Antitheseis – Caerus Ensemble & Nikolas Palaiologos

Description :

Henry Purcell (1659–1695): A selection from the “Fantasias” for string quartet, Z.732–747 (ca. 1680)
Jonian Ilias Kadesha – violin
Pablo Hernán Benedí – violin
Lily Francis – viola
Vashti Hunter – violoncello

Nikolas Palaiologos (*1984): Kurdi Semai (2012)

Antonis Kyriazis (middle 19th cent. – 1925): Hicaz Mandira

Petros Peloponnesios (1730–1778): Nihavent Semai

Kevser Hanim (1887–1963): Nihavent Longa

Nikolas Palaiologos (*1984): Diotima (2022)

Nikolas Palaiologos (*1984): Harmattan (2022)

Kemani Sebuh Efendi (1828–1894): Kürdili Hicazkâr Longa

Nikolas Palaiologos – oud, tamboura, rubab & yayli tanbur
Diotima Spadidea – qanun

-PAUSE-

Germaine Tailleferre (1892–1983): String Quartet (1919)
I. Modéré
II. Intermède
III. Final. Vif – Très rythmé – Un peu plus lent
Lily Francis – violin
Pablo Hernán Benedí – violin
Jonian Ilias Kadesha – viola
Vashti Hunter – violoncello

Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924): String Quartet, Op.121 (1923–1924)
I. Allegro moderato
II. Andante
III. Allegro
Pablo Hernán Benedí – violin
Jonian Ilias Kadesha – violin
Lily Francis – viola
Vashti Hunter – violoncello

The Caerus Chamber Ensemble was founded in 2017. It confronts the passing of time by capturing the moment. Inspired by Caerus –a religious-philosophical term in ancient Greece for the right, distinctive point in time for a decision and also personified as a deity in mythology– this unique ensemble consists of outstanding instrumentalists of the young European generation of musicians under the artistic direction of Jonian-Ilias Kadesha. It brings the spirit of Caerus into music, creating something unique and unforeseen: music arising from the right, not reproducible moment. As a flexible ensemble, it can play in programmes with different instrumentations; the design of the programmes thus gains the greatest freedom and relevance in terms of content. The young artists share a common desire to perform chamber music at the highest level. In this, each individual is required as a soloist and, at the same time, as a sensitive part of a community.

© Sigi Müller
Lily Francis is an American violinist and violist living in Austria. As a top prize winner at the 2009 ARD competition, Lily has appeared with a number of European orchestras, including the Bayrischer Rundfunk Orchester, and made her Carnegie Hall debut in 2008. Recent chamber music collaborations have included recordings with the Gringolts Quartet, appearances at the Lockenhaus and Marlboro Festivals and the Caerus Chamber Ensemble. Her chamber music collaborators have included Andras Schiff, Mitsuko Uchida, Alexander Melnikov, Vilde Frang, Nicolas Altstaedt and Pekka Kuusisto. A student of Joseph Silverstein and Miriam Fried, Lily is Professor of Violin at the Universität Mozarteum Salzburg since 2017 and plays an 1846 Silvestre violin and a 2004 Marco Coppiardi viola.

© Verena Chen
Pablo Hernán Benedí was born in 1991 in Madrid. He studied violin at the Antonio Soler Conservatory in San Lorenzo de El Escorial with Polina Kotliarskaya and at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama with David Takeno and András Keller. In 2010, Pablo became a member of the Chiaroscuro Quartet. The Quartet’s debut recording was released in 2011 to critical acclaim. As a soloist, Pablo has appeared with orchestras like Philarmonia Orchestra, London Mozart Players and Concerto Budapest.

© Andrej Grilc
Born into a musical family in London, cellist Vashti Hunter enjoys a versatile career as a soloist and chamber musician. Vashti has been invited to important festivals, to play in prestigious halls throughout Europe and to perform as a soloist with many orchestras. Vashti studied in London and Hannover for many years with Leonid Gorokhov and later in Berlin with Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt. A very important influence is the cellist Steven Isserlis. Vashti is a co-founder of Trio Gaspard and a member of the Kelemen Quartet. Vashti was recently appointed Professor of Cello at the Anton Bruckner Private University Linz in Austria and also holds a teaching position for cello master students at the university in Hannover. She is also a Guest Chamber Music Professor at the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole in Italy. www.vashtihunter.de

© Kaupo Kikkas
Jonian Ilias Kadesha is a renaissance musician in the diversity and creativity of his intellectual interests and music-making. His studies in philosophy and rhetoric influence the stylistic accuracy of his interpretations, whether of early or contemporary music, and his rich imagination is clear both in the sound worlds he creates and the projects he curates as soloist, player–director and chamber musician. As a soloist, he has performed throughout Europe. Kadesha is also a committed chamber musician who collaborates with renowned musicians. He is co-founder of the award-winning Trio Gaspard, a member of the Kelemen Quartet and increasingly in demand with leading chamber orchestras as player/director. In 2017, Kadesha founded and assumed the role of Artistic Director of the Caerus Chamber Ensemble. Born in Athens, with Albanian and Greek heritage, Kadesha studied from a young age at Musikhochschule Würzburg, followed by studies at Kronberg Academy. www.jonianiliaskadesha.net

Nikolas Palaiologos was born in Kalamata in 1984 and his interest in music started when he was seven. His first contact with traditional instruments was made in 1996 while being a student at the Music School of Kalamata. In 2001, he met Ross Daly, who gave him a series of lessons on the technique of the instruments oud and saz, the theory of Eastern Music and the art of improvisation. Since then, he has developed a strong interest also in other stringed instruments, such as rubab, cümbüş, yayli tanbur, kabak kemane and others. In 2008, he met the oud soloist Nasheer Shamma, founder of Bait Al Oud in Cairo. There, he demonstrated the tone-colour of the oud through his own compositions. He has participated in many concerts and festivals with various music ensembles in several cities of Greece and abroad and has collaborated with excellent Greek and international musicians. Since 2013, he has been teaching in the School of Byzantine Music of The Holy Metropolis of Messinia. He has also taught at the Music School of Kalamata and at seminars in various other cities in Greece.

Diotima Spadidea was born in Kalamata in 2008. She began taking kanun lessons at the age of six with Sofia Labropoulou. In 2020, she started attending lessons with Nikolas Palaiologos, and since 2022, she has been a member of the traditional ensemble Choriambos, which Nikolas Palaiologos is conducting. In the same year, she attended the festival “Adontes kai psallodes en ti kardia” under the direction of Christos Tsiamoulis. In the summer of 2023, she attended the kanun seminar at the music workshop “Labyrinth” with the kanun player Muhittin Kemal, who is now her teacher. Since 2022, she has played at several concerts. One of them was together with Nikolas Palaiologos in honour of Mariza Koch. In 2024, she attended the meeting of traditional musicians “Tis triantafillias ta filla” at Technopolis of Athens.

Place :

Other info :

Entrance passes can be purchased at the following locations and times:

From Monday, August 26 until Wednesday, August 28: 

10:00-12:00 Municipal Conservatory of Kalamata

From Thursday, August 29: 

10:00-12:00 Kalamata Dance Megaron

18:00-20:00 Kalamata Dance Megaron

On Sunday, September 1: 

10:00-12:00 Kalamata Dance Megaron

Reservations: +30 697 4373173

Daily: 10:00-12:00 and 18:00-19:00

Get the festival pass to attend all concerts:

€40 and €20 (reduced).

REDUCED ADMISSION FOR:

Students and disabled persons with the relevant proofs.

FREE ADMISSION TO ALL CONCERTS:

Participants of the masterclasses, students of the Municipal Conservatory of Kalamata, as well as volunteers of the festival. Unemployed persons with a valid unemployment card.