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International Pharos Contemporary Music Festival: The International Pharos Contemporary Music Festival returns this fall for another exciting installment presented by the Pharos Arts Foundation. As a reflection of Pharos’s commitment to creativity and originality, this festival of new music was the first of its kind in Cyprus and has since been widely recognized as one of the most innovative annual events in all of Europe.
Cyprus has been exposed to modern music thanks to the International Pharos Contemporary Music Festival, which has been going strong for over a decade and has served as a vital platform for composers to interact with some of the world’s most notable soloists and groups. Numerous underappreciated classics of the twentieth century and compositions by a new generation of composers have had their world premiere performances at the Pharos Contemporary, as have hundreds more throughout the world.
From October 5-14, The Shoe Factory in Nicosia will host the 13th annual International Pharos Contemporary Music Festival. This exciting event will feature four unique and captivating performances, as well as a wide range of multidisciplinary programming, including talks, workshops, and educational events for children.
On Wednesday, October 5, the world-famous Fidelio Trio will play at the festival’s opening night concert. The musicians are passionate advocates of the piano trio form, performing a wide variety of pieces in concert halls across the world. Pieces by Gabriel Faurè, Sofia Gubaidulina, David Fennessy, and Judith Weir will be performed by the Fidelio Trio in their Cyprus debut.
The second event of the festival will take place on October 7 and will feature Dutch pan-flute musician Matthijs Koene for the first time in Cyprus. Koene’s unique vision and technique have greatly expanded the technical and expressive capabilities of this ancient instrument, establishing it firmly in the realm of classical music, and solidifying his reputation as one of the world’s best panpipes performers.
Many contemporary composers have been inspired to write new pieces for panpipes by Koene, whose repertory spans the early Renaissance to the present day. To this day, almost two hundred new compositions have been written specifically for him. In Nicosia, Koene will perform under the auspices of the Dutch embassy, playing pieces by Claude Debussy, Steve Reich, Calliope Tsoupaki, Elvis Sammoutis, Ron Ford, Roderik de Man, and Daan Manneke.
On his 100th birthday, October 12, The Shoe Factory will host the Ergon Ensemble, one of the best Greek contemporary music ensembles. They will be performing works by the iconic 20th-century music pioneer Iannis Xenakis.
In the decades following World War II, Xenakis rose to prominence as a composer, music theorist, mathematician, and architect who pioneered new approaches to these fields. His organic shapes contributed poetry to postwar architecture, and his dazzling mathematical calculations forever changed the face of music.
Audiences and musicians alike are moved by the fiery intensity of his music, which he channels via shimmering strings, booming percussion, and emotive vocals based on his unique vision and boundless creativity. This interesting event, which will focus on Xenakis’s lesser-known works, has been sponsored by the Greek Embassy.
Two days later, on the last day of the festival, you can hear the exhilarating sounds of Trio Zukan, one of the most prominent and experimental bands of the Basque Country’s current music scene, created by the odd mix of accordion, percussion, and txistu (traditional Basque flute that can be played with one hand, leaving the other one free to play a percussion instrument).
Presented by the Embassy of Spain, the event will showcase works by Salvatore Sciarrino, Georges Aperghis, Elvis Sammoutis, Mara Eugenia Luc, Francisco Dominguez, and Mikel Chamizo.
