The cultural spring season in Cyprus could not reach its pinnacle without the International Pharos Chamber Music Festival. Recognised as one of Europe's preeminent music festivals and acknowledged all over the world as Cyprus’ most important annual classical music event, the Pharos Festival has steadily and solidly gained an unequalled reputation for the quality of its concerts as well as its enchanting atmosphere and settings. With an important history of 19 years, the International Pharos Chamber Music Festival has evidently and admirably placed Cyprus, especially the area of Pafos, on the international cultural map: It was the first festival of classical chamber music to have been established in Cyprus, it has so far organised over 150 unique concerts with a vast number of world renowned soloists, chamber ensembles and orchestras, and it has created an unprecedented relationship with thousands of audience from all over the globe, who visit the island especially to be part of this exceptionally uplifting music experience. The International Pharos Chamber Music Festival also maintains a strong tradition of community service, having made chamber music more accessible to the general public and giving the unique opportunity to students in Cyprus to benefit through its educational and outreach activities at absolutely no cost to them!
Organised between 14 May and 6 June 2019, the 19th International Pharos Chamber Music Festival welcomes to Cyprus some of the most remarkable artists on the international music scene.
Venue A:
Name*: The Shoe Factory
Postal address*: 304 Ermou Street, Nicosia
Phone number*: +357 22 663 871
Fax: +357 22 663 538
Website: www.pharosartsfoundation.org
Social media: https://www.facebook.com/TheShoeFactoryPharos
Venue B:
Name*: Royal Manor House, Kouklia
Postal address*: Kouklia Museum (Sanctuary of Aphrodite)
Phone number*: +357 22 663 871
Fax: +357 22 663 538
Website: www.pharosartsfoundation.org
Social media: https://www.facebook.com/PharosArtsFoundation
Venue C:
Name*: The Olive Grove
Postal address*: Delikipos
Phone number*: +357 22 663 871
Fax: +357 22 663 538
Website: www.pharosartsfoundation.org
Social media: https://www.facebook.com/PharosArtsFoundation
Entrance Price/Τicket*: €15 / €10
Organiser Contact Details
Name: Pharos Arts Foundation
Telephone: 22663871
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Postal Address: 24 Dem. Severis Ave. 1080 Lefkosia, Cyprus
The Festival will open on Tuesday 14 May 2019 at the Pharos Arts Foundation’s recital venue, The Shoe Factory, in Nicosia with a concert by the renowned Belgian ensemble Het Collectief and the celebrated soprano Katrien Baerts, who has been described as “Breathtaking” and “astoundingly beautiful” (Place de l' Opera), with “a voice and interpretation that are nothing less than a revelation” (Trouw) and “hair-raising feats of vocal agility” (The Telegraph). Their programme consists of an amazing blend of French chamber and vocal repertoire by Ravel, Debussy, Dutilleux and Philippe Gaubert interspersed with pieces by the Finnish Kaija Saariaho who is one of the foremost composers on the planet and one of the leading creative figures of her generation.
For its second concert at The Shoe Factory, on Wednesday 22 May 2019, the 19th International Pharos Chamber Music Festival collaborates once again with the Keyboard Charitable Trust in London, to present for the first time in Cyprus pianist Jiyeong Mun – one of the most exciting young musicians of our times and First Prize winner of the Geneva International Competition in 2014 and the Busoni International Competition 2015. Described as treading on the path of the great Martha Argerich, Jiyeong Mun will deliver a formidable programme of works by Beethoven, Ravel and Chopin.
As always, the highlight of the International Pharos Chamber Music Festival is the series of chamber concerts at the Royal Manor House in Kouklia – one of the finest surviving monuments of Frankish architecture in Cyprus and a UNESCO World Heritage site. This year, the Festival encompasses four concerts, from Saturday 1 until Tuesday 4 June 2019, with some of the world’s most celebrated and finest soloists: amongst them, Sergei Babayan – one of the most notable names of the great Russian piano school and winner of such prestigious competitions as the Cleveland, the Hamamatsu and the Busoni piano competitions; the sensational violinist Christel Lee – First-prize winner of the 2015 International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition in Helsinki; violinists Anna Tifu and Doriane Gable as well as pianist Olga Zado – considered amongst the leading female musicians of their generation; the return visits of the remarkable Lars Anders Tomter (described as the “Giant of the Nordic Viola”), and pianist Ashley Wass (described by Gramophone as “a thoroughbred who possesses the enviable gift to turn almost anything he plays into pure gold”), violist David Abrahamyan and cellist Alexander Chaushian. The Festival will also welcome the wonderful Cypriot soprano Zoe Nicolaidou.
What better way to conclude the 19th International Pharos Chamber Music Festival than by setting up the stage of Pharos’ magical open-air venue, The Olive Grove, in Delikipos? For its final concert, on Thursday 6 June 2019, the Festival has invited the brilliant Cyprus Youth Symphony Orchestra to team up with soloists Anna Tifu (violin), Christel Lee (violin) and Ashley Wass (piano), under the direction of conductor Yiorgos Kountouris. Surrounded by the idyllic forest of Delikipos, in an exceptional atmosphere and landscape, the audience will indulge in an impressive programme that will include works by Mendelssohn, Sarasate and Vitali.
From Tuesday, May 14, 2019
To Thursday, June 06, 2019
