on October 18 and December 6, featuring the National Symphony Orchestra of the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation under conductor Phaedra Giannelou.
Children and families can also see Elias Karellas’ “Kara-Cartoon,” a shadow-theater musical about emotions with live music by the Burger Project, running from October 17 through April 2027.
The 9th Athens Children’s and Youth International Film Festival will return to the Megaron from November 9-15 with films from Greece and around the world.
The holiday program will run from December 14 through January 5, 2027, and will include productions by the National Opera Ballet of Odesa, including “Les Sylphides” and a world premiere of “Around the World in 80 Days,” as well as Karellas’ “Karagiozis’ Christmas at the North Pole.”
The Chamber Orchestra of the Friends of Music will perform Mozart on period instruments on December 27, while the Athens State Orchestra will present “New Year’s Eve on Broadway” on December 29 and 30.
Literature, visual art and ideas
Beyond music and performance, the Megaron’s program will include lectures, literary events, visual art and poetry.
The Megaron Plus series will feature talks on subjects ranging from the ancient city of Nicopolis and the genomic revolution in medicine to Mediterranean cuisine and Greek agriculture. British author Julian Barnes will also present his new book, “Departures,” on October 15.
The 12th Athens International Poetry Festival will open at the Megaron on Sept. 28 under the theme “No Exit: Poems for Broken Times,” bringing together 23 poets from 12 countries.
The annexM gallery will present Danae Stratou’s site-specific exhibition “Navels” from October 8 through January 31, 2027.
With its fall and winter program spanning classical music, contemporary composition, jazz, dance, opera, theater, literature, visual art and family activities, the Megaron is positioning its 2026 season as a broad cultural program extending well beyond the concert hall.
