This is a gallant “lady” of 130 years old, who has not lost her strength, her nobility, and, above all, her generosity in order to donate to her city. Since 1892, he has taught generations and generations of Patrins more than just sheet music. Because musical education molds morality, aesthetics and attitude to life, especially if it starts with soft nails. The reason for the Philharmonic is the Conservatory of Patras, which sent an elegant book to the convoy on the occasion of this important anniversary. The rich deeds of so many decades of life march through its pages, and thus the course of one of the longest and most important institutions of the cultural life of our country is being erased. The most important thing, of course, is that the path of Greece itself is outlined through its history.

Being an urban center from the early years of the newly created Greek state, Patras had a middle class thanks to the wealth of the raisin trade and its openness to all the ports of the Adriatic. Her cultural closeness to Italy instilled in her a love of classical music from an early age. This need was met by the Philharmonia as the first organized music school with the composer and chief musician Georgios Klamer as director. At the 1896 Olympics, one of the 13 bands chosen to cover the events was the Philharmonic Orchestra, led by chief musician Alberto Adlovich.

Important personalities such as Dimitris Mitropoulos passed through the cozy concert hall. Menelaos Pallandios, Konstantinos Kydoniatis, Eleni Lampiri, Maria Hairogiorgu-Cigara also left their mark. In the book, people from the administration, teachers, students recall their own experiences. They refer to Patras from other times with dances, carnivals, the Muslim community that gathered in the halls of the Riga Feraios building. Each story is a journey into the past, in a company, in a company gathered around the pianos, in a demonstration of skill.

Athena Kakuri, in a very tender text, recalls that difficult day when, as a ten-year-old student, she patiently waited in line to sit at the piano and be heard by her parents’ relatives and friends who came to show off their sprouts.

Today, thanks to the enlightened leadership of President Christos Moulias and Artistic Director Vassos Philippaiou, the Philharmonic is still an active and vibrant nursery of the Achaean capital, aiming to pass on the tradition of musical euphoria into the next decades of the 21st century. .