Pulling the levers of sound: Inside Greece’s largest organ

The organ in the Christos Lambrakis Hall at the Athens Concert Hall resembles a building "a musical apartment complex," as soloist Ourania Gassiou describes it. At first, only a tiny light illuminated its four keyboards, while faint notes of Bach's "Passacaglia and Fugue" emerged from its massive pipes. But step inside - unlock a side door, venture beneath its three hidden tiers - and this mighty colossus becomes tactile. Its sound passes through 6,080 pipes, ranging in size from mere millimeters to nearly 5 meters. Unlike the piano, Gassiou explains, the organ has infinite voices. Its levers, or registers, breathe life into sounds that might evoke trumpets, flutes, or a wholly unique melody: an orchestra at your fingertips. During her December 23 recital, Gassiou's selections bridge Bach, and Hans Zimmer's "Interstellar" as well as Handel, Corelli and others, showcasing both the...