May 2025

Natalia Gerakis Artist Interview

The Flute View

Natalia Gerakis is a Greek flutist of international acclaim. Based in both Germany and Greece, she has performed as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral player at prestigious venues and festivals across Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America. A passionate educator, she has led over 40 masterclasses worldwide. Gerakis is Flute Professor at the esteemed Athens Conservatoire and has previously served as a tutor at the State University of Music and Performing Arts in Stuttgart, Germany, and at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.

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Can you share some career highlights?

I’m hesitant to use the term career, which I associate with legendary icons like that of Maria Callas. Instead, I see my entire musical path as a true highlight in my life. I’ve been fortunate to explore and understand the world through music.

I’ve performed in most significant venues across Germany—home to Europe’s most active classical music scene—such as the Konzertsaal Berlin, Herkulessaal München, Gasteig München, Alte Oper Frankfurt, and others.

Equally unforgettable are my experiences in Africa—especially Zambia, where young musicians would travel hours on a public truck just to meet a flutist in person. And in South America, the warmth and awareness of explosive audiences in Brazil and Chile have left a lasting mark on me.

What do you love most about performing?

For me, performing is a creative process, a sacred ritual. I care deeply about every detail—from the music to the structure and ambiance of the event. Onstage, I become part of a dramatic unfolding, perhaps a trait from my Greek heritage. This dramatical awareness maybe explains the kinship I feel with Tōru Takemitsu’s music, which draws from Noh Theater, the Japanese theatrical tradition. An additional thing I love is that during performing the adrenaline rush is like a natural high. And then, of course, there’s the joy of a good glass of wine with dear friends afterward. Sometimes I joke that I perform mainly for that post-concert conviviality!

Tell us about your CD releases.

My first solo CD, Terra e Aria, features music for flute and harp—works by Bach, Telemann, Händel, Gluck, Mozart, Fauré, Debussy, Ravel, and Ibert—recorded with Austrian harpist Ulrike Neubacher (Spektral Records, Germany).

For Debussy’s 150th anniversary, I released CLAUDE DEBUSSY – la musique à moi, a CD/book introducing Debussy’s life and music to a broader audience. Debussy was the very first of the greatest composers I deeply connected with; his music consists a steady inspiration source. I felt compelled to present his work to non-specialists. (Utopia Records, Greece)

My most recent project is Opus ALEXANDRINUM a CD/book documenting the rich musical heritage of the Greek community in Alexandria, Egypt. This four-year endeavor —that included a profound musicological research—was born during the pandemic and celebrates composers related to this cosmopolitan society. I am particularly proud of this project; it has enriched the discography/bibliography and has aroused the interest of a large audience (Hellenic Foundation for Culture, Greece).

I’ve also participated in recordings of contemporary music with the Greek Radio and TV and Bayerischer Rundfunk in Munich.

Who were your most influential mentors?

I was incredibly fortunate to have been supported from Alain Marion of the Paris Conservatoire, one of the greatest of the French Flute School and an iconic and generous personality, who helped me—as well as many other young musicians around the world—realize my dream of studying in France. He had a huge impact in me; I always remember him with admiration. Important teachers to me have been then in Paris Geneviève Amar and Vicens Prats who helped shape my artistry and discipline, within the French Flute School tradition. Furthermore, I had the chance to enter Prof. Jean-Claude Gérard’s class in Stuttgart, which was a model of excellence —certainly one of the best in Europe—, with gifted flutists from all over the world learning from one another. The way Prof. Gérard coordinated this outstanding class has deeply influenced me. I carry that same spirit into my own class at the Athens Conservatoire.

Outside of flute professors, Maria Callas has undoubtedly exerted a huge influence on me. I spent countless hours studying her phrasing, vocal colors, and ability to embody musical characters. I say to my students, that she is my greatest teacher! 

Likewise, by studying the oeuvre of conductors Dimitri Mitropoulos, Sergiu Celibidache, Valery Gergiev, pianists Sviatoslav Richter and Bill Evans, composer Töru Takemitsu I found the substantiality, the inwardness and inner set-up I could identified with.

What do you enjoy most about teaching?

There are two main types of teaching: giving feedback in a masterclass setting, and building a student over years into a well-rounded artist. In the first case, knowledge experience and intuition are required in order to efficiently diagnose and motivate; though, that is rather the pleasant way to teach, since the instructor does not necessarily bears further responsibility for the progress of the taught person. The second way is far more demanding but also deeply fulfilling.

Actually, I love and cope with all teaching circumstances. I’ve taught all kinds of students over the past 30 years—academic, professional, amateur, young and older. In all cases, my target is that someone leaves a lesson with fresh insight and new tools to evolve.

However, undertaking the Flute Class at the Athens Conservatoire —the oldest educational institution for performing arts in modern Greece—was of great emotional significance and what fulfills me the most. It's where I first studied music as a 10-year-old. Now, I pour all my heart, vision, and experience into guiding the next generation of Greek flutists.

What advice would you offer to a young flutist?

First: work intensely and don’t give up after your first failures. Talent alone doesn’t guarantee success—persistence, curiosity, and emotional resilience matter just as much, if not even more.

Second: pursue a wide education. Read about art, history, philosophy, and society. Broaden your worldview beyond music. Maurice Béjart insisted that dancers study the humanities, and I fully agree—depth of knowledge shapes interpretation.

Third: stay passionate and humble. The path of music is extremely demanding, but it is deeply rewarding for those who devote themselves and risk.

What’s coming up over the next six months?

  • May 9 – Fin de Siècle concert at Megaron – The Athens Concert Hall, exploring the relationship between Debussy and his predecessors and successors at the turn of the 19th century in Paris, with harpist Sissi Makropoulou, pianist Titos Gouvelis, and narration by actor Yorgos Karamihos.
  • June – Exams and concerts with my Flute Class at the Athens Conservatoire.
  • June 28 – Tribute to Jean-Claude Gérard in Naples, Italy, as part of a Falaut one-day festival with concerts and masterclasses.
  • July 15 – Performance of Tōru Takemitsu’s Toward the Sea in Stuttgart, Germany, with Chinese percussionist Zhe Lin.
  • July–August – Festival season in Greece with several open-air concerts on the islands.
  • Fall – Research and writing for my doctoral dissertation on Takemitsu’s flute compositions. I'm looking forward to this introspective and enriching study period.

What inspires you most in life?

People. Encounters. Generosity. I find inspiration in everyday moments—especially through connecting and exchanging with others. As long as we wake up healthy each day, we have the chance to create perspectives and possibilities for ourselves as well as for the others. That is my life motto!

Can you share five quirky or fun hobbies?

  1. Mountain hiking—like Maestro Dimitri Mitropoulos!
  2. Diving in Greek seas—incomparable balancing source.
  3. Studying Greek history—I even guide friends in museums and around the ruins, ha!
  4. Collecting jazz vinyl—especially big band jazz. I flirt with the idea of taking up the trumpet in retirement!
  5. Wine tasting—preferably at the winery itself!

Any personal or professional goals ahead?

Till now I have achieved to live more or less without regrets or repressed dreams—that’s the ultimate goal. I’ve pursued what I loved, in personal as well as in professional level. I now try not to pressure myself with rigid ambitions. I want to continue creating and teaching, while spending more time in nature. I’m grateful for every day of health and clarity—and for the immense privilege of living well and making music in a world where the majority of people struggle to gain basic human rights.

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