NEW YORK – The Hellenic-American Cultural Foundation presents the New York premiere of George Tsontakis’ Portraits by El Greco – Book II, and other selections from Beethoven, Brahms and Bartok, to be performed by five world renowned musicians.

The event will take place at the Merkin Concert Hall at the Kaufman Music Center on September 14, at 7PM.

George Tsontakis, the 2005 recipient of the prestigious Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition, was called by Gramophone magazine “a giant of the American music scene.” In his new work, Tsontakis combines projected images of the great painter’s work with a contemporary music setting.

The quintet of performers includes: Maria Asteriadou – an acclaimed soloist and chamber musician, heralded as “an artist with intense personality, virtuosic flair, unusual poise and intimate contact with style” by The New York Times; Grammy Award-winning ­Zuill Bailey – widely considered one of the premier cellists in the world; Greek clarinetist Spyros Mourikis – winner of the 1997 Carl Nielsen International Clarinet Competition, who has played extensively throughout Greece and Europe; violinist Kurt Nikkanen – considered a soloist of the highest order, a graduate of Juilliard and, presently, the Concertmaster of the New York City Ballet Orchestra; and Rita Porfiris – an American violist and arranger of Greek and Chinese descent, who has performed across the globe as a chamber musician, orchestral musician, and soloist.