23rd International Pharos Chamber Music Festival

One of the most anticipated events in the international music calendar, renowned for its outstanding performances, fascinating programme and captivating ambiance, the International Pharos Chamber Music Festival is organised for the 23rd year, at the Royal Manor House of Kouklia, one of the finest surviving monuments of Frankish architecture in Cyprus and a UNESCO World Heritage site.

VIEW THIS YEAR’S FESTIVAL PROGRAMME AND ARTISTS

The 23rd International Pharos Chamber Music Festival encompasses seven concerts during the last week of May and first day of June – specifically on 24, 25, 26, 28, 29, 31 May & 1 June 2024. As always, the Festival will offer a stunning array of chamber music repertoire, performed by some of the world’s leading virtuosos. The Festival maintains a core of musicians who return every year, while also welcoming guest soloists who visit our island for the very first time, infusing each concert with a fresh and unique perspective.

The Pharos Arts Foundation is proud to announce that all the concerts of the 23rd International Pharos Chamber Music Festival will be recorded by NAXOS, which is travelling to Cyprus especially to cover the Festival.

Among the guest artists who will make their debut appearance at the Festival are three exceptional pianists, set to fascinate the audience with their supreme performances: Regarded nowadays as one of the most outstanding pianists in the world, and renowned for her refined artistry and astounding technical control, Yeol Eum Son first attracted international attention as a prize winner in the 2009 Van Cliburn Competition, and subsequently at the 2011 International Tchaikovsky Competition. The Argentinean José Gallardo is one of the most sought-after chamber music pianists worldwide, with frequent appearances in the most important international festivals and venues, and with a rich discography of over 20 releases. The 18-year-old prodigy Dmitry Ishkhanov is an outstanding interpreter of classical music, who made his debut at the age of 14 at Carnegie Hall, performing Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No.2, and has since appeared with many of the world’s leading orchestras.

The Festival will also welcome for the first time the remarkable Ukrainian-German violinist Diana Tishchenko, who since her victory at the prestigious International Competition Grand Prix Jaques Thibaud in Paris, has established herself as one of the most outstanding musicians in Europe; the fascinating French violinist Mohamed Hiber – Concertmaster of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra under Daniel Barenboim; and the celebrated violin virtuoso Svetlin Roussev, who following his winning the First Prize at the prestigious Sendai International Competition in 2001, enjoys an impressive international career with frequent appearances in the world’s major concert halls. The Pharos Festival will also welcome back, seven years after her Cyprus debut, violinist Clara-Jumi Kang – an artist of supreme musicality, impeccable refinement, and poise, borne out by the many awards and accolades she has received since she first burst on the scene as winner of the Indianapolis International Violin Competition and the Sendai Violin Competition in 2010. 

The International Pharos Chamber Music Festival is delighted to also present three exceptionally gifted musicians who will share the stage in Kouklia for the first time: the renowned for his musical endeavours that extend beyond the traditional boundaries of playing an instrument, violist Gareth Lubbe; the renowned German cellist Jens Peter Maintz – ECHO-Klassik award winner, and previously, First Prize winner in the notable ARD International Music Competition; the talented Cypriot bassoonist Mavroudes Troullos – First Prize winner in the Grand Prize Virtuoso International Music Competitions in Amsterdam, Paris and London.

For the second year, the International Pharos Chamber Music Festival will host the principal oboist of the legendary Dresden Staatskapelle Orchestra and one of the leading oboists in the world Céline Moinet, and the chief conductor and artistic director of the Lisbon Chamber Orchestra, violist Samuel Barsegian; and twelve years after his last appearance in the Festival, the return visit of the exciting clarinettist Chen Halevi – notable for his impressive range of repertoire from Baroque to contemporary and his pioneering approach to performance.

As always, as the Festival will welcome the exceptional soloists who form the core and the backbone of the event each year: the Artistic Director of the Festival, cellist Alexander Chaushian, the incredible violinist Boris Brovtsyn, violists Diemut Poppen and David Abrahamyan, and the outstanding cellist Tim Park and double-bassist Nabil Shehata.

With this extraordinary lineup of world-class musicians, the 23rd International Pharos Chamber Music Festival promises to be an unforgettable experience that will leave a lasting impression on all those who will attend.


FRIDAY 24 MAY

 

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

Oboe Quartet in F major, K. 370/368b (1781)

Céline Moinet (oboe), Mohamed Hiber (violin), Diemut Poppen (viola), Alexander Chaushian (cello)

 

Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

Overture in C minor, D.8 (1811)

Diana Tishchenko (violin), Mohamed Hiber (violin), Samuel Barsegian (viola), David Abrahamyan (viola), Alexander Chaushian (cello)

 

Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921)

Quartet for Piano & Strings in B-flat major, Op.41 (1875)

Dmitry Ishkhanov (piano), Mohamed Hiber (violin), Gareth Lubbe (viola), Alexander Chaushian (cello)

 

 

SATURDAY 25 MAY

 

Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975)

Piano Trio No.1 in C minor, Op.8 (1923)

Diana Tishchenko (violin), Dmitry Ishkhanov (piano), Jens Peter Maintz (cello)

 

Bohuslav Martinů (1890 – 1959)

Quatre Madrigaux for Oboe, Clarinet & Bassoon (1937)

Céline Moinet (oboe), Chen Halevi (clarinet), Mavroudes Troullos (bassoon)

 

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

Clarinet Quintet in A major, K.581 (1789)

Chen Halevi (clarinet), Mohamed Hiber (violin), Diana Tishchenko (violin), Gareth Lubbe (viola), Jens Peter Maintz (cello)

 

 

SUNDAY 26 MAY

 

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

String Trio in G major, Op.9, No.1 (1797/8)

Diana Tishchenko (violin), Diemut Poppen (viola), Jens Peter Maintz (cello)

 

Jacques Ibert (1890-1962),

Cinq Pièces en Trio (1936) 

Céline Moinet (oboe), Chen Halevi (clarinet), Mavroudes Troullos (bassoon)

 

Francis Poulenc (1899-1963)

Trio for Oboe, Bassoon & Piano, FP 43 (1926)

Céline Moinet (oboe), Mavroudes Troullos (bassoon), Dmitry Ishkhanov (piano)

 

Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

Adagio e Rondo Concertante for Piano Quartet, in F major, D.487 (1816)

José Gallardo (piano), Diana Tishchenko (violin), David Abrahamyan (viola), Alexander Chaushian (cello)

 

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)

String Sextet in B-flat major No.1, Op.18 (1860)

Diana Tishchenko (violin), Mohamed Hiber (violin), Samuel Barsegian (viola), Gareth Lubbe (viola), Jens Peter Maintz (cello), Alexander Chaushian (cello)

 

 

TUESDAY 28 MAY

 

Louis Spohr (1784-1859)

Fantasy & Variations for Clarinet & Strings, Op.81 (1813)

Chen Halevi (clarinet), Diana Tishchenko (violin), Mohamed Hiber (violin), David Abrahamyan (viola), Alexander Chaushian (cello), Nabil Shehata (double-bass)

 

Antonin Dvořák (1841-1904)

Piano Trio No.4 in E Minor, Op.90 "Dumky" (1891)

Yeol Eum Son (piano), Svetlin Roussev (violin), Alexander Chaushian (cello)

 

Andreas Tsiartas (b.1986)

Threnodia for Cello (2023) world premiere

Alexander Chaushian (cello)

 

Mikhail Glinka (1804-1857)

Grand Sextet in E-flat major (1832)

José Gallardo (piano), Boris Brovtsyn (violin), Mohamed Hiber (violin), Samuel Barsegian (viola), Alexander Chaushian (cello), Nabil Shehata (double-bass)

 

 

WEDNESDAY 29 MAY

 

J.S. Bach (1685-1750)

Sonata No.2 in D major, BWV 1028 (circa 1730/40)

Clara-Jumi Kang (violin) , Viola Diemut Poppen (viola), Jens Peter Maintz (cello)

 

Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)

Piano Trio No.1 in D minor, Op.49 (1839)

Yeol Eum Son (piano), Svetlin Roussev (violin), Tim Park (cello)

 

Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897- 1957)

Piano Quintet in E major, Op.15 (1921)

Clara-Jumi Kang (violin), Boris Brovtsyn (violin), Gareth Lubbe (viola), Tim Park (cello), Yeol Eum Son (piano)

 

 

FRIDAY 31 MAY

 

Johann Michael Haydn (1737-1806)

Divertimento in C major for Trio, MH 27 (1758/60)

Mohamed Hiber (violin), Tim Park (cello), Nabil Shehata (double-bass)

 

Louise Farrenc (1804-1875)

Piano Quintet No.1 in A minor, Op.30 (1842)

José Gallardo (piano), Clara-Jumi Kang (violin), Boris Brovtsyn (violin), Gareth Lubbe (viola), Alexander Chaushian (cello), Nabil Shehata (double-bass)

 

Alexander Borodin (1833-1887)

String Sextet in D minor – unfinished (1860)

Boris Brovtsyn (violin), Svetlin Roussev (violin), Samuel Barsegian (viola), David Abrahamyan (viola), Alexander Chaushian (cello), Tim Park (cello)

 

Max Bruch (1838-1920)

Octet for Strings in B-flat major (1920)

Svetlin Roussev (violin), Diana Tishchenko (violin),  Clara-Jumi Kang (violin), Mohamed Hiber (violin),  Diemut Poppen (viola), David Abrahamyan (viola), Tim Park (cello), Nabil Shehata (double-bass)

 

 

SATURDAY 1 JUNE

 

Zoltán Kodály (1882-1967)

Serenade for Two Violins and Viola, Op.12 (1920)

Boris Brovtsyn (violin), Clara-Jumi Kang (violin), Gareth Lubbe (viola)

 

Reinhold Glière (1875-1956)

String Octet in D major, Op.5 (1900)

Boris Brovtsyn (violin), Mohamed Hiber (violin), Clara-Jumi Kang (violin), Diana Tishchenko (violin),  Gareth Lubbe (viola), David Abrahamyan (viola), Tim Park (cello), Alexander Chaushian (cello)

 

Johann Hummel (1778-1837)

Quintet for Piano, Violin, Viola, Cello & Double-bass in E-flat, Op.87 (1802)

José Gallardo (piano), Svetlin Roussev (violin), David Abrahamyan (viola), Tim Park (cello), Nabil Shehata (double-bass)

 

 

 

Chen Halevi
clarinet
Céline Moinet
oboe
Alexander Chaushian
cello
Tim Park
cello
Jens Peter Maintz
cello
David Abrahamyan
viola
Samuel Barsegian
viola
Diemut Poppen
viola
Gareth Lubbe
viola
Boris Brovtsyn
violin
Clara-Jumi Kang
violin
Mohamed Hiber
violin
Diana Tishchenko
violin
Svetlin Roussev
violin
Dmitry Ishkhanov
piano
Yeol Eum Son
piano
Nabil Shehata
Double Basist
Mavroudes Troullos
Bassoon
José Gallardo
Pianist
Standard
€20
Concessions & Members
€15