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2016Review

Cover image: Adam Ball, “Pause”, Hand-cut paper,2014

The Pharos Arts Foundation would like to thank Elli Michael, Philippos Adamou, Valentini Loizou for their invaluable work.

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The Shoe Factory 304 Ermou St., Nicosia

Foreword by the President of The Pharos Arts Foundation

I am very pleased that 2016 has been another successful and creative year for the Foundation. In 2016, the Pharos Arts Foundation has presented over 30 concerts with outstanding musicians and artists from all over the world, reinforcing its reputation as a centre for creativity and artistic excellence. Some of the highlights of the year were the 16th Pharos International Chamber Music Festival, which welcomed, for the first time in Cyprus, piano sensation Yuja Wang, as well as the 8th International Pharos Contemporary Music Festival, which included an iconic performance of Pierrot Lunaire by Het Collectief and the legendary Marianne Pousseur. The Foundation also hosted return visits by the Borodin String Quartet, pianist Sergei Babayan and the Amarcord Vocal Ensemble; introduced new concepts such as EnLive, which combined the screening of iconic silent films with live, newly-composed music, and presented extraordinary piano recitals with new discoveries such as André Gallo and Galina Chistiakova.

The Music Education Programme, which accompanies almost all the events organised by Pharos, continues to be a vital part of what we do and who we are. Over the past decade we have offered educational concerts, master-classes and workshops for over 70.000 students. In addition to hosting students at the Shoe Factory we are live streaming these educational events to dozens of schools all over Cyprus. We believe that providing such opportunities for young students to interact with artists and musicians enhances their own creativity and curiosity and contributes to fostering a better, more culturally developed society. We are proud of what we have achieved so far and look forward to expanding our educational initiatives.

Pharos aspires to be a beacon of light in our society and it is among the most active Foundations in Cyprus. Amid all the seemingly impenetrable darkness that permeates our world, light gives us the opportunity to consider how it is one of the most important transformative energies in our lives. It is during these difficult times that we need the inspiration and light that only the arts provide. The highest expressions of the human spirit in all cultures, nations and religions have come through the arts. They unite us and reveal the mystery and magic of what it means to be a human being. We cannot imagine a future that transcends narrow definitions of identity, ethnicity and space without an enriching cultural dimension to our lives. It is our imagination and thoughts that shape our reality. When we focus on the creative spirit in us, and on our inner light, which so often emerges through the power of music, I believe we shall find a place of beauty, harmony and harmlessness. We will continue to do everything in our power to enrich people’s lives through the arts and to cultivate creativity and understanding in our society.

I would like to thank everyone who contributes to the success of Pharos. These include the extraordinary musicians who we consider a part of our family, the artistic director of the foundation Yvonne Georgiadou and the Pharos team, our volunteers, our loyal and appreciative audience, as well as the diplomatic and cultural missions that support us. Our sponsors play the most vital role in enabling our work to materialise. Their support is deeply appreciated. All of us play an important role in keeping the flame of Pharos alight and all of us together should recognise that what we do is crucial for the well-being of our island and our society.

Garo Keheyan Founder & PresidentPharos Arts Foundation

The Pharos Arts Foundation opened its 2016 season with enLIVE – a new exciting concept idea and the first project of its kind in Cyprus, which focuses on the marrying of film and live music. During the span of three days, the audience had the opportunity to enjoy a number of cinematic masterpieces of the Silent era set to original music by contemporary composers, as well as short films by contemporary filmmakers set to the music of classical composers. Under the Artistic Direction of Greek composer Alexandros Mouzas, enLIVE proved to be an absolutely unique and enchanting visual and aural experience.

The first day featured Charlie Chaplin’s great masterpiece The Gold Rush – generally regarded as “the greatest and most elaborate comedy ever filmed” and the film Chaplin himself described as “the picture that I want to be remembered by.” The colossal 90-minute score of the film was composed by the talented Andreas Zafeiropoulos, who brilliantly gave its live performance on the piano to a great audience acclaim. During the same day, the audience had the opportunity to enjoy some of Cyprus’ emerging young talents: a composition team, comprising Katia Takkou, George Kylilis, Constantinos Hadjigeorgiou and Vasiliki Siafaka, who under the supervision of their professor Dr. George Christofi, composed the music for Sergei Eisenstein’s short, experimental film Romance Sentimentale. The music was performed live by Annini Tsiouti (piano), Mariza Anastasiades (soprano) and Maria Avraam (flute). As an encore, the first, exciting day of enLIVE, concluded with the new film “For Love”, created by a team of young Cypriot directors – Iraklis Ioannou, Mike Constantinou, Georgia Nicolaou, Fanouria Panagiotou and Irene Pantela. The film was corresponding to music by Francisco Tárrega, which was performed live by guitarist Loukas Philippou.

The second day of enLIVE featured Robert Wiene’s Das Kabinett des Dr. Caligari, an atmospheric psychological thriller blending fantasy, romanticism, medieval stories and philosophic fable into a story of mind-control, murder, and insanity. A film as diverse as this was aptly accompanied by a wide-ranging selection of pieces fused together into a fascinating whole by DJ Eleni Mitsiaki. During the same day, there was also a screening of Jean Renoir’s The Little Match Girl, based on the short story of the same name by Hans Christian Andersen. The original music for the film was composed by Leta Krisila and performed live on the piano by Andreas Zafeiropoulos, who also performed Scriabin’s Prelude Op.16, No.1 in B major that accompanied the new short film “To Dream” created by Demetra Englezou.

enLIVE was concluded with a screening of Robert Flaherty’s pioneering film Nanook of the North – the very first feature length documentary ever created. The original music of the film, for electronics and violin, was composed by Georgia Kalodiki, who teamed up with violinist Dimitra Triantafyllou for the live performance. There was also a screening of Georges Méliès’ A Trip to the Moon, based on Verne’s From the Earth to the Moon and H. G. Wells’ The First Men in the Moon. The original music was composed by the young Maria Avraam who performed it live on the flute, accompanied by pianist Annini Tsiouti. Avraam also performed S. Bach’s Sarabande from Partita for solo flute BWV1013, which accompanied Emy Tzavra-Bulloch’s new short film “On Earth”.

27 – 29 January 2016The Shoe Factory, Nicosia

LIVE MUSIC IN SILENT FILMenLIVE

Pharos Review

Considered amongst the UK’s leading young ensembles and praised for their virtuosity, outstanding musicianship and stylistic versatility, the Erato Piano Trio appeared for the first time in Cyprus in an exciting programme: Haydn’s highly virtuosic Piano Trio in C major Hob XV:27, which was published in London in 1797, after the composer had returned to Vienna; Schnittke’s intensely poignant Piano Trio, which was arranged from his String Trio of 1985 and it was dedicated to Schnittke’s doctor, who twice saved the composer’s life from near-fatal strokes; Brahms’ Piano Trio No. 2 in C major, Op.87, which was written in 1882 when the composer was forty-nine, and it is regarded as his first unequivocal masterpiece for the piano trio.

17 February 2016The Shoe Factory, Nicosia

CONCERTERATO PIANO TRIO

Pharos Review

Supported by the Embassy of Spain in Cyprus and the Cervantes Institute in Nicosia, the Pharos Arts Foundation presented a recital with pianist José Menor to commemorate Spanish composer Enrique Granados’ centenary. Recognised as one of the most outstanding Spanish pianists of the new generation, Menor is an artist defying classification, feeling equally at home as the great ambassador of the Spanish music or as a revolutionary of his instrument, exploring the limits of the most innovative vanguard of this century. His performance at The Shoe Factory of Granados’ piano suite Goyescas was both outstanding and unforgettable. The colourful and atmospheric Goyescas, considered by many the pinnacle of Granados’ output, takes its inspiration from the art of Francisco Goya, specifically from a set of sketches of Spanish life that Granados had seen in the Prado museum in Madrid.


PIANO RECITAL JOSÉ MENOR

Pharos Review

A prize-winner in more than 30 international Competitions, including the Moscow International Chopin Competition for Young Pianists, the International Piano Competition in Memory of Emil Gilels, and the Scriabin International Piano Competition in Moscow, the brilliant Galina Chistiakova gave her first recital in Cyprus, delivering an all-French programme comprising Poulenc’s set of fifteen Improvisations composed between 1932-1959; Debussy’s exotic travelog Estampes; Satie’s six Gnossiennes, considered to be one of two priceless testimonies from his youth and they are the first of his works to contain his famous witty instructions and indications; and a transcription for piano of Ravel’s La valse “Poème choréographique”, which the composer described as an evocation of the evasions and collisions between a brilliant surface and dangerous undercurrents. The concert was organised in collaboration with The Keyboard Charitable Trust in London.


PIANO RECITAL GALINA CHISTIAKOVA

Pharos Review

Pharos was proud to present the return visit of the legendary Borodin Quartet. Universally recognised for its genuine interpretation of Russian music, generating critical acclaim all over the world, the Quartet has, for seven decades, been celebrated for its insight and authority in the chamber music repertoire and has been described as “a single sixteenstringed instrument of great virtuosity”. Borodin’s connection with the Russian masters’ chamber works, especially Shostakovich’s chamber music, is intensely personal, since it was stimulated by a close relationship with the composer, who personally supervised its study of each of his quartets. For their memorable concert at The Shoe Factory, the sensational Borodins performed Haydn’s String Quartet Op.33, No.5, Shostakovich’s String Quartet No.4 in D major, the Notturno movement from Borodin’s String Quartet No.2 in D major, and a transcription for string quartet of Tchaikovsky’s piano miniatures “Children’s Album” Op.39. The concert was organised in collaboration with the Embassy of Russia in Cyprus.

16 March 2016The Shoe Factory, Nicosia

CONCERTBORODIN QUARTET

Pharos Review


CONCERTAN EVENING OF PERSIAN CLASSICAL MUSIC ROHAAB ENSEMBLE

Pharos Review

Following the tremendous success of the Persian Music concerts Pharos organised in previous years, the Foundation, in collaboration with the Embassy of Iran in Cyprus, presented another unique evening of Persian Classical Music. The concert was elatedly delivered by the Rohaab Ensemble on traditional instruments. Rohaab has long established itself in Iran, and it has recently gained an international reputation for its distinctive and mystically enchanted performances. The Ensemble’s music has been greatly influenced by the music of the Alawites and the Alevis of Anatolia and the Zagros Mountains of Iran, yet it has been characteristically adjusted to more novel music devices in order to unfold a rather structured improvisational form without diverging nevertheless from the authentic and fundamental characteristics of Persian Classical Music.


CELLO & PIANO RECITALLEVON MOURADIAN celloHAYK MELIKYAN piano

Pharos Review

Prize-winner in some of the world’s most prestigious competitions, cellist Levon Mouradian is widely known for his unique and thorough reflection and interpretation of music. For his recital in Cyprus, which was supported by the Embassy of Portugal in Cyprus and the Camões Institute, Mouradian joined forces with pianist Hayk Melikyan – recognised internationally as one of the most versatile and imaginative performers. The duo performed an all-Russian, virtuosic yet vastly reflective programme, comprising works by Taneyev, Schnittke and Rachmaninov.

The Pharos Arts Foundation, in collaboration with the Moufflon Bookshop, presented the book launch of Futures: Poetry of the Greek Crisis. Featuring some of the most daring new voices in Greek poetry, together with international poets with Greek connections, this empassioned and critically aware book has certainly staked new poetic and political ground. Times of protest and political upheaval have always inspired poets and artists; and beyond the headlines, elections and debt agreements, a powerful Greek literary movement has been stirring. From Grexit to Troika, the ongoing crisis in Greece has spawned a whole new vocabulary and dominated newspaper headlines for over five years. Published in November 2015 by Penned in the Margins, London, Futures: Poetry of the Greek Crisis introduced us to a new generation of writers inspired to highlight the plight of a country in a continual state of emergency and to offer a poetic reply to the social and economic disaster which still threatens to overturn the whole European project. The launch was followed by a talk by the book’s editor Theodoros Chiotis and an interactive dialogue with a number of contributor poets who read their poems.

6 April 2016The Shoe Factory, Nicosia

BOOK LAUNCH & TALK FUTURES: POETRY OF THE GREEK CRISISTHEODOROS CHIOTIS

Pharos Review


PIANO RECITAL ELISSO BOLKVADZE

Pharos Review

The remarkable Elisso Bolkvadze has won numerous international piano competitions such as Van Cliburn (USA) and Marguerite Long (Paris) and she is regularly invited to perform with the world’s most renowned orchestras. She has also become the first Georgian personality to hold the prestigious title of “A UNESCO Artist for Peace” and she has been recently honoured with the distinction Chevalier des Arts et Lettres by the French government. For her recital at The Shoe Factory, the impressive Elisso Bolkvadze performed an exciting programme comprising a selection of Schubert’s Impromtus, Chopin’s Andante Spianato et Grande Polonaise Brilliante, Debussy’s L’isle joyeuse and Prokofiev’s Sonata No.2, Op.14. The concert was organised in collaboration with EMMA FOR PEACE.


JAZZ AT THE SHOE FACTORY BENJAMIN FAUGLOIRE PROJECT

Pharos Review

Pharos, in collaboration with the Institut Français de Chypre, presented a concert with the exciting Benjamin Faugloire Project, comprising three impressive jazzmen: Benjamin Faugloire (piano and composition), Denis Frangulian (double-bass) and Jérome Mouriez (drums). The three musicians from Marseille met during their music studies at the Centre des Musiques Didier Lockwood. Their mutual project was born in 2006 in Paris, and started to take shape during the Trio’s first residency at the Lieux Artistiques de proximités later in the year. They have released three albums so far and have received numerous accolades from the French and international press.

Since its inception sixteen years ago the International Pharos Chamber Music Festival has established itself as the highlight of the Pharos Arts Foundation’s Concert and Recital Series, garnering enthusiastic acclaim from music lovers all over the world. The Festival has become one of Europe’s preeminent music festivals, while it has made chamber music more accessible to the general public in Cyprus, by presenting exciting programmes and performances of the highest level by some of the world’s most renowned soloists. The Festival also maintains a strong tradition of community service, with educational concerts organised for students of public schools and a number of master-classes for young instrumentalists.

Organised between 19 May and 4 June 2016, the 16th International Pharos Chamber Music Festival featured a line-up of twenty unique musicians who joined forces for eight concerts at The Shoe Factory in Nicosia and at the Gothic Hall of the Royal Manor House at Kouklia, Palaipaphos. The Festival explored the many forms of the chamber music genre, and encompassed an impressive array of instrumental combinations and repertoire, ranging from Paganini and Boccherini, all the way through Mozart, Schubert and Brahms, to Shostakovich and Prokofiev, as well as a number of rarely performed masterpieces.

The 16th International Pharos Chamber Music Festival opened at The Shoe Factory with a recital by the exceptional young Viennese violinist Emmanuel Tjeknavorian, who had impressed the international audiences last year after winning the second and special prizes at the Jean Sibelius International Violin Competition in Helsinki. Emmanuel joined forces with another rare young talent from Vienna, pianist Maximilian Kromer, in works by Mozart, Schubert, Franck and Kreisler. The recital was supported by the Embassy of Austria in Cyprus.

After an intensive week of educational activities, the Festival moved to the Royal Manor House of the ancient village of Kouklia, which was specifically transformed by Pharos to a first class recital hall. Some of the world’s greatest musicians joined forces for six memorable concerts. The Festival hosted for the first time in Cyprus, the great Yuja Wang – a pianist who radiates palpable magnetism and a distinctly contemporary sensibility, described as “simply, the most dazzlingly, uncannily gifted pianist in the concert world today”. It also welcomed the return visit of the exceptional Yevgeny Sudbin – hailed as “potentially one of the greatest pianists of the 21st century”. Along with the Festival’s regular guests – distinguished cellist and artistic director of the Festival Alexander Chaushian, Concertmaster of the Berlin Philharmonic Daishin Kashimoto, the impressive violinist Boris Brovtsyn, violinist Levon Chilingirian and violist Diemut Poppen, the Festival also hosted the fascinating German pianist Katharina Treutler, violinist Henning Kraggerud – famed for his deep natural musicianship, virtuosity and beauty of tone, renowned double-bass player Nabil Shehata, the remarkable Alessandro Carbonare – principal clarinettist of the Orchestra di Santa Cecilia in Rome, Fabio Zanon – one of the pre-eminent guitarists of our times, violinist Monika Urbonaite, violists David Abrahamyan and Shira Majoni, cellist Tim Park, and two wonderful and extremely charismatic young singers – soprano Ruzan Mantashyan and Cypriot baritone Markos Kleovoulou.

Some of those amazing soloists guided the Festival back to where it started – at The Shoe Factory in Nicosia, for a suitably festive finale with an exciting and wide-ranging programme of works for strings, guitar, piano and voice.

19 May – 4 June 2016The Shoe Factory, Nicosia

Royal Manor House, Kouklia

16th INTERNATIONAL PHAROS CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL

Pharos Review

The Pharos Arts Foundation opened its Fall 2016 season with the return visit of one of the most charismatic and renowned pianists in the world: Sergei Babayan – an artist who has been hailed for the immediacy, sensitivity and depth of his interpretations, the rare emotional intensity and bold energy of his performances and his extraordinary mastery in exploring a stylistically diverse repertoire. Student of such legendary musicians and teachers as Gornostayeva, Naumov, Pletnev and Vlasenko in the Moscow Conservatory, Babayan was the first pianist from the former USSR who was able to compete without government sponsorship after the collapse of the system and he had immediately won consecutive first prizes in several major international competitions including the Cleveland International Piano Competition and the Hamamatsu Piano Competition. He has appeared with the world’s most renowned orchestras under the baton of the most important conductors and has gained an international reputation for his imaginative recital programming, which has always elicited interest and praise. For his much anticipated return at The Shoe Factory, Babayan joined forces with Pharos’ resident cellist, the remarkable Alexander Chaushian, in a colossal programme of Debussy’s Cello Sonata in D minor, Shostakovich’s Cello Sonata in D minor and Beethoven’s Sonata for Cello & Piano No.3 in A major, Op.69.

12 September 2016The Shoe Factory, Nicosia

CELLO & PIANO RECITAL SERGEI BABAYAN pianoALEXANDER CHAUSHIAN cello

Pharos Review

Dedicated to the promotion of contemporary visual art, Pharos presented Absolute Zero, a solo show of work from British artist Adam Ball. The artist’s work is rooted in the profound research and observation of the miniscule details of his surroundings. He combines his meticulously rendered landscapes with patterns that he derives from nature, science and geology. The results are naturally formed abstractions in which colour and shape play an equally important role in an illusion of space and surfaces. His white on white cut-outs emphasize the fragility of the medium and, at the same time, play with the illusions of the light and shadow they cast. The exhibition included drawings, signature paper and coloured fabric cut-outs and new raw pigment paintings. Absolute Zero was first exhibited at the Goss-Michael Foundation in the US, in 2014, then at the Bait Al Zubair Museum in Oman, in 2015, and after Cyprus, it continued its tour to the UK where it was exhibited at Eton College, Windsor.

28 September - 28 October 2016 Pharos Centre for

Contemporary Art

EXHIBITION ABSOLUTE ZERO ADAM BALL

Pharos Review

The International Pharos Contemporary Music Festival has established itself as one of the most innovative and cutting-edge annual music events in the Eastern Mediterranean. Under the artistic direction of the internationally renowned Cypriot composer, Evis Sammoutis, the Festival is dedicated to the promotion of new music: The well-established masterpieces of the contemporary music literature of the 20th century as well as new works by the younger generation of composers. The Festival has so far presented hundreds of Cyprus premieres as well as a great number of world premieres by composers who have been especially commissioned by the Foundation to write new pieces for the occasion. Providing a platform for composers and performers to advance and develop new projects and explore new sound worlds in chamber music settings, the Festival aspires to acquaint the general audience of Cyprus with the music of our times as this is directly linked with many forms of visual and creative arts, and sciences, and it reflects the profundity of the modern-day man and human spirit.

Organised between 5 and 16 October 2016 at The Shoe Factory in Nicosia, the 8th International Pharos Contemporary Music Festival drew attention to contemporary masterpieces in which human voice takes the lead, featuring four unique concerts, as well as a number of other interesting events such as documentary screenings, lectures and educational workshops.

Over a decade since the Pharos Arts Foundation presented the Cyprus premiere of Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire with the London Sinfonietta, this iconic masterpiece – the keystone of contemporary chamber music and the work that fundamentally altered the course of composition – has not been performed in Cyprus ever since. Pharos was proud to present it again for the eighth edition of its Contemporary Music Festival, this time by the legendary vocalist Marianne Pousseur who joined forces with the exceptional ensemble Het Collectief under the direction of German conductor Robin Engelen. Het Collectief also performed Schoenberg’s post-Romantic masterpiece Verklärte Nacht, as well as Alban Berg’s Five Pieces for Clarinet and Piano Op.5.

The Festival also presented the Cyprus premiere of Kurtág’s monumental 70-minute masterpiece for voice and violin, written in 1987, Kafka Fragments, which is based on Kafka’s texts taken from his notebooks, diaries, and letters. The work was performed by the internationally acclaimed mezzo-soprano Loré Lixenberg and violinist Aisha Orazbayeva.

Another key work featured in the Festival, reflecting a more ground-breaking approach to vocal writing was Beat Furrer’s Lotófagos, for soprano and double-bass, which was written in 2006 and was premiered by the very same artist who gave its Cyprus premiere at The Shoe Factory – the exciting double-bassist Uli Fussenegger of Klangforum Wien who joined forces with the sensational French soprano Hélène Fauchère. Their concert also included a very special arrangement of Purcell’s Dido’s Lament, as well as premieres by Klaus Huber, Vito Juraj and Evis Sammoutis.

Focused on the linkage between old and new music so that the listeners can be familiarised with the historical cohesion of music evolution, comprehend the various procedures and thoroughly enjoy the end result, the Festival’s last concert was a recital by pianist Joseph Houston, one of the most sought-after rising stars on the international contemporary music scene. Houston performed an all-embracing programme, ranging from Scarlatti and Liszt, all the way through to Messiaen, Ives and Xenakis, and new works by Thomas Simaku and Christian Mason.

5 – 16 October 2016The Shoe Factory, Nicosia

8th INTERNATIONAL PHAROS CONTEMPORARY MUSIC FESTIVAL

Pharos Review

Described by the famous English piano scholar Bryce Morrison, as “a masterly pianist with a bold and intriguing personality”, André Gallo is one of the most prominent Italian pianists of his generation. Having studied with maestro Franco Scala at the prestigious International Piano Academy Incontri col Maestro in Imola, he has appeared in recital and as a soloist with important orchestras all over the world, while he has demonstrated particular interest in the French composers of the 20th century, having performed their opera omnia for piano. For his sold-out recital at The Shoe Factory, the prodigious André Gallo performed an all-French programme, comprising Debussy’s Ballade Slave, Rêverie L.68, and Suite Bergamasque; Poulenc’s Suite française d’après Claude Gervaise, as well as a couple of his Novelettes and his famous Toccata from Trois pièces FP 48; Satie’s Croquis et agaceries d’un bonhomme en bois; and Ravel’s Menuet antique. The concert was organised in collaboration with The Keyboard Charitable Trust in London.

28 October 2016The Shoe Factory, Nicosia

PIANO RECITAL ANDRÉ GALLO

Pharos Review

10 November 2016The Shoe Factory, Nicosia

PIANO RECITAL KRZYSZTOF KSIAZEK

Pharos Review

Supported by the Embassy of Poland in Cyprus, Pharos presented another remarkable piano recital with the young and astoundingly talented Krzysztof Ksiazek – prize-winner in a number of important international piano competitions including the Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, the Paderewski Piano Competition in the US, and the International Piano Competition Ricard Viñes in Spain. For his recital in Cyprus, Krzysztof delivered a programme of Chopin’s works, including his highly virtuosic Piano Sonata No.3 in B minor, Scarlatti’s Sonatas as well as Schumann’s Symphonic Etudes.


CONCERT WOLFGANG SCHRÖDER violinVALENTIN RADUTIU celloFLORIAN UHLIG piano

Pharos Review

The Foundation presented a concert with three extremely distinguished musicians – all born in Germany but living in different European countries: the renowned to Cyprus audiences, violinist Wolfgang Schröder, the extraordinary Munich-born cellist Valentin Radutiu, and Florian Uhlig – one of the most sought-after pianists of his generation. The three musicians met in concert for the first time in Cyprus, and delivered a superb performance in front of a greatly appreciative audience of Beethoven’s Piano Trio No.4 in B-flat major, Op.11 “Gassenhauer”, Brahms’ Piano Trio in C minor, Op.101 and Dvorak’s Piano Trio No.2 in G minor, Op.26.

Founded in 1992 by former members of St Thomas’s Boys Choir in Leipzig, the internationally renowned Amarcord Vocal Ensemble has since become one of the world’s leading a-cappella vocal ensembles. Distinguished by their unique tone, breath-taking homogeneity, musical authenticity, and a good dose of charm and humour, the Amarcord has exceled in a vast and highly diverse repertoire of music, from medieval plainsong to madrigals and Renaissance masses, to compositions and cycles of works of the European Romantic period and the 20th century. Amarcord has won prizes at many international competitions, such as Tolosa in Spain, Tampere in Finland and Pohlheim in Germany, as well as the First Choir Olympiad in the Austrian city of Linz. Their discography is vast and their numerous prize-winning CD recordings impressively document the many facets of the Ensemble’s repertoire. The Amarcord Ensemble’s much anticipated return visit to The Shoe Factory comprised sacred and secular music of the English and Italian Renaissance, by composers including Thomas Tallis, William Byrd, John Dowland, John Bennet, Giovanni Gabrielli, Luca Marenzio and Orlando di Lasso. The concert was organised in collaboration with the Goethe-Institut Zypern.


CONCERT AMARCORD VOCAL ENSEMBLE

Pharos Review

2 December 2016The Shoe Factory, Nicosia

CONCERT STEFAN KOCAN bassBOZENA FERANCOVA sopranoROBERT PECHANEC piano

Pharos Review

On the occasion of the Slovak Presidency of the Council of the EU, Pharos, with the support of the Slovak Embassy and the Cyprus-Slovakia Business Association, presented a delightful evening of art-songs and operatic arias featuring the thrilling bass Stefan Kocan – one of the most celebrated opera singers of Slovakia, whose phenomenal artistry has taken him, in leading roles, to the world’s greatest opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Lyric Opera of Chicago and Milan’s La Scala. Kocan joined forces with soprano Bozena Ferancova – a regular guest soloist at the Slovak National Theatre in Bratislava, the State Opera in Prague and the Janáček National Theatre in Brno. The two singers were accompanied on the piano by the renowned répétiteur Robert Pechanec in a diverse programme of works by Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Händel, Dvořák, Boito, Puccini, Rossini & Gershwin, as well as the Cyprus premiere of song-cycles by the Slovak composers Mikuláš Schneider-Trnavsky and Eugen Suchoň.

The season marked another incredible collaboration between the Goethe Institut and Pharos, which presented a memorable jazz concert with the award-winning Anke Helfrich Trio. The leader of the group, renowned jazz pianist Anke Helfrich is the winner of the Echo Jazz Award 2016 in the category “Instrumentalist – Piano” and for her concert in Cyprus, she was joined by Dietmar Fuhr (double-bass) and Paul Höchstädter (drums). Besides their thrilling sold-out evening concert, Anke and her partners also led an exciting jam session in the morning of the concert with professional jazz musicians as well as jazz students from Cyprus.


JAZZ AT THE SHOE FACTORY ANKE HELFRICH TRIO

Pharos Review


GUITAR RECITAL ANTOINE MORINIÈRE

Pharos Review

Pharos, with the kind support of the Embassy of Spain and the Cervantes Institute in Cyprus, presented for the first time in Cyprus a recital with Antoine Morinière – First Prize winner of the International Sevilla Guitar Competition in 2015. Apart from the coveted Sevilla Competition Prize, Antoine has won a number of international guitar competitions. His career as a concert artist began in 2010, when he performed the Piazzolla Guitar Concerto with the Conservatoire de Bordeaux Orchestra. He has since performed all over Europe and he has collaborated with a number of renowned chamber musicians all over the world. He demonstrated his unique artistry at The Shoe Factory, in a programme comprising Joaquín Rodrigo’s Invocación y danza “Homenaje a Manuel de Falla”, Manuel María Ponce’s Sonata romántica, Napoléon Coste’s Fantaisie Dramatique, Op.31 “Le Départ - Le Retour” and Alberto Ginastera’s Sonata for Guitar, Op.47.


PIANO RECITAL CLARE HAMMOND

Pharos Review

The Pharos Arts Foundation concluded its 2016 programme with a sought-after piano recital by the brilliant Clare Hammond. Recognised for the virtuosity and authority of her performances and having developed a reputation for brilliantly imaginative concert programmes, Hammond has recently won the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Young Artist Award, in recognition of outstanding achievements in 2015. Over the past year, she has performed at the Barbican Hall, where The Guardian described her as a “dazzling athlete”, gave five broadcasts for BBC Radio 3, and has recorded discs for Sony, BIS and Signum. For her recital at The Shoe Factory, Hammond gave a breathtaking performance of Bach’s Toccata in D minor, BWV 913, Beethoven’s ‘Pathétique’ Sonata, Dutilleux’s Au gré des ondes, Medtner’s Sonata Romantica, and Stravinsky’s Trois mouvements de Petrouchka.

One of the most important aspects of the Pharos Arts Foundation’s activities is its Education Programme, which has so far benefited over 70.000 students in Cyprus. All the artists, scholars, composers and musicians who participated in the Foundation’s 2016 programme, have also taken part in educational and community activities – educational concerts, workshops, lectures, open-rehearsals and master-classes, for students of primary and secondary education, as well as university students, young professionals and people with special needs. Part of the Foundation’s Education Programme is organized in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and a number of educational activities have been broadcast to tens of schools throughout Cyprus.

January – December 2016Cyprus

COMMUNITY AND EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES

Pharos Review

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INDIVIDUAL SUPPORTERS BENEFITS 2017 ■ CONTRIBUTORS (€100 for single membership or €150 for couple membership) A Contributor of the Pharos Arts Foundation confers the following benefits: ● 25 – 30% (discount on all standard tickets for Foundation events ● 20% discount on Pharos’ publications / art-catalogues ● 30% discount on commercial CDs by participating artists, sold at events ● 10% discount on books at the Moufflon Bookshop, Nicosia ● Advance notice on forthcoming events through post and/or Email ● Advance notice on film screenings at The Shoe Factory ● Over the phone Ticket Reservations for events through the Pharos Arts Foundation Box Office ● Invitations to after-concert receptions ● Recognition in the Sponsors’ page on all Concert Booklets ● Acknowledgment in the end-of-the-year Review Publication ● Recognition on the Foundation’s website ● One (or two for couple) complimentary ticket voucher(s) to be used at any Pharos concerts throughout the year ■ SUPPORTERS (from €250 for couple membership) A Supporter is entitled to all the benefits of Contributor membership (couple), plus: ● A highlights CD of Pharos 2017 concerts ● Complimentary Concert Booklet for all concerts ● Six complimentary Ticket Vouchers to be used at any Pharos concerts throughout the year ■ THE PHAROS CIRCLE (From €500 for couple membership) The Pharos Circle membership confers all the benefits of the Supporter membership, plus: ● A complimentary Pharos art-catalogue ● Complimentary tickets to all the 17th International Pharos Chamber Music Festival ● Complimentary tickets to all the 9th International Pharos Contemporary Music Festival ● Priority seating when booking is confirmed ● Private preview of concert rehearsals, educational concerts, exhibitions ● Invitations to receptions and after-concert dinners with the artists ● A gift package of 4 CDs/DVDs from Pharos Concerts ■ PATRONS (From €1.000 for couple membership) Patrons receive all the above benefits as well as additional individually tailored benefits to suit one’s preferences including: ● Complimentary tickets to all the events ● A complimentary commercial CD by participating artists (upon request) ● If desired, recognition on promotional material, invitations and advertisements of two events. ● Gift package of 10 CDs/DVDs from Pharos Concerts ● A Complimentary Hotel Room (double) for one night during the 17th International Chamber Music Festival

Please return the completed form to Pharos Arts Foundation, P.O. Box 21425, 1508 Nicosia, Cyprus. Fax: +357 22663538 Email: [email protected] Name:..................................................................................................................................

Address:............................................................................................................. Flat No:.............. Post Code:.................... City:.......................... P.O. Box:......................... Telephone No:........................ Fax No:................................ E-mail Address:..................................................................... I wish to make a contribution of €:...............................to the Pharos Arts Foundation □ I wish to receive information via email only Contribution Method: ■ Cash ■ Cheque (made payable to Pharos Arts Foundation) Bank:................................... Cheque No:................. ■ Credit Card: American Express/ Visa/ MasterCard/ Diners (please circle one) No.:......................................... Expiry Date:.................................... CCV2 Code:............. Name on card:........................................................ Signature:................................................ ■Bank's Standing Order / Direct Debit: For your convenience, you may instruct your bank to create a Standing Order for an Annual Contribution to Pharos Arts Foundation. Please send Pharos Arts Foundation a copy of the Standing Order/ Direct Debit. Bank Details: Pharos Arts Foundation, Alpha Bank Ltd, Nicosia Main Branch (202), P.O. Box 21661, 1596 Nicosia, Cyprus. Account Number: 202-220-002294-0, IBAN: CY51 0090 0202 0002 0222 0002 2940, Swift BIC: ABKLCY2N. Bank:........................................................................................... Date of first Contribution:................................. For information about Corporate Sponsorship please contact the Pharos Arts Foundation

CORPORATE SUPPORTERS BENEFITS 2017 ■ CORPORATE CONTRIBUTORS (From €2,000) A Corporate Contributor of the Pharos Arts Foundation confers the following benefits: ● Company LOGO to appear on: Print Advertisements & Tickets of 2 events and TV Commercial of 1 event ● Company ADVERTISEMENT (A4, full-page, colour) to appear in the Concert Booklets of 2 events ● Company ADVERTISEMENT (A4, full-page, colour) to appear in the end-of-the-year Review Publication ● 8 complimentary Ticket Vouchers to be used at any concert throughout the year ■ COPRORATE SPONSORS (From €5,000) A Corporate Sponsor of the Pharos Arts Foundation confers the following benefits: ● Company LOGO to appear on: Print Advertisements & Tickets of 5 events and TV Commercials of 2 events ● Company ADVERTISEMENT (A4, full-page, colour) to appear in the Concert Booklets of 5 events ● Company ADVERTISEMENT (A4, full-page, colour) to appear in the end-of-the-year Review Publication ● 16 complimentary Ticket Vouchers to be used throughout the year ● Preferential seating for Board members ■ THE PHAROS CORPORATE CIRCLE (From €8,000) A Pharos Corporate Circle of the Pharos Arts Foundation confers the following benefits: ● Company LOGO to appear on: Print Advertisements of 10 events, TV Commercials & Tickets of all events, Banners & Billboards of all large scale events ● Company ADVERTISEMENT (A4, full-page, colour) to appear in the Concert Booklets of 10 events ● Company ADVERTISEMENT (A4, full-page, colour) to appear in the end-of-the-year Review Publication ● A Company FEATURE in the Pharos Review Publication (upon request) ● Publicity Material / Products of Company to be displayed during all events (upon request) ● 4 complimentary Tickets for each concert ● Preferential seating for Board members ● Private preview of concert rehearsals, educational concerts, exhibitions, as well as opportunities to meet with the artists for Company’s personnel and valued customers ■ CORPORATE PATRONS (From €20,000) A Corporate Patron of the Pharos Arts Foundation confers the following benefits: ● Company LOGO to appear on: Print Advertisements, TV Commercials & Tickets of all events and Banners & Billboards of all large scale events ● Company ADVERTISEMENT (A4, full-page, colour) to appear in the Concert Booklets of all events (cover or inside back cover) ● Company ADVERTISEMENT (A4, full-page, colour) to appear in the end-of-the-year Review Publication ● Company PROFILE in all Concert Booklets (upon request) ● A Company FEATURE in the Pharos Review Publication (upon request) ● Creation of Banner with Company advertisement in the foyer of venue for all concerts (upon request) ● Publicity Material / Products of Company to be displayed during all events (upon request) ● Copies of the audio recording of the event sponsored by the Company, for Company’s personnel and clients (upon request) ● 6 complimentary Tickets for each concert ● Preferential seating for Board members ● Private preview of concert rehearsals, educational concerts, exhibitions, as well as opportunities to meet with the artists for Company’s personnel and valued customers ● A Complimentary Hotel Room (double) for one night during the 17th International Chamber Music Festival

In addition to the above benefits, all corporate sponsors receive: ● Company NAME to be acknowledged on the Foundation's website, in the end-of-the-year Review Publication and all Concert Booklets ● Company LOGO to appear on Foundation’s website with hyperlink to Company’s Website ● Invitations to after-concert receptions ● 20% DISCOUNT on tickets and Pharos’ publications / art-catalogues for Company personnel ● 25% - 35% DISCOUNT on commercial CDs by participating artists, sold at events for Company Personnel ● 10% DISCOUNT on books at the Moufflon Bookshop, Nicosia for all Company personnel ● Advance notice of forthcoming events and film screenings through post and/or Email ● 10 highlights CDs of 2017 Pharos concerts ● Complimentary Concert Booklet for all concerts for all Company personnel ● Complimentary copies of the end-of-the-year Review publication

For more details and ideas on Corporate Sponsorship, please contact the Pharos Arts Foundation. Tel: 22 663871 / Email: [email protected]

The Pharos CentreA vision for the Future

Since its inception, in 1998, the Cyprus-based Pharos Arts Foundation has established an international reputation for artistic and cultural excellence. The Foundation’s programme includes a regular concert and recital series, an annual Chamber Music Festival now in its sixteenth year and a Contemporary Music Festival now in its eighth year, a music education programme, exhibitions of contemporary art, publishing, and a lecture series on issues of global importance with distinguished speakers.

Our vision is to expand these activities by creating a centre for Art, Culture, and Dialogue in a beautiful setting of ancient olive groves and pine forest at Delikipos. The Centre will provide space for the visual andperforming arts as well as a library and accommodation for visiting artists, writers, composers, musicians, and thinkers from all disciplines and backgrounds.

An important element of this Centre would be the Pharos Forum, providing a venue for dialogue and debate on issues that concern us all. Universal spiritual and material progress which we call civilization can only flourish in what has become the global village of the 21st century if we share basic ethical principles and develop a new world view, a paradigm determined by a reverence for life and nature as well as creative expression. The distinguishing characteristics of the Pharos Forum will undoubtedly be its setting and its human scale, bringing people together from all over the world to an intimate natural environment that allows the landscape to work its magic, and gives individuals time to develop genuine friendships and valuable conversations. John McMurray, the Scottish philosopher said ‘The purpose of all meaningful knowledge is action, and the purpose of all meaningful action is friendship’. The Pharos Forum will cultivate these crucial notions and offer new collaborative ways of addressing difference and discord – of moving away from private understandings, as Heraclitus would have put it, towards perceptions of unity.

An additional crucial component of the project is the emphasis that would be given to music and the arts. All cultures and religions have expressed their highest aspirations through music and the arts. Sophocles says ‘He who neglects the arts when young has lost the past and is the dead to the future’. The Pharos Centre will offer participants opportunities to listen to music-making of the highest order from the western classical tradition as well as other cultures and to engage in dialogue with leading international artists.

The Pharos Centre, situated on an island at a pivotal point between three continents and diverse cultures, will bring together men and women of goodwill to find a common language and to explore ways in which we can develop a saner, healthier and more sustainable world at the beginning of a millennium. If you would like to learn more about the Centre and contribute towards the realisation of our vision, you may contact the Pharos Arts Foundation at [email protected].

Annie Wiggins

Lisa M. Buttenheim

Charles & Cecilia Irving-Swift

Electricity Authority Cyprus

Embassy of Poland

Elaheh Loghman-Adhay

Hans & Marianne Berger

Nazareth DavidianHelene Indianos

Ruth Keshishian

Julia Molchanova

Marina SnigirevaMartine Stefanesco

2016 - pharos arts foundation arts foundation - review... · quartet edward simon ensemble...

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