In 2008, at the suggestion of the trumpet player Otto Sauter and in intensive collaboration with him, Mikis Theodorakis composed the four-movement Rhapsody for trumpet and orchestra. The world premiere of the almost 30-minute work took place in Cologne on 9 October 2008, with Otto Sauter on the trumpet of course. In an interview the soloist said about the composition: 'While I am working on Mikis' new work, I am breathing the scent of the cypresses, hearing the sound of the Aegean Sea, feeling Mikis Theodorakis in every single note.' The piano reduction is aimed particularly at the young generation of artists who cannot fall back on an orchestra, in order to enable them to perform even individual movements of this effective work at the competition 'Jugend musiziert' for example.