Symbiosis

11-19 August 2023

In a world where most of us focus on how to reach our highest possible individual success at any cost, we often forget to remember how dependent we are on the planet that we live on, yet tend to exploit. It is the very land, water and air that we so often take for granted, that actually give us the opportunity to lead our lives in the first place. This is why, in this year, we want to explore the theme “Symbiosis”.

Symbiosis, derived from the Ancient Greek words “syn“, meaning “together”, and “vios“, meaning “life”, is a reminder of the importance of working with each other instead of against each other. 

With our growing technological capabilities it is easy to forget just how much we need nature for our inner peace and health. We lose our connection to nature at our own peril. Climate change is not only a consequence of our own greed but a loss of interacting with nature in a way that used to be intrinsic. We all reconnect to this feeling instantly when we are awed by the majestic view from the top of a mountain or when we are humbled by gazing at the horizon across the seemingly infinite ocean. 

This year we want to focus on honouring and reconnecting with the magic of nature and find a way to live with it in harmony once again.

11.08

Undying Hope

KREMASTI STONE BRIDGE – AGIA PARASKEVI
11.08 > 20:15

Admission free

  • REINHOLD GLIÈRE (1875-1962)
    Εight Pieces for Violin and Cello, Op. 39
    1. Prelude
    2. Gavotte
    3. Berceusse
    4. Canzonetta
    5. Intermezzo
    6. Impromptu
    7. Scherzo
    8. EtudeEUGÈNE YSAŸE (1858-1931)
    Violin Sonata in D Minor, Op. 27, No. 3, “Ballade”

    JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685-1750)
    Cello Suite No. 4 in E-flat Major, BWV 1010
    2. Allemande
    3. Courante

    NICCOLÒ PAGANINI (1782-1840)
    Caprice for Solo Violin in A Major, Op. 1, No. 21

  • Stavros Samaras violin
    Εvripidis Samaras cello
12.08

The world as undivided unity

Castle of Mytilene
12.08 > 20:15

Admission free

  • CLAUDE DEBUSSY (1862-1918)
    Sonata for Cello and Piano in D Minor, L. 135
    1. Prologue. Lent
    2. Sérénade: Modérément animé
    3. Finale. AniméCÉSAR FRANCK (1822-1890)
    Sonata for Violin and Piano in A Major
    1. Allegretto ben moderato
    2. AllegroJOHANNES BRAHMS (1833-1897)
    Hungarian Dances for Piano Four Hands, WoO 1 (book 1)
    1. Allegro molto
    2. Allegro non assai
    3. Allegretto
    4. Poco sostenuto
    5. Allegro
  • Stavros Samaras violin
    Εvripidis Samaras cello
    Danae & Kiveli Dörken piano
14.08

TRYFON ART RESIDENCY
14.08 > 21:00

Admission free

RICHARD STRAUSS (1864-1949)

 

Enoch Arden

Based on the homonymous narrative poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson

 

Pygmalion Dadakaridis narrator
Theodore Tzovanakis
 piano

Directed and translated by Lefteris Giovanidis

An extraordinary and touching love story

The poem “Enoch Arden” (1864) by Alfred Lord Tennyson, inspired Richard Strauss to compose a unique piece for narrator and piano in 1897. The first actor to ever perform the text was the German Ernst von Possart. The work was popular in its day, but fell into obscurity when times changed and recitations and melodramas began to be considered outdated. In more recent years, it has attracted a number of notable performers in both the role of narrator and pianist. The audience is invited into a peculiar journey. The life and emotional coming of age of Enoch, a stoic young man, an almost biblical figure with unquestionable moral values and infinite goodness. Three children live carefree lives in the woods, but as they grow up they are confronted with the struggle for survival and the perishable nature of human existence. Two boys who fall in love with the same girl, grow up to become two men in love with the same woman. The woman is asked to choose. The atmosphere of the play darkens as daily hardships, sickness, and exile pose a series of trials for the characters in the story. As is so often the case, in the midst of bleak despair, unconditional love shines through and despite the adversity, it prevails. Enoch, like Odysseus, goes away on a ship trip, Anna remains faithful, awaiting his return, while a suitor of ‘another era’ besieges her. As the story unfolds, we follow Enoch’s adventures, his resourcefulness in the face of adversity, his determined desire to return. The situation is presented without idealization, in a style befitting the Victorian ethos and lyricism of a poet of Tennyson’s stature. We thus have the opportunity to see the world through the eyes of all three of the story’s heroes, to understand their dilemmas, their ontological ruptures and the robustness of their decisions. Poetry meets music, rhythmic speech and melody become one, together they project every conscious and unconscious choice, evoking intense emotion.

The performance premiered in September 2022 in Piraeus as a co-production between the Athens Concert Hall and the Municipal Theatre of Piraeus.

14.08

DELFINIA HOTEL / SEAFRONT PARK
14.08 > 21:00

BUY TICKET

RICHARD STRAUSS (1864-1949)

Enoch Arden

Based on the homonymous narrative poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson

Pygmalion Dadakaridis narrator
Theodore Tzovanakis
 piano

Directed and translated by Lefteris Giovanidis

An extraordinary and touching love story

The poem “Enoch Arden” (1864) by Alfred Lord Tennyson, inspired Richard Strauss to compose a unique piece for narrator and piano in 1897. The first actor to ever perform the text was the German Ernst von Possart. The work was popular in its day, but fell into obscurity when times changed and recitations and melodramas began to be considered outdated. In more recent years, it has attracted a number of notable performers in both the role of narrator and pianist. The audience is invited into a peculiar journey. The life and emotional coming of age of Enoch, a stoic young man, an almost biblical figure with unquestionable moral values and infinite goodness. Three children live carefree lives in the woods, but as they grow up they are confronted with the struggle for survival and the perishable nature of human existence. Two boys who fall in love with the same girl, grow up to become two men in love with the same woman. The woman is asked to choose. The atmosphere of the play darkens as daily hardships, sickness, and exile pose a series of trials for the characters in the story. As is so often the case, in the midst of bleak despair, unconditional love shines through and despite the adversity, it prevails. Enoch, like Odysseus, goes away on a ship trip, Anna remains faithful, awaiting his return, while a suitor of ‘another era’ besieges her. As the story unfolds, we follow Enoch’s adventures, his resourcefulness in the face of adversity, his determined desire to return. The situation is presented without idealization, in a style befitting the Victorian ethos and lyricism of a poet of Tennyson’s stature. We thus have the opportunity to see the world through the eyes of all three of the story’s heroes, to understand their dilemmas, their ontological ruptures and the robustness of their decisions. Poetry meets music, rhythmic speech and melody become one, together they project every conscious and unconscious choice, evoking intense emotion.

The performance premiered in September 2022 in Piraeus as a co-production between the Athens Concert Hall and the Municipal Theatre of Piraeus.

16.08

ALIENATION

DELFINIA HOTEL / SEAFRONT PARK
16.08 > 21:00

BUY TICKET

  • DAVID ORLOWSKY
    Lyra for Clarinet and String Quartet
  • David Orlowsky, clarinet
    Noé Inui, violin
    Kirill Troussov, violin
    Lech Antonio Uszynski, viola
    Benedict Klöckner, cello

 

  • MAURICE RAVEL
    Kaddisch, from Deux Mélodies Hébraïques, for Soprano and String Quartet
    (Kaddisch, from Two Hebrew Songs)
  • Danae Kontora, soprano
    Noé Inui, violin
    Kirill Troussov, violin
    Lech Antonio Uszynski, viola
    Benedict Klöckner, cello

 

  • FRANZ SCHUBERT
    String Quintet in C Μajor, D. 956
    1. Allegro ma non troppo
    2. Adagio
    3. Presto – Trio. Andante sostenuto
    4. Allegretto – Più allegro
  • Antje Weithaas, violin
    Tobias Feldmann, violin
    Muriel Razavi, viola
    Benedict Klöckner, cello
    Isang Enders, cello
17.08

COEXISTENCE

DELFINIA HOTEL / SEAFRONT PARK
17.08 > 21:00

BUY TICKET

  • ROBERT SCHUMANN
    Vogel als Prophet, from Waldszenen, Op. 82, for Solo Piano
    (Bird as Prophet, from Forest Scenes)
  • Danae Dörken, piano

 

  • CAMILLE SAINT-SAËNS
    Le Rossignol et la Rose, from Parysatis, for Soprano and Piano
    (The Nightingale and the Rose, from Parysatis)
  • Danae Kontora, soprano
    Kiveli Dörken, piano

 

  • OLIVIER MESSIAEN 1908-1992)
    Abîme des Oiseaux
    from Quatuor pour la Fin du Temps, for Solo Clarinet
    (Abyss of the Birds, from Quartet for the End of Time)
  • David Orlowsky, clarinet

 

  • FRANZ SCHUBERT
    An die Nachtigall, D. 497
    (Το the Nightingale)
    Text by Matthias Claudius
  • Danae Kontora, soprano
    Kiveli Dörken, piano

 

  • ALBAN BERG
    Die Nachtigall, from Sieben frühe Lieder
    (The Nightingale, from Seven Early Songs)
    Text by Theodor Storm
  • Danae Kontora, soprano
    Kiveli Dörken, piano

 

  • DIMITRIS PAPADIMITRIOU (b. 1959)
    Endogenesis – Ontogenesis
    The Flight of the Eagle
    World Premiere
  • David Orlowsky, clarinet
    Noé Inui, violin
    Stavros Samaras, violin
    Muriel Razavi, viola
    Lech Antonio Uszynski, viola
    Benedict Klöckner, cello
    Evripidis Samaras, cello
    Kiveli Dörken, piano
    Danae Dörken, piano

 

  • LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN
    Piano Trio in D Major, Op. 70, No. 1, “Ghost”
    1. Allegro vivace e con brio
    2. Largo assai ed espressivo
    3. Presto
  • Tobias Feldmann, violin
    Isang Enders, cello
    Danae Dörken, piano
18.08

SURVIVAL

TRYFON ART RESIDENCY
18.08 > 21:00

BUY TICKET

  • SERGEY RACHMANINOFF
    Vocalise, Op. 34, No. 14 for Soprano and Piano
  • Danae Kontora, soprano
    anae Dörken, piano

 

  •  DAVID ORLOWSKY
    Clockmaker for Clarinet, Two Violins, Viola and Cello
  • David Orlowsky, clarinet
    Noé Inui, violin
    Kirill Troussov, violin
    Lech Antonio Uszynski, viola
    Isang Enders, cello

 

  • PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY
    Piano Trio in A Minor, Op. 50
  • Kirill Troussov, violin
    Benedict Klöckner, cello
    Kiveli Dörken, piano
19.08

HARMONY

DELFINIA HOTEL / SEAFRONT PARK
19.08 > 21:00

BUY TICKET

  • ARVO PÄRT
    Spiegel im Spiegel for Clarinet and Piano
    (Mirror in the Mirror)
  • David Orlowsky, clarinet
    Danae Dörken, piano

 

  • JOHN CAGE
    4’33’’
    LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN
    Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, “Pastoral”
    Arrangement for string sextet by Michael Gotthard Fischer
  • Antje Weithaas, violin
    Noé Inui, violin
    Lech Antonio Uszynski, viola
    Muriel Razavi, viola
    Isang Enders, cello
    Benedict Klöckner, cello

Pygmalion Dadakaridis

Actor

Pygmalion Dadakaridis

Pygmalion Dadakaridis

Actor

He graduated from the Drama School “Themelio” of Nikos Vastardis in 1999. Ιn 2020  he won the Best Lead Actor Award for his performance in the film Eftychia, from the Hellenic Film Academy. He performed in many plays, such as The Ghost Sonata, Don Juan, Philoctetes, La poudre aux yeux, Thesmophoriazusae (Women at the Thesmophoria), Tonight We Dine at Jocasta’s, Black Comedy, Le dîner de cons, Couple of the Year, Iphigenia in Tauris, The Birthday Party, Enigma Variations, A View from the Bridge. He has appeared in many Greek television series and films.

Danae Dörken

Piano

Danae Dörken

Danae Dörken

Piano

danae-doerken.com

© Ervis Zika

Called “the discovery of the year” by classical music magazine Crescendo and “on her way to the very top” by Concerti magazine, German-Greek pianist Danae Dörken (b. 1991) is among the elite of internationally acclaimed artists of a new generation, electrifying audiences and peer musicians alike with her stunning technical skills, exceptional charisma, and great profundity of her musical thinking. A uniquely gifted talent at very young age, Danae Dörken received the support of Lord Yehudi Menuhin when she was seven, and soon began to cause a stir at major European venues with her “sparkling joy of playing” (Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger). Following her studies with the internationally venerated teacher Karl-Heinz Kämmerling and with Lars Vogt, she is today a regular guest of major orchestras, including the Munich Symphony, Royal Northern Sinfonia, Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Norrlandsoperan Symphony and Düsseldorf Symphony Orchestra. She has performed to great critical acclaim at London’s Wigmore Hall, the Vienna Konzerthaus, Mozarteum Salzburg, KKL Lucerne, Cologne Philharmonie, Philharmonie Essen, at Gasteig in Munich, Konzerthaus Berlin, Bozar Brussels, the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Alte Oper Frankfurt, and Beethoven-Haus Bonn. Danae Dörken also performs regularly at major festivals, including Kissinger Sommer, Schwetzingen Festival, LuganoMusica, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Piano Espoo Finland, Piano aux Jacobins in Toulouse, at the Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the Rheingau Musik Festival, Lucerne Piano Festival and the renowned Spannungen Festival in Heimbach. Danae Dörken’s groundbreaking recording of piano concertos by Mozart and Mendelssohn (with Royal Northern Sinfonia) was released in 2016, to raving critical acclaim. Previously, her solo recording of fantasies by Schumann, Schubert und C.P.E. Bach (ARS Produktion) was nominated for an ICMA Award. Her 2012 debut CD, featuring solo works by Leoš Janáček (also on ARS Produktion), received equally enthusiastic reviews. Her new duo album Appolo & Dionysus, recorded whith her sister Kiveli, was recently released by Berlin Classics. Of Greek descent, Danae Dörken founded the Molyvos International Music Festival (MIMF) in 2015 together with her sister Kiveli and Dimitris Tryfon on the island of Lesbos.

Kiveli Dörken

Piano

Kiveli Dörken

Kiveli Dörken

Piano

kiveli-doerken.com

© Giorgia Bertazzi

Kiveli Dörken’s temperament, passion and dedication to music is palpable in every one of her concerts. With her infectious enthusiasm and captivating presence, she values a close contact with her audience, often addressing the listeners first, before sitting down at the piano and pushing the boundaries of sound diversity and artistic expression. Kiveli Dörken (b. 1995) began her musical path as a seven-year old student of the renowned piano pedagogue Professor Karl-Heinz Kämmerling. She continued her musical education with Professor Lars Vogt at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien in Hanover  where she is studying until today. She is a member of the TONAListen agency, and has received scholarships and support from various foundations, such as the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben, the renowned Spannungen Festival, the International Musikadamie in Liechtenstein and the Werner Richard-Dr. Carl Dörken Stiftung (no relation). At the age of eight she gave her orchestral debut. She has since performed as a soloist with orchestras such as the Hamburger Camerata, the Camerata Bern and the Athens State Orchestra. In 2019 Kiveli Dörken gave her debut with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen playing César Franck’s Variations Symphoniques under the direction of conductor Alondra de la Parra. She has performed in most European countries, China and the United States of America, in some of the most famous halls, the Elbphilarmonie, the Mariinsky-Theatre in St. Petersburg, the Gewandhaus Leipzig, the Konzerthaus Berlin and the Alte Oper Frankfurt, to name just a few, and is a regular guest at many prestigious festivals, like the Kissinger Sommer, the Schwetzingen Festival, the Spannungen Festival in Heimbach and the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival. Highlights of her early career were performances for the Dalai Lama in 2007 and for the German chancellor Angela Merkel in Washington, D.C., in 2009. Kiveli Dörken dedicates a considerable amount of her time to playing chamber music. She performs regularly with artists such as Christian Tetzlaff, Sharon Kam, Maximilian Hornung and Tanja Tetzlaff. Together with her sister Danae Dörken, she has been playing as a piano duo since the age of five. In 2015, she founded the Molyvos International Music Festival (MIMF) on the Greek island of Lesbos, of which she is also the artistic director. The MIMF does not only bring the tradition of classical music to Lesbos, but it has also become a symbol of hope for the entire region. In 2022, Kiveli Dörken released her debut CD with the label ARS Produktion featuring solo and chamber music works by Josef Suk. Together with her sister Danae they have recorded a new album, Appolo & Dionysus, released by Berlin Classics, featuring works of Ravel, Debussy, Brahms, De Falla, Theodorakis et al

Isang Enders

Cello

Isang Enders

Isang Enders

Cello

Isang Enders was appointed Principal Cello of the Staatskapelle Dresden at the age of twenty, making him the youngest section leader in Germany. After four years, however, Isang decided to embark on a solo career. Ever since he performed as soloist with conductors like Zubin Mehta, Christoph Eschenbach, and Eliahu Inbal. Isang’s recording of the Bach cello suites has received unanimous critical acclaim and his dedication for contemporary music gave him the opportunity to perform the Cello Concerto by Unsuk Chin in Tokyo, São Paolo, and Paris. Ever since Isang could be heard regularly at London Wigmore Hall, as well as the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, amongst others. In addition to his standard repertoire, Isang devotes himself to performing contemporary commissions and chamber music, especially as a member of the Sitkovetsky Trio. Some of his collaborators are the pianists Kit Armstrong, Igor Levit and Sunwook Kim but also Veronika Eberle, Ning Feng or the guitarist Sean Shibe. Isang got awarded for his numerous recording projects with the Diapason d’Or Arte, Opus Klassik and BBC Music Magazine Award. He currently plays a cello by Carlo Tononi, Venice 1720, loaned by a generous sponsor through the J & A Beare Violin Society.

Tobias Feldmann

Violin

Tobias Feldmann

Tobias Feldmann

Violin

Tobias Feldmann is one of the most renowned musicians of his generation. Awarded at the Queen Elisabeth Competition, at the Joseph Joachim International Violin Competition in Hanover and as a winner of the German Music Competition, his career has since achieved international reach and recognition. He has had great success as a soloist in collaborations with the NDR Radiophilharmonie in Hanover, the BBC Philharmonic, the Helsinki Philharmonic, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Frankfurt Opera and Museum Orchestra, the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra and the Konzerthausorchester Berlin. A passionate chamber musician, he can already look back on concerts in the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Konzerthaus Wien, the Berliner Philharmonie, the Kumho Art Hall Seoul and at renowned festivals such as the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Schubertiade Hohenems and Lockenhaus Chamber Music Festival. In 2018, at the age of only twenty-six, he was appointed to a professorship at the Würzburg University of Music. He has been teaching at the Leipzig University of Music since 2022. He plays a violin made by Niccolò Gagliano (Naples, 1769).

Lefteris Giovanidis

Lefteris Giovanidis

Lefteris Giovanidis

Lefteris Giovanidis was the Αrtistic Director of the Municipal Theatre of Piraeus (2020-2023) and of the Municipal and Regional Theatre of Kozani (2018-2020). He studied at the Athens Drama School – Giorgios Theodosiadis and he graduated in 1995. In 1997 he moved to New York, USA, to study stage directing at Michael Howard Studio and Herbert Berghof Studio. He also attended classes at the Actor’s Studio NYC. Up to now Giovanidis has directed more than forty-nine plays, has translated in Greek more than fifteen plays, and has made six adaptations of books for theatre. He had been teaching drama and improvisation at the Drama School of the National Theatre of Northern Greece. Giovanidis has collaborated with many theatres and institutions, such as the National Theatre of Greece, the National Theatre of Northern Greece, Croatian National Theatre (Gradsko kazalište Marina Držića), Patras Municipal and Regional Theatre, Foundation of the Hellenic World, Michael Cacoyannis Foundation, Athens Epidaurus Festival etc.

Noé Inui

Violin

Noé Inui

Noé Inui

Violin

noeinui.com

© Jetta Deplazes

For anyone new to violinist Noé Inui, the wide variety of influences that have shaped his character and career may surprise. To Noé, born in Brussels in 1985 to a Greek mother and a Japanese father, it is as logical and organic as breathing. His talents have been recognised internationally, at the 2005 Sibelius Competition (Special Prize for Young Talents), the 2007 Louis Spohr Medal, and the 2009 Young Concert Artists / New York among others. At the Verbier Festival Academy in 2012, he was awarded the coveted Prix Julius Bär. In 2020, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam selected Noé as one of their Classical Futures Europe Artists. Orchestral collaborations include the Japan Philharmonic, Tokyo Symphony, as well as Kaohsiung Symphony, National Orchestra of Belgium, Athens State Symphony, and Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra. Noé is a committed chamber musician, he co-founded the successful Piano Quartet Corneille and the Trio Bell’Arte. Invitations by various festivals worldwide enable him to perform with musicians such as Martha Argerich and Leonidas Kavakos among others. Noé Inui has recorded seven CDs, the most recent of which is dedicated to the solo sonatas by Eugène Ysaÿe. It contains as a bonus the world première recording of the work Étude Poème by the same composer.

Benedict Klöckner

Cello

Benedict Klöckner

Benedict Klöckner

Cello

benedictkloeckner.de

Benedict Klöckner, born in 1989, is one of the outstanding artists of his generation. He has won numerous competitions and awards, most recently the OPUS Klassik 2021. He performs worldwide as a soloist with renowned orchestras such as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra London, the NDR Radiophilharmonie, the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie, the Kremerata Baltica, the Camerata Oslo and the Munich Chamber Orchestra and works with renowned conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Christoph Eschenbach, Michael Sanderling, Heinrich Schiff, and Sir Simon Rattle.  A keen chamber musician, Benedict is performing with artists such as Sir András Schiff, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Gidon Kremer, Antoine Tamestit, Emmanuel Ax, Fazil Say, Lisa Batiashvili, Yuri Bashmet, Benjamin Grosvenor, Lars Vogt and Christian Tetzlaff. In October 2021 Brilliant Classics released his recording of the Bach cello suites. Since 2014 Benedict is the artistic director and founder of the International Music Festival Koblenz. Benedict Klöckner studied with Martin Ostertag, and as a young soloist of the Kronberg Academy Master with Frans Helmerson and Gary Hoffman. He plays an Italian cello by Francesco Rugeri (Cremona, 1690), formerly played by Maurice Gendron, and a bow by Etienne Pajeot (Mirecourt, 1820).

Danae Kontora

Soprano

Danae Kontora

Danae Kontora

Soprano

Danae Kontora is a coloratura soprano from Greece. She studied at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Munich and at the Bayerische Theaterakademie August Everding. She sang the part of the Queen of the Νight at Semperoper Dresden, Komische Oper Berlin, Oper Frankfurt, Oper Stuttgart, Aalto Musiktheater Essen, Oper Leipzig and on tour in Beijing, Macao, and Taiwan. Other parts include Philippe (The Devils of Loudun) at the Bavarian State Opera, Frasquita (Carmen) at the Greek National Opera, Zerbinetta (Ariadne auf Naxos) at the Finnish National Opera, Fritzi (Die Weiden) at the Vienna State Opera, Oscar at Israeli Opera, Blonde (The Abduction from the Seraglio) at Oper Leipzig, Tigrane (Radamisto) at Oper Frankfurt, Olympia (The Tales of Hoffmann) at Theater Erfurt. At the Edinburgh International Festival, she sang the Woodbird (Siegfried) and Woglinde (Götterdämmerung) with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra under Andrew Davis. Danae Kontora also gave her BBC Proms debut at Royal Albert Hall in London with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen under Constantinos Carydis.

David Orlowsky

Clarinet

David Orlowsky

David Orlowsky

Clarinet

© Kaupo Kikkas

David Orlowsky is an internationally renowned clarinettist and composer, celebrated for his captivating and expressive performances of works ranging from Mozart to klezmer. An exclusive recording artist with Warner Classics, he has released nine albums and won the ECHO Klassik award three times. In 1997, he founded the award-winning David Orlowsky Trio, which toured worldwide until their farewell tour in 2019. Orlowsky has collaborated with esteemed ensembles such as the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and the Danish String Quartet, as well as renowned musicians including Martha Argerich and Alban Gerhardt. Many of his compositions for the trio are published worldwide by Schott Music. In April 2023, his clarinet quintet The Clockmaker premiered successfully with the Quartetto di Cremona at the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, and the premiere of his clarinet concerto premiere is planned for 2024. Orlowsky studied at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen and the Manhattan School of Music in New York City.

Dimitris Papadimitriou

Dimitris Papadimitriou

Dimitris Papadimitriou

© Nikos Mastoras

Muriel Razavi

Viola

Muriel Razavi

Muriel Razavi

Viola

Muriel Razavi is in great demand as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral musician in the baroque as well as in the contemporary music field. She is the Assistant Principal Violist of the MDR Symphony Orchestra Leipzig and is currently enrolled in a doctoral programme (Dr.sc.mus) at the Hamburg University of Music and Theatre, under the artistic supervision of Daniel Barenboim, where she is conducting research on Re-Orientalism in music. She has taken on an honorary mentorship in the Mentoring Arts Programme at the University for Music and Theatre in Leipzig, preparing students for their careers in the field of music. Since October 2022 she teaches her own viola class at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg. In the last years Muriel has been working on special concert designs and formats with music by Iranian composers of contemporary classical music from the “Iranian Female Composers Association” and was commissioned a viola concerto by Golfam Khayam. In 2022 she received the “award for an outstanding programme with special societal relevance” for her performance at the D-bü Competition.

Evripidis Samaras

Cello

Evripidis Samaras

Evripidis Samaras

Cello

Evripidis Samaras was born in Thessaloniki in 2005 in a family of musicians. He started taking cello lessons at the age of four. He graduated with honours from the class of Dimitris Patras at the State Conservatory of Thessaloniki and received the first prize (unanimously awarded). He has excelled in many national and international competitions. As a winner of a national competition, he has performed the Cello Concerto No. 1 by Camille Saint-Saëns with the Athens State Orchestra under the baton of Charles Olivieri-Munroe. As a winner of an internal competition of the State Conservatory of Thessaloniki he has performed the Concerto by Antonín Dvořák with the Municipal Orchestra of Thessaloniki under the baton of Vladimiros Symeonidis. At the age of eight he made his first appearance as a soloist at the Thessaloniki Concert Hall with the New Symphony Orchestra of the town. He has participated in seminars given by Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, Konstantin Heidrich, Sebastian Klinger, Claudio Bohórquez, Leonid Gorokhov, Angelos Liakakis and Ulrich Voss. Since 2015 he has been a member of the MOYSA-Megaro Youth Symphony Orchestra of Thessaloniki Concert Hall. He studies music theory and has been awarded in national composition competitions. In summer 2021, he participated in the international educational programme of music composition MakeMusiCoviT under the guidance of George-Emmanuel Lazaridis. He also studies piano under the guidance of Eleni Pistopoulou at the “E. Samaras” Conservatory. He studies at the Hellenic College of Thessaloniki (3rd grade) with a scholarship.

Stavros Samaras

Violin

Stavros Samaras

Stavros Samaras

Violin

Stavros Samaras was born in 2006. He started violin lessons at the age of three. He entered the State Conservatory of Thessaloniki with Professor Evangelia Delfinopoulou and he continues his studies with Yannis Korbetis. He has attended violin seminars with Kurt Nikkanen, Dimitris Chandrakis, Lena Neudauer, Noé Inui, Apollon Grammatikopoulos, Kostas Panagiotidis, Ben Sayevich and Martin Funda. At the age of six he played as a soloist with the New Thessaloniki Symphony Orchestra at the Thessaloniki Concert Hall. As a soloist he has also performed with the Panarmonia Orchestra of the Municipal Conservatory of Drama and the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Thessaloniki State Conservatory. At the age of sixteen he won the first prize in the Maria Cherogiorgou-Sigara Panhellenic Music Competition at the Athens Concert Hall. He has been a member of the Megaro Youth Symphony Orchestra “MOYSA” since 2017. He is a member of the Youth Symphony Orchestra of the State Conservatory of Thessaloniki and the new Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra. With the MakeMusicCoviT team and under the guidance of George-Emmanouel Lazaridis and Safira Antzus-Ramos, he participated in the competition for the Empress Theofano Prize at the iconic monument of the Rotunda in Thessaloniki, in the presence of the President of the Hellenic Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou. He is studying (A’ Superior level) piano with Inessa Pavlidou Simonidou and Eleni Pistopoulou at the “E.  Samaras” Conservatory in Thessaloniki. He attends composition classes under the guidance of his father Kampanis Samaras. His musical compositions have been performed in major music halls (Thessaloniki Concert Hall, Megaron-The Athens Concert Hall etc.) of Greece by major orchestras.

Kirill Troussov

Violin

Kirill Troussov

Kirill Troussov

Violin

troussov.com

upported and guided by Lord Yehudi Menuhin at a young age, Kirill Troussov is meanwhile widely recognised as one of the leading violinists of his generation. He works with renowned orchestras and is a regular guest at prestigious festivals and in famous concert halls of the world. According to the international press his playing is caracterised by “impressive elegance, irreproachable technique, an exceptional musical sensibility and sonorities of an immaculate beauty”. Kirill Troussov regularly gives masterclasses at the Mozarteum Salzburg, Colburn School Los Angeles, Beijing and Nanjing Central Conservatory, European Music Institute Vienna, in Cremona, Milan, Madrid, Dublin, Berlin, Munich, Oslo, Budapest, USA and Hong Kong. He is frequently invited as jury member to international violin competitions, among others to Schoenfeld International String Competition, Ysaÿe International Music Competition and Carl Flesch International Violin Competition. Since 2023 Kirill Troussov is Artistic Director at the Carl Flesch Academy in Baden-Baden and since 2021, he is Chairman and Artistic Director of the Hong Kong International Young Musicians Competition. Since 2023 the label Orchid Classics releases the series Kirill Troussov Live, where over forty of his celebrated live concert performances will be available on all audio-streaming platforms. Kirill Troussov plays the Antonio Stradivari violin “Brodsky” (1702), on which violinist Adolph Brodsky performed the world premiere of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto on 4 December 1881.

Theodore Tzovanakis

Piano

Theodore Tzovanakis

Theodore Tzovanakis

Piano

As a piano scholar of the Greek State Scholarships’ Foundation, the Alexander S. Onassis Foundation and the Yamaha Music Foundation of Europe, Theodore Tzovanakis studied piano at the Cologne University of Music, the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD) and the Royal Conservatoire The Hague, completing his studies as a solo pianist and being awarded the titles of Konzertexamen and Master’s in Performance. He has also gained a degree in Music Studies by the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He has studied with Domna Evnouhidou, Roswitha Gediga, Geoffrey Douglas Madge among others. He has won three first prizes in national piano competitions as well as the MacΚenzie Award in New York. As a soloist, he has collaborated with symphony orchestras and music ensembles from Greece, Germany, the United Kingdom, Austria, Israel, the Netherlands, and Ukraine. She has given piano recitals in many European countries, he has performed and recorded premiere works for solo piano and songs by Dimitri Mitropoulos and Emilios Riadis. His recent recording includes songs by Schumann, Schubert, Brahms, Wolf and Mendelssohn. Tzovanakis is a piano professor at the Athens Conservatoire.

Lech Antonio Uszynski

Viola

Lech Antonio Uszynski

Lech Antonio Uszynski

Viola

lechantoniouszynski.com

© Marco Borggreve

With his characteristic warm sound and sensitive interpretation, Lech Antonio Uszynski has become a sought-after violist on international stages. As a soloist and chamber musician he has played in concert halls that include the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Konzerthaus in Berlin, Philharmonie in Berlin, Konzerthaus in Vienna, Tonhalle in Zurich, Wigmore Hall in London, and Suntory Hall in Tokyo. In June 2022 he had his critically acclaimed solo debut at the National Forum of Music in Wrocław under the direction of Krzysztof Urbański. In 2023 Uszynski has been appointed Professor of viola at the Royal Conservatoire The Hague. In 2019 his solo album Progetto Gibson was released by RCA Red Seal (Sony Classical). The pieces on this recording are related to Antonio Stradivari’s “Gibson” Viola (1734), which Uszynski played from 2010-2017. In 2018 his quartet released two CDs (Works by Schumann & Schubert) for RCA Red Seal. In 2021 he received much critical acclaim for his live recording of Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in a version for viola solo which was published on YouTube. Uszynski was born in 1986 into a family of Polish musicians in Padova, Italy, but moved to Switzerland the following year. It was there that he grew up, studying with Ana Chumachenco, Zakhar Bron and Michel Rouilly at Zurich’s University of the Arts. He also received mentoring and encouragement as a viola player from Rudolf Barshai. He currently performs on a rare viola (1690) by the maker Hendrick Willems.

Antje Weithaas

Violin

 Antje Weithaas

Antje Weithaas

Violin

Brimful of energy, Weithaas brings her compelling musical intelligence and technical mastery to every detail of the music. Her charisma and stage presence are captivating, but never overshadow the works themselves. She has a wide-ranging repertoire that includes the great concertos by Mozart, Beethoven and Schumann, new works such as Jörg Widmann’s Violin Concerto, modern classics by Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Ligeti and Gubaidulina, and lesser performed concertos by Hartmann and Schoeck. As a soloist, Antje Weithaas has worked with most of Germany’s leading orchestras and the major German radio orchestras as well as numerous major international orchestras. She has collaborated with the illustrious conductors Vladimir Ashkenazy, Sir Neville Marriner and Marc Albrecht, among others. Through her infectious zest for communication, Weithaas’ reputation for inspiring play-lead concerts with international renowned chamber orchestras is rapidly growing. Having been the Camerata Bern’s artistic director for almost ten years, she was responsible for the ensemble’s musical profile with whom she still works regularly. There were rave reviews for Weithaas’ complete recordings of Johann Sebastian Bach’s solo sonatas and partitas and Eugène Ysaÿe’s solo sonatas. 2023 saw the release of Vol. 1 and 2 of the complete recording of Ludwig van Beethoven’s violin sonatas with pianist Dénes Várjon, Vol. 3 appeared in spring 2024. In 1991, Weithaas won the Joseph Joachim International Violin Competition Hanover. Together with Oliver Wille, she has taken over the artistic leadership in 2019. After teaching at the Universität der Künste Berlin, Weithaas became a professor of violin at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in 2004.

Co-organised

Under the auspices and with the financial support of the Ministry of Culture

MIMF Friends

Helen Morton & Igor Aleksander

Retrospective

2022
Odysseia

2021
Liberty

2020
Synchronicity

2019
Dia-Logos

2018
Genesis

2017
Catharsis

2016
Crossroads

2015
Metamorphoses