Virtuós Mediterrani Orchestra launches its Alicante season with Greek pianist Eleftherios Liotis
Elephant Liotis, a Greek pianist based in Germany, delivers a Sunday recital in Alicante as part of the second season of the Virtuós Mediterrani Orchestra. The concert starts at noon in the Salon Imperio of the Real Liceo Casino, bringing together a vibrant program of classical repertoire and intimate ensemble music.
Liotis has graced top stages across the globe, from the Konzerthaus Berlin to major festivals such as the Romanian Athenaeum in Bucharest and the Megaron in Athens. His appearances extend to celebrated venues including George Enescu, AMG in Basel, Young Euro Classic, and the Isaac Albéniz Festival. Through these performances, he has cemented a reputation for refined musical insight and expressive command. His work has reached international audiences via broadcast platforms like Medici.tv, DRadioKultur, SWR, TVR, and ERT3, highlighting his standing in the contemporary classical landscape.
As a recitalist and orchestral soloist, Liotis has collaborated with esteemed conductors and ensembles, sharing the stage with names such as Christoph Eschenbach, Justus Franz, David Grimal, Eleftheria Papakyriakou, and the festival’s own artistic director, Gerardo Estrada Martínez. Notably, he has performed with the State Symphony Orchestra of Thessaloniki. The breadth of his concert presence underlines a sustained commitment to high-caliber interpretation and dynamic performance. His achievements include victories at the 39th Maria Callas International Grand Prix and the 61st Maria Canals Barcelona International Competition, along with the Echo Classic Award and the Albéniz Medal. His recent recording Young Beethoven (MDG) received nominations in multiple OPUS Classic categories, underscoring his continued artistic impact.
The Alicante concert series will feature a thoughtfully curated program designed to illuminate Liotis’s virtuosic touch and lyrical depth. The afternoon begins with an interpretation of the opening scene from Armida, an opera by Tommaso Traetta, whose Italian roots and festival heritage inspire a shared sense of historical dialogue in contemporary performance. This marks Virtuós Mediterrani’s international premiere since last June, signaling the ensemble’s ongoing commitment to presenting culturally resonant works on the festival stage.
Following Liotis’s recital, the program continues with Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 12 in A major, K.414, performed with the Alicante chamber orchestra. The concerto unfolds in three movements, showcasing a dialogue between piano and orchestra that blends clarity, elegance, and playful wit.
To close the concert, the orchestra presents Haydn’s Symphony No. 63, known as the La Roxelane, which becomes a musical companion to a stage work about Roxelana, the influential Ottoman figure and Suleiman the Magnificent’s wife. The second movement, presented in its second version, serves as a thematic anchor for variations that illuminate Roxelana’s storied life, a narrative thread echoed in various art forms across centuries.
Continuing its regular season, Virtuós Mediterrani maintains a bold schedule of public performances, presenting a rich and diverse repertoire. The ensemble operates without institutional financial support, relying on audience engagement and artistic collaborations to sustain its mission.