Suite Case – Caerus & Melifono ensembles

Description :

Giovanni Sollima (*1962): “Suite Case” for two violins (2016)
I. Wood (Moderato)
II. B275 (Allegro assai)
III. Alleluja (Allegro)
Pablo Hernán Benedí & Jonian Ilias Kadesha – violins

Stathis Giftakis (*1967): Agnus Dei (2022)

Eric Whitacre (*1970): The Seal Lullaby (2008)

Bulgarian folk song: Kaval Sviri

Serbian folk song: Niška Banja

Jim Papoulis (*1961): Sililiza (2012)

Greek folk song (Drama): Koita me glykia mou agapi, arr. Eleni Siniari

Greek folk song (Thrace): To Margoudi, arr. Konstantinos Matis

“Melifono” Women’s Vocal Ensemble Extended
Athanasia Kyriakidou – conductor
Katerina Palaiologou, Viki Vasileiadi, Foteini Arapi, Georgia Kotsimpou, Polytimi Anagnostopoulou, Maria Tserpe, Eleni Gkini, Eleni Loura, Martzy Michail, Sofia Katsoulea, Voula Mavrea, Niki Grigoropoulou, Zoi Kleidona, Georgia Tsompou, Vasiliki Moulouchakou, Stavroula Damilou, Katerilena Stamatelopoulou, Lena Angeletou, Tonia Dikaiou, Eleni Pertselaki, Irena Choliastou, Eva Koufalakou, Giannis Garantziotis, Alexandros Foukaras, Kostas Anagnostopoulos, Panagiotis Tzoumakis, Nikos Michalopoulos, Michalis Kanavos

-PAUSE-

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791): Piano Quartet No. 2 in E-flat major, K.493 (1786)
I. Allegro
II. Larghetto
III. Allegretto
Jonian Ilias Kadesha – violin
Pablo Hernán Benedí – violin
Vashti Hunter – violoncello
Noam Greenberg – piano

Johannes Brahms (1833–1897): Piano Quintet, Op.34 (1864)
I. Allegro non troppo
II. Andante, un poco Adagio
III. Scherzo. Allegro – Trio
IV. Finale. Poco sostenuto – Allegro non troppo
Jonian Ilias Kadesha – violin
Pablo Hernán Benedí – violin
Lily Francis – viola
Vashti Hunter – violoncello
Noam Greenberg – piano

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.

British/Israeli pianist Noam Greenberg studied in London with Maria Curcio and in Budapest with Ferenc Rados. He enjoys a busy international career playing both recitals and chamber music and has participated in many festivals, including Aldeburgh, Lucerne, Cheltenham and Schleswig-Holstein, to name a few. For many years, he was a member of the Waldstein Ensemble, a piano quartet formed together with violinist Gerhard Schulz. As a soloist, he has performed with numerous orchestras and given the Israeli premiere of the Ligeti piano concerto, broadcast live to numerous European countries. He also often works with singers, including Christine Schaffer, Mark Padmore, Ailish Tynan and Ruby Hughes. He has given and led many masterclass courses in academies and universities in the UK and Europe. He is also the Artistic Director for the Music at Tresanton festival in a beautiful part of Cornwall. He lives in London.

© 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

Athanasia Kyriakidou is a choral conductor specialising in multisensory vocal training and nonverbal leadership. She graduated from CSULA (USA) and AUTh (Greece) with a MM in choral conducting and a PhD in historical musicology. While also being a Guest Conductor for the Greek National Radio Choir (ERT), Choral and Orchestra Ensemble of Armonia Atenea and Assistant Conductor for the choir of the National Technical University of Athens, Athanasia has academic experience in the Department of Music, School of Fine Arts, AUTh and teaches at the National Masterclass for Orchestra and Choir Conductors with the Athens Municipality Orchestra. She currently conducts the Melifono women’s choir and the choir of the Youth Orchestra of Creta.

The “Melifono” Women’s Vocal Ensemble was created in 2013 by the Municipal Conservatory of Kalamata and has charted a significant course in the field of choral music, earning distinctions and awards in worldwide competitions and taking part in international festivals such as the Athens & Epidaurus Festival, the Kalamata International Dance Festival, the International Kalamata Music Days festival, the Kalamata International Choir Competition and Festival and the Vox Lucensis International Choir Festival in Lucca, Italy. The conductor of the Ensemble is Athanasia Kyriakidou, assisted by Katerina Palaiologou. The “Melifono” Ensemble is among the Municipal Conservatory’s most significant exports and has made numerous concert appearances in Greece and abroad beyond the aforementioned contests and festivals.

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.