Who to catch at Cyprus’ top chamber music event
For its celebratory 25th anniversary, the International Pharos Chamber Music Festival presents an exceptional breadth of chamber music. From May 29 until June 4, the festival will offer six chamber concerts at the Royal Manor House in Kouklia, performed by 20 of today’s leading international virtuosos. Events will culminate with a spectacular orchestral concert on June 6 at the Pharos Arts Foundation’s open-air venue The Olive Grove, featuring two of the festival’s soloists alongside the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra and the Cyprus Youth Symphony Orchestra.
Continuing its long-standing tradition, the festival maintains a core of musicians who return year after year, enriched by guest soloists, bringing a fresh perspective to each concert. Among the artists making their festival debut this year are violinist Anton Sorokow – renowned soloist and for two decades the First Concertmaster of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra; cellist Claudio Bohórquez – winner of the Geneva, Rostropovich and Pablo Casals Competitions and one of today’s leading cellists with a busy international career spanning the world’s foremost orchestras and festivals; and the legendary violinist Boris Belkin – universally regarded as one of the great performers of our time.
The festival will also welcome the return of three remarkable ladies, all with thriving international careers: cellist Jing Zhao – celebrated for the depth of her musicality and virtuosity; violinist Elly Suh – winner of more than 10 prestigious international competitions and one of today’s foremost interpreters of Paganini; and, after more than a decade, violinist and violist Yura Lee – First Prize winner across four categories at the prestigious ARD Competition, and one of the few artists equally virtuosic on both instruments, with an international career extending over more than three decades.
This year’s festival is marked by a striking wave of debut appearances, including the Venice-born pianist Pietro De Maria – who rose to prominence after winning the Alfred Cortot International Piano Competition at the age of 13 and has since established himself as one of the most acclaimed pianists of his generation; and the outstanding Irish pianist Finghin Collins – who came to international prominence after winning the Clara Haskil Competition in 1999 and has since developed a distinguished international career as one of Ireland’s most significant musical figures.
Joining them is the wonderful young Cypriot pianist Christos Fountos – recent prize-winner at the prestigious Busoni International Piano Competition, who has already established a strong presence as both a soloist and chamber musician.
Another brilliant Cypriot artist returning to the festival is Mavroudes Troullos – established today as one of the most prominent bassoonists of his generation and hailed by the press as “a musician of great sensitivity”.
The festival also welcomes back Niek de Groot – one of the world’s most celebrated double-bassists, known for his close collaboration with composers such as Kurtág, Stockhausen and Gubaidulina, and Enrico Pace – a pianist in constant demand on the international stage as both a soloist and chamber musician, praised for his “lithe, characterful, and sensitive” approach.
The 25th International Pharos Chamber Music Festival will also welcome for the first time Sharon Kam – one of today’s leading clarinettists, who has been described by the press as “a most imaginative and individual artist”; the exciting horn player Ben Goldscheider – Principal Horn of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra; and the sublime soprano Anush Hovhannisyan – a compelling interpreter of emotionally complex repertoire and leading roles across Europe’s most important opera houses for over a decade.
Last but certainly not least, the festival will welcome the exceptional soloists who form the central pillar and the very artistic core of the event each year: the spectacular first concertmaster of the Berlin Philharmonic Daishin Kashimoto; the Artistic Director of the Festival Alexander Chaushian – universally acclaimed as one of the finest cellists of his generation; the talented Italian violinist Fabiana D’Auria; the brilliant violists Diemut Poppen and Samuel Barsegyan.
Following the chamber concerts in Kouklia, the festival will conclude with the gala concert at the Pharos Arts Foundation’s open-air venue The Olive Grove in Delikipos, where violinist Boris Belkin and pianist Finghin Collins will join forces with the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra and the Cyprus Youth Symphony Orchestra – this year’s festival resident ensembles – in a side-by-side performance under the baton of Yiorgos Kountouris.
25th International Pharos Chamber Music Festival
Leading international virtuosos perform live concerts. May 29-June 6. Royal Manor House, Kouklia, Paphos. The Olive Grove, Delikipos, Nicosia district. 8.30pm. www.pharosartsfoundation.org. Tel: 22-663871