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.
Programme
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. CouranteNICCOLÒ PAGANINI (1782-1840)
Caprice for Solo Violin in A Major, Op. 1, No. 21 - Stavros Samaras violin
Εvripidis Samaras cello
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
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.
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.
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
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
“Is the young pianist the discovery of the year?” asked the classical music magazine Crescendo and answered in the affirmative. The reviewers of the magazine Concerti also consider her to be “on her way right to the top”. The German-Greek pianist Danae Dörken belongs to the elite of a new generation of internationally sought-after artists and captivates audiences and fellow musicians alike with her breathtaking technique, exceptional stage presence and musical depth. The 2025/26 season was full of highlights for Danae Dörken. She embarked on two extensive tours of the USA. As a piano soloist, she performed with the Brandenburg State Orchestra Frankfurt (Oder) in the Philharmonie in Cologne. With the multimedia project “Bach in Space” she appeared in the Liederhalle Stuttgart, the Tonhalle Düsseldorf, as well as in Göttingen and Bonn. As part of a piano duo with her sister Kiveli, she once again gave numerous concerts in Germany, Switzerland and Italy. She also performed with her chamber music partners Annelien van Wauwe in Belgium and the Netherlands and with Benedict Klöckner in Switzerland. At the end of 2024, the album GLASS TWO, a collaboration with Luxembourgish vibraphonist and composer Pascal Schumacher, was released. The two artists received the Opus Klassik award in October 2025 for this album, which features works by Philip Glass and Schumacher himself. The programme has been performed at the award ceremony, as well as at the Beethovenfest Bonn and in Luxembourg. Of Greek descent, Danae Dörken founded the Molyvos International Music Festival (MIMF) in 2015 together with her sister on the island of Lesbos.
Kiveli Dörken
Piano
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 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 began her musical path as a seven-year-old student of the renowned piano pedagogue Prof. Karl-Heinz Kämmerling, who taught her until his death, ten years later. She continued her musical education with Prof. Lars Vogt, with whom she studied at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien in Hanover until his recent death in September 2022.
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 Ceasar Francks Variations symphoniques under the direction of conductor Alondra de la Parra. In 2025 she performed Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in the big Hall of the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. She has performed in most European countries, China, Japan, Korea and the USA, in some of the most famous halls, the Elbphilarmonie in Hamburg, the Mariinsly-Theater 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 Schwetzinger Festspiele, the Spannungen Festival in Heimbach and the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival. Kiveli Dörken dedicates a considerable amount of her time to playing chamber music. She performs regularly with artists such as Christian Tetzlaff, Sharon Kam, Julian Steckel, Antje Weithaas and Tanja Tetzlaff. Together with her sister Danae Dörken, she has been playing as a piano duo since the age of five. She is a member of the Franz Ensmeble, that won an OPUS Klassik for their debut CD featuring works by Ferdinand Ries. In 2015 together with her sister Danae they founded and co-direct until today the Molyvos International Music Festival (MIMF) on the Greek Island Lesbos, of which she is also the artistic director. The MIMF brings the tradition of classical music to Lesbos and has become a symbol of hope for the entire region. In 2020 Kiveli recorded her debut cd with the label ARS featuring solo and chamber music works by Josef Suk.
Isang Enders
Cello
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
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 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
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
One of the outstanding artists of his generation and prizewinner of numerous international competitions, Benedict Klöckner performs as a soloist with prestigious orchestras such as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of London, the Radio Sinfonieorchester Berlin, the Deutsche Radiophilharmonie, NDR Radiophilharmonie, Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg, the Kremerata Baltica, the MDR Symphony Orchestra and the Munich Chamber Orchestra. He collaborates with renowned conductors, such as Daniel Barenboim, Christoph Eschenbach, Michael Sanderling, Ingo Metzmacher, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Joana Mallwitz, Sir Simon Rattle. He has performed in prestigious concert halls, including the Berlin Philharmonie, Carnegie Hall in New York, the Kennedy Center in Washington, Suntory Hall Tokyo, the Musikverein in Vienna, the Tonhalle in Zurich and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. He is also a regular guest at international festivals, sharing the stage with artists such as Emanuel Ax, Lisa Batiashvili, Gidon Kremer and Anne-Sophie Mutter. Since 2014 he has been the artistic director and founder of the Koblenz International Music Festival, where he recently invited legendary conductor Myung Whun Chung, and performed with Augustin Dumay, and the Modigliani Quartet. In 2025/26, he played as a soloist and in recitals in the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, the Philharmonie Berlin, the Philharmonie Cologne, the Tonhalle Zurich, the Suntory Hall Tokyo and the Concertgebouw Amsterdam. His recordings have been acclaimed by the press and have won awards such as the OPUS Klassik Award and the Supersonic Award. Benedict Klöckner studied at the Karlsruhe University of Music with Martin Ostertag and at the Kronberg Academy with Frans Helmerson and Gary Hoffman. He is a professor at the École Normale de Musique Paris.
Danae Kontora
Soprano
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
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
© Nikos Mastoras
Muriel Razavi
Viola
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
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
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
“One of the most gifted violinists of his generation” (Süddeutsche Zeitung, Harald Eggebrecht). Supported and guided by Sir 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. Kirill Troussov regularly gives master classes 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, Hong Kong and Japan. Since 2021 he is Chairman and Artistic Director of the Hong Kong International Young Musicians Competition and Vice President and Artistic director of the Carl Flesch Competition in Hungary. Since 2023 the label Orchid Classics releases the series Kirill Troussov Live, where over fourty of his celebrated live concert performances will be available on all audio-streaming platforms. Meanwhile this series reached two million five hundred thousand streams. In 2024 Kirill Troussov founds Sarasate Academy in Madrid, Spain and the Engers Academy near Frankfurt. Furthermore, he takes over the position of Artistic Advisor of the International Music Festival Kaposfest in Hungary as well as the position of Artistic Director of the Festival International de Música Clásica “Pago de la Jaraba” in Spain and of the Music Festival AMMERSEErenade near Munich. Kirill Troussov plays the Antonio Stradivari violin “Brodsky” of 1702, on which violinist Adolph Brodsky performed the world premiere of Tchaikovsky’s Violin concerto on the 4th of December 1881.
Theodore Tzovanakis
Piano
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
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
Violin
© Kaupo Kikkas
Awarded the OPUS Klassik 2025 as “Instrumentalist of the Year,” Antje Weithaas is one of the most distinguished musical personalities of our time. Her remarkable career began early: following numerous competition successes, she quickly established herself as a virtuoso young soloist alongside renowned orchestras such as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and the major German radio orchestras. But what makes her one of the “great violinists of our time” (FonoForum) is the depth and sincerity of an artistically mature, consciously shaped career, supported by long-standing partnerships, interpretative maturity, artistic integrity, and a wealth of experience. Antje Weithaas and pianist Dénes Várjon were awarded the 2024 Annual Prize of the German Record Critics’ Award for their complete recording of the sonatas for piano and violin by Ludwig van Beethoven. Released on CAvi-music and digitally distributed by Deutsche Grammophon, the recordings have already been presented in full-cycle concerts at the Casals Forum in Kronberg, Budapest and in China. With an impressive discography of thirty albums and a wide-ranging repertoire that spans the most important violin concertos from the Classical era to the modern day, Antje Weithaas is a leading European authority in the art of violin playing. Her latest studio album, a recording of Antonín Dvořák’s Violin Concerto and Serenade for Strings with the Camerata Bern, was recently released on the DG partner label CAvi-music — presumably the first recording of these works led from the violin by the soloist herself. This was preceded by the OPUS Klassik award-winning recording of Vasks’s Violin Concerto No. 2, also with Camerata Bern. Antje Weithaas shares a long-standing artistic partnership with the ensemble, having served as its artistic director for nearly a decade. Today, she is a sought-after play-conduct leader with international chamber orchestras and recently toured South America as soloist with the Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra. She teaches at Hans Eisler Academy of music and together with Oliver Wille, she serves as artistic director of the Joseph Joachim Competition. She plays on a 2001 Peter Greiner violin.
Retrospective
2025
Chaos
2024
Friendship
2022
Odysseia
2021
Liberty
2020
Synchronicity
2019
Dia-Logos
2018
Genesis
2017
Catharsis
2016
Crossroads
2015
Metamorphoses

























