Juilliard String Quartet Comes to the Athens Concert Hall for a One-Night-Only Performance

The Juilliard String Quartet, one of the most distinguished chamber ensembles in the world, will appear at the Athens Concert Hall (Megaron Mousikis) on Thursday, April 23, 2026, at 20:30, in the Dimitris Mitropoulos Hall, in a concert that highlights the evolution and enduring power of the string quartet.

Founded in 1946 and continuously present on the international stage, the Juilliard String Quartet has become synonymous with interpretive excellence, profound knowledge of the repertoire, and a constant renewal of the musical experience. Its members, all graduates of the renowned Juilliard School in New York, carry forward a decades-long tradition that has helped shape the very landscape of chamber music.

The evening’s program brings together different eras and aesthetics, underscoring the living continuity of the genre. The concert opens with String Quartet No. 1 by Nikos Skalkottas, a work from his Berlin years under Arnold Schoenberg, reflecting the fertile encounter between Greek creativity and the currents of European modernism.

This is followed by Prelude No. 7 by Johann Sebastian Bach, in a transcription for string quartet by Michelle Ross. In the same creative spirit comes Birds on the Moon (2024), a work composed by the Grammy Award–winning composer and violinist especially for the ensemble, in memory of its recently departed member, Roger Tapping.

The concert culminates with String Quartet No. 15 in A minor, Op. 132, one of the most profound works of Ludwig van Beethoven’s late period, where chamber music reaches a dimension of deep spiritual inquiry and inner expression.

A rare opportunity to experience a historic ensemble in a program that bridges tradition and contemporary creation, offering an evening of exceptional musical intensity.

Programme
NIKOS SKALKOTTAS String Quartet No. 1
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH Prelude No. 7 in E-flat major, BWV 852
(transcribed for string quartet by Michelle Ross)
MICHELLE BARZEL ROSS Birds on the Moon (2024)
(commissioned by Chamber Music in Napa Valley)
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN String Quartet No. 15 in A minor, Op. 132