Since ancient Greek times, the Muses have been regarded as the goddesses who inspire imagination and artistic creation. They lived with Apollo on Mount Parnassus, where artists and poets went to seek inspiration.
However, not all visits were peaceful, as recounted in the myth of the satyr Marsyas. This virtuoso of the aulos challenged Apollo to a musical contest in which the winner would have the power to subject the loser to his will. The god, touched by the satyr's enthusiasm, accepted the challenge and asked the Muses to act as judges.
This concert, focusing on composers of the German Enlightenment, is a selection of chamber works, arrangements of opera arias and original compositions in the Sturm und Drang style, which provides the soundtrack to the challenge between Marsyas and Apollo. The purely musical narrative uses instruments as characters, harmonies as emotions, melodies as conversations and rhythm as sound effects for the story. In this concert, the sound tells the story and the imagination does the rest.