Intimate musical moments

The fifteenth International Pharos Chamber Music Festival moves from Nicosia to Paphos on Monday where six chamber concerts will be given over the week.

Like every year, the highlight of the festival is the series of chamber concerts taking place in the Royal Manor House in Kouklia, with some of the world’s top soloists. Over the week, the Royal Manor House will be transformed into a first-class concert hall to host these concerts.

During those six days, a number of world-renowned musicians will join forces for an extensive and impressive array of works, ranging from Richard Strauss’ epic Metamorphosen for Strings and Shostakovich’s Octet to Schonberg’s Verklärte Nacht, from Britten’s Pushkin songs to Brahms’ Trio and Quintet for Horn.

Along with the Festival’s regular guests – distinguished cellist and artistic director of the Festival Alexander Chaushian, Concertmaster of the Berlin Philharmonic Daishin Kashimoto, the impressive violinist Boris Brovtsyn, violinist Levon Chilingirian, violist Diemut Poppen, and the “endlessly fascinating” pianist Ashley Wass – this year’s Festival will also host pianists Alessio Bax and Vanessa Benelli Mosell, who has been praised by musicians such as Karlheinz Stockhausen for her virtuosity and musical insight; Grammy-nominated violist and conductor Maxim Rysanov, who has established himself as one of the world’s most vibrant and charismatic musicians; violinist/violist Yura Lee, celebrated internationally for her musical integrity and compelling artistry; the exciting Marc Coppey, one of today’s leading cellists; the charismatic double-bass player Hayk Khachatryan; one of the greatest flutists of our time, the Italian Massimo Mercelli; leading horn-player Radovan Vlatković, and the talented Cypriot soprano Margarita Elia.

A full programme can be found at http://www.pharosartsfoundation.org/.

Fifteenth International Pharos Chamber Music Festival
Six chamber concerts in Kouklia. May 25-30. Royal Manor House, Kouklia, Paphos. 8.30pm. €15/10. Tel: 22-663871

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