On 2 October 2022 at the Stavros Niarchos Hall, the GNO Orchestra and Children’s Chorus –conducted by Elias Voudouris– will be performing Symphony No. 2: The Song of the Earth, a work that marked Mikis Theodorakis’ return to more highbrow music, back in 1980. For the creation of this particular symphony, Theodorakis drew source material from two works written during his 1954-1960 period: Suite No. 1 (1957), and the ballet Antigone (1957-58). In the work’s third part, the Children’s Chorus perform The Song of the Earth (with lyrics by Mikis Theodorakis), a short poetic piece that incorporates portions of the composer’s traumatic experiences of war, exile, and persecution.