Greek evening – Danae Dörken-piano

The German-Greek pianist Danae Dörken belongs to the elite of a new generation of internationally sought-after artists and captivates audiences and fellow musicians alike with her breathtaking technique, exceptional stage presence and musical depth.

Danae Dörken was already supported by Yehudi Menuhin when she was seven years old and caught the attention of audiences in leading European concert halls early on with “her sparkling joy of playing”.  After studying with Karl-Heinz Kämmerling and with the renowned soloist and teacher Lars Vogt, she is now a regular guest with leading orchestras such as the Orchestre de chambre de Paris, the Düsseldorfer Symphoniker, the Deutsches Symphonie Orchester, the Münster Symphony Orchestra, the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Komische Oper Berlin, the Philharmonie Baden-Baden, the Prague Symphony Orchestra, the Nordic Chamber Orchestra, the Royal Northern Sinfonia, the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, the Staatsphilharmonie Nürnberg and the Staatskapelle Weimar. Danae Dörken has performed at London’s Wigmore Hall, the Philharmonie de Paris, the Wiener Konzerthaus, the Mozarteum Salzburg, the Tonhalle Zurich, the Bozar in Brussels, the Megaron in Athens, the Brucknerhaus Linz, the Philharmonie Köln, the Gasteig Munich, the Konzerthaus Berlin, the Tonhalle Düsseldorf, the Alte Oper Frankfurt and the Beethoven-Haus Bonn. She regularly performs at important festivals in Germany and abroad. The 2024/25 season is full of highlights for Danae Dörken. She will appear at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in New York with her long-time chamber music partner Sebastian Manz. She has also been invited to return to the orchestra of the Komische Oper Berlin, where she will perform the piano part in Scriabin’s Prometheus under the baton of James Gaffigan.  As part of a piano duo with her sister Kiveli, she will be performing at numerous concerts. The album GLASS TWO, a joint project with the Luxembourg vibraphonist and composer Pascal Schumacher, was released at the end of 2024. This programme of works by Philip Glass and Schumacher will be performed at the Elbphilharmonie and other venues.

On the occasion of the 100th birthday of the Greek national composer Mikis Theodorakis in 2025, a very personal album by Danae Dörken will be released on the Berlin Classics / EDEL label. Last year, Danae Dörken released the duo CD Apollo & Dionysus (Berlin Classics) with her sister Kiveli and three albums with the French oboist Philippe Tondre on the Klarthe label. Her landmark CD recording of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21 and Mendelssohn’s rarely heard Second Piano Concerto with the Royal Northern Sinfonia under Lars Vogt received glowing reviews. Her latest album Odyssee (Berlin Classics) was received with critical acclaim and nominated for several international music awards. Danae and Kiveli Dörken founded the Molyvos International Music Festival on the Greek island of Lesbos in 2015. In addition to the large annual summer festival, they organize benefit concerts and events throughout Germany in which the festival’s artists (including Sebastian Manz, Marlis Petersen, Linus Roth and Maximilian Hornung) participate. Danae Dörken’s commitment to Greece, to supporting refugees and to strengthening the musical connections between Greece and Germany have repeatedly been the subject of reports on various TV programmes.