Press Release

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PPhhaarrooss CChhaammbbeerr MMuussiicc FFeessttiivvaall aattttrraacctt ttoopp mmuussiicciiaannss yyeeaarr aafftteerr yyeeaarr”” BBC Music Magazine, March 2012

The International Pharos Chamber Music Festival is being organized again this year, despite the recent shortcomings in Cyprus. The Festival has established itself as the most important annual classical music event on the island, and has gained international reputation for its quality concerts and magnificent settings. Guided by a visionary spirit and dedicated to artistic excellence and innovation, the Festival attracts over 2.000 visitors every year. It also maintains a strong tradition of community service, with educational concerts organized for students of public schools and a number of master-classes for young instrumentalists. Organized between 21 May and 1 June 2013, the 13th International Pharos Chamber Music Festival welcomes to Cyprus some of the most remarkable artists on the international music scene, for eight concerts in three unique venues in Cyprus: the notable Royal Manor House in the ancient village of Kouklia, birthplace of goddess Aphrodite; The Shoe Factory, a contemporary recital venue situated in Ermou Street near the buffer zone in Nicosia; The Olive Grove, a world-class, open-air venue surrounded by the idyllic forest of Delikipos. This year’s Festival would not have been made possible if it were not for the kindness of the participating artists, who expressed their wish to show solidarity with the people of Cyprus by performing for a very small symbolic fee, in order to enable the Foundation to reduce the price of the tickets even more. At a time when our country faces enormous economic, political and societal challenges, the necessity of serious cultural events is often neglected, yet it is precisely during these difficult times that we need the inspiration and beauty that only the arts and music can provide.

WHAT, WHEN & WHERE:

21 May / The Shoe Factory, Nicosia Baroque Recital with Mahan Esfahani (Harpsichord) & Michala Petri (Recorders) 24 May / The Shoe Factory, Nicosia Piano Recital with Elisha Abas 27-31 May / Royal Manor House, Kouklia Five Concerts with Boris Brovtsyn, Daishin Kashimoto, Levon Chilingirian, Monika Urbonaite,

Charles Sewart (violin), Sam Barsegian, Diemut Poppen (viola), Alexander Chaushian, Marc Coppey (cello), Hayk Khachatryan (double-bass), Sergei Nakariakov (trumpet, flugelhorn), Ashley Wass, Vahan Mardirossian, Maria Meerovitch, Elisha Abas (piano)

1 June / The Olive Grove, Delikipos Open-air concert for Strings **Concerts start at 8.30

THE VENUES:

The Royal Manor House / Kouklia is one of the finest surviving monuments of Frankish architecture on the island and an unparalleled venue for intimate chamber music performances. The building also houses an archaeological museum, which records the rich history of human activity in the region from about 2800 BC to the present day. The Royal Manor House, which is part of the Cyprus Tourism Organisation’s “Aphrodite’s Cultural Route”, is also a UNESCO World Heritage site. Palaipaphos, or Old Paphos, was a city-kingdom of Cyprus and one of the most celebrated pilgrimage centres of the ancient Greek world. It was the site of a famous sanctuary of Aphrodite, the oldest remains of which date back to the 12th century BC. Join us in a leisurely exploration of the history and cultural heritage of the western region of Cyprus. The Shoe Factory is situated in the old part of Nicosia, near the buffer zone. Through it, the Pharos Arts Foundation is helping to revitalize this beautiful and historic section of the capital city by attracting a wide and diversified younger audience. All concerts are characterized by a unique feeling of intimacy and music is performed in an exceptionally inspiring setting: a modern venue decorated with contemporary art by mainly local artists; a venue situated in the “run down” part of Nicosia that offers the audience the unique opportunity to sit within an amazing proximity to world famous artists and experience performances in a venue like no other. The Olive Grove is a world-class, open-air concert venue, which aims to deliver relaxed and informal events so that intimacy is developed between the artists and the audience. The venue is surrounded by the idyllic forest of Delikipos and is adorned with wooden decks, shallow pools of water, zen landscaping and a uniquely atmospheric lighting. The audience can relax on the chairs, blankets and pillows with a glass of wine.

INFORMATION:

PHAROS ARTS FOUNDATION Tel. +35722663871 / www.pharosartsfoundation.org

TICKETS

Ticket price: €10 BOX OFFICE: Tel. 7000-9304 (daily 9.30-11.30am) / www.pharostickets.org KYRIAKOU FULLPAGE BOOKSHOPS: 30 Ellados Ave., 8020 Paphos, Tel. 26 822850

TTuueessddaayy 2211 MMaayy,, 22001133 // TThhee SShhooee FFaaccttoorryy,, NNiiccoossiiaa // 88::3300ppmm Baroque Recital with Mahan Esfahani (harpsichord) & Michala Petri (recorders)

Mahan Esfahani / harpsichord “…the brilliance and artistry of Mahan Esfahani, who, despite his young age, played with the musicality and virtuosity of a master.” Keyboard Magazine Hailed as the ''leading harpsichordist of his generation'' (Opera Today), Mahan Esfahani (b. 1984) is the first harpsichordist to be named a BBC New Generation Artist (2008-2010). In 2009 he gave his solo recital debut at the Wigmore Hall, about which the Daily Telegraph exclaimed "the harpsichord comes out of hiding…magnificent," thus launching a major career as a recitalist, concerto soloist, and more recently, conductor. His recording of the Poulenc harpsichord concerto was issued in May 2010 with BBC Music Magazine, and he has been featured as a “Hot Property” by Classic FM magazine. In July of 2011 he played the first solo harpsichord recital in the history of the Proms, selling out London's Cadogan Hall with Bach's Goldberg Variations, and he made a return to the Proms in 2012 with his orchestration of Bach's Art of Fugue for the Academy of Ancient Music. Recent and future highlights include appearances with the Academy of Ancient Music, the Hamburger Sinfoniker, the Prague Symphony chamber concerts, the Istanbul Bach Days, the Hanover Band, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the Festival of Flanders at Bruges, Utrecht Oude Muziek, New York’s Frick Collection, and at the major recital halls of Cologne, Vienna, Vancouver, London, Tokyo, and Nagoya. In 2013 he will be recording the complete Württemberg Sonatas of C.P.E. Bach for Hyperion Records, and the same year sees a recital disc of Byrd, Bach, and Ligeti for Wigmore Hall Live. Esfahani studied as a President’s Scholar at

Stanford University under the guidance of the musicologist George Houle; later he went on to study harpsichord and organ with Peter Watchorn and Lorenzo Ghielmi. He currently benefits from the teaching and advice of the celebrated Czech harpsichordist Zuzana Růžičková. He was for three years Artist-in-Residence at New College, Oxford, and now makes his home in London. www.mahanesfahani.com

Michala Petri / recorders Since her concert debut at the Tivoli Concert Hall in 1969, Michala Petri has established herself as one of classical music’s most beloved performers and the leading exponent of her instrument, the recorder. She has toured extensively throughout Europe, North America, Israel, Australia and the Far East, performing with musicians such as Pinchas Zukerman, James Galway, Joshua Bell, Maurice André, Keith Jarrett, Gidon Kremer and Claudio Abbado and has appeared as soloist with many of the world’s major chamber and symphony orchestras. Michala Petri has received the highest praise for her astonishing virtuosity in a repertoire ranging from the early baroque to contemporary works, many written especially for her. In 1992, she formed a duo with Danish guitarist and lute player Lars Hannibal, with whom she tours all over the world. In addition to maintaining a vigorous performing schedule, Michala Petri has produced many recordings including her Deutscher Schallplattenpreis winning discs of Vivaldi Concerti, with Vladimir Spivakov and the Moscow Virtuosi (1997), Kreisler Inspirations with Lars Hannibal (2002), two discs of Bach and Handel Sonatas with Keith Jarrett and the critically acclaimed Los Angeles Street Concerto: Michala Petri plays Thomas Koppel (Dacapo), which received the Danish Music Award as Best Classical Album in 2006 In 2006, together with Lars Hannibal, Michala launched OUR Recordings. To date, OUR Recordings has released more than a dozen

titles including the 2 Grammy® nominated Movements and Chinese Recorder Concertos and the on-going Dialogue- East meets West series. English Recorder Concertos is the latest instalment of Michala’s contemporary concerto project, featuring both World Premieres and works especially composed for her.

Programme: G.F. Handel (1685 –1759 ) Sonata in D, HWV 367 for recorder & basso continuo J.S. Bach (1685–1750 ) Partita in C-minor for unaccompanied alto recorder, BWV 1013 G.P. Telemann (1683–1767) Sonata in C-major for recorder & basso continuo, from the ''Essercizi Musici'' Arcangelo Corelli (1653–1713 ) Sonata in D, Op. V no. 12, ''La Follia'' Interval J.S. Bach (1685–1750 ) Sonata in F for recorder & basso continuo, BWV 1035 Alessandro Scarlatti (1660–1725 ) Partite sopra la Follia di spagna J.S. Bach (1685–1750 ) Sonata in G for recorder & basso continuo, BWV 1034

FFrriiddaayy 2244 MMaayy,, 22001133 // TThhee SShhooee FFaaccttoorryy,, NNiiccoossiiaa // 88::3300ppmm Piano Recital with Elisha Abas

Elisha Abas / piano "His performance of Mozart's piano concerto No 23 sounded sophisticated and lush, as if two old masters devoted themselves to a late work of godlike Mozart." Berliner Morgenpost - Sept 2010 The great-great grandson of composer Alexander Scriabin, pianist Elisha Abas was a child prodigy who first appeared on the world stage at the age of six. He was the life-long student of Pnina Salzman, and by the age of 11, he appeared with great masters such as Leonard Bernstein, Isaac Stern, Zubin Mehta, and Arthur Rubinstein who became his mentor.

Abas achieved many awards throughout his career, having won the first prize in the America Israel Cultural Foundation Music Competition for eight consecutive years and the first prize in the Claremont Piano Competition. After nine busy years of touring the world, he took a break from performing in public, and became, in the meanwhile, a professional footballer in Israel’s premier league. He also gained a degree in law before returning to the world stage in 2004. In 2007, he returned to Carnegie Hall to great critical and public acclaim. His career took off ever since, even though Abas has been extremely selective as with regards to his public performances. He has given recitals throughout the world, amongst others, a tribute recital to the memory of the victims of the Holocaust organized by the United Nations in New York, at the Smolny Cathedral in St. Petersburg, Israel Radio's Kol Hamusica Festival, and the New York Chamber Music Festival to which he will return again this year. His concerto appearances have included Mozart’s No.23 with the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra in Caracas on invitation by Gustavo Dudamel, and with Mahler International Orchestra in Berlin, Brahms’ Piano Concerto No.1 with the National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba, Chopin’s No.2 with the Symphony Orchestra of Karelia, and Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue with the Staatstheater Orchestra Kassel, with which he will appear again in 2014 in Rachmaninov’s No.3. Forthcoming concerts include Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No.3 with the Israel Symphony Orchestra, and return visits to the Symphony Orchestra of Karelia and the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Gustavo Dudamel in Brahms’ No.1, as well as recitals and chamber music in Israel, Europe and the US. Elisha Abas’ latest CD in works by Chopin and American-Israeli composer Ronn Yedidia was released earlier this year by Urlicht AudioVisual in New York. With the same label, he also released a CD with Brahms’ Piano Concerto No.1 with the National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba conducted by Yoel Gamzou. His live recording of the Mozart Piano Concerto No.23 with International Mahler Orchestra was released in 2010 by FOLIPRO Berlin.

Programme:

Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849) Polonaise in C-sharp minor, Op.26. No.1 (1836) Nocturne No.20 in C-sharp minor, Op.posth. (1830) Robert Schumann (1810–1856) Arabesque in C major, Op.18 (1839) Kinderszenen, Op.15 (1838) Franz Liszt (1811–1886) Funérailles (1849)

Interval

Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849) Mazurka in A minor, Op.7, No.2 (1830-31) Mazurka in F minor, Op.7, No.3 (1830-31) Mazurka in A minor, Op.17, No.4 (1833) Mazurka in B minor, Op.33, No.4 (1838) George Gershwin (1898–1937) Rhapsody in Blue (1924)

MMoonnddaayy 2277 –– FFrriiddaayy 3311 MMaayy,, 22001133 // RRooyyaall MMaannoorr HHoouussee,, KKoouukklliiaa // 88::3300ppmm Five Chamber Concerts with: Violin: Boris Brovtsyn, Daishin Kashimoto, Levon Chilingirian, Monika Urbonaite, Charles Sewart Viola: William Coleman, Diemut Poppen, Sam Barsegian Cello: Alexander Chaushian, Marc Coppey Double-Bass: Hayk Khachatryan Trumpet / Flugelhorn: Sergei Nakariakov Piano: Ashley Wass, Vahan Mardirossian, Maria Meerovitch

Programme:

Monday 27 May 2013 Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904) Double-bass Quintet No.2 in G major, Op.77 (1876) Levon Chilingirian / violin, Charles Sewart / violin, William Coleman / viola, Alexander Chaushian / cello, Hayk Khachatryan / double-bass

Interval

Franz Schubert (1797–1828) Piano Quintet in A major, D. 667 “Trout” (1819) Ashley Wass / piano, Levon Chilingirian / violin, Diemut Poppen / viola, Alexander Chaushian / cello, Hayk Khachatryan / double-bass

Tuesday 28 May 2013 Johannes Brahms (1833–1897) Variations on a Theme by Schumann, Op.23, for piano 4 hands (1861) Ashley Wass / piano, Vahan Mardirossian / piano

Johannes Brahms (1833–1897) Horn Trio in E-flat major, Op.40 (1865) Sergei Nakariakov / flugelhorn, Daishin Kashimoto / violin, Maria Meerovitch / piano

Interval

Robert Schumann (1810–1856) Fantasiestücke, Op.73 (1849) Sergei Nakariakov / flugelhorn, Maria Meerovitch / piano

Franz Schubert (1797–1828) Impromptu in G-flat major, Op.90, No.3 (1827) Maria Meerovitch / piano

Franz Liszt (1811–1886) Soirées de Vienne - Valse caprice No.6 d'après F. Schubert (1852) Maria Meerovitch / piano

Francis Poulenc (1899–1963) "C" from Deux Poemes de Louis Aragon (1943) "Violon" from Fiançailles pour Rire, No.5 (1939) "C'est ainsi que tu es", from Métamorphoses, No.2 (1943) Sergei Nakariakov / flugelhorn, Maria Meerovitch / piano

Jean-Baptiste Arban (1825–1889) Variations on Bellini's Norma Sergei Nakariakov / trumpet, Maria Meerovitch / piano

Wednesday 29 May 2013

W.A. Mozart (1756 –1791) Fantasia No.4 in C minor, K.475 (1785) Vahan Mardirossian / piano

Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849) Selection of Mazurkas Elisha Abas / piano

Interval Franz Liszt (1811-1886) Three Petrarch Sonnets S158 from Années de pèlerinage II (1858) Ashley Wass / piano Samuel Barber (1910–81) Piano Sonata, Op.26 (1949) Ashley Wass / piano

Thursday 30 May 2013 Joseph Haydn (1732–1809) Piano Trio No.39 in G major, Hob. XV/25 "Gypsy" (1795) Vahan Mardirossian / piano, Boris Brovtsyn / violin, Marc Coppey / cello

W.A. Mozart (1756 –1791) Piano Quartet No.2 in E-flat major, K.493 (1785) Ashley Wass / piano, Daishin Kashimoto / violin, Diemut Poppen / viola, Marc Coppey / cello

Interval Max Bruch (1838–1920) String Octet in B-flat major, Op. Posth (1920) Daishin Kashimoto / violin , Levon Chilingirian / violin, Boris Brovtsyn / violin, Monika Urbonaite / violin, William Coleman / viola, Sam Barsegian / viola, Marc Coppey / cello, Alexander Chaushian / cello

Friday 31 May 2013 W.A. Mozart (1756 –1791) Horn Quintet in E-flat major, K.407 (1782) Sergei Nakariakov / trumpet, Levon Chilingirian / violin, William Coleman / viola, Diemut Poppen / viola, Alexander Chaushian / cello

Franz Schubert (1797–1828) Piano Trio No.2 in E-flat major, D.929 (1827) Vahan Mardirossian / piano, Boris Brovtsyn / violin, Alexander Chaushian / cello

Interval

Dmitri Shostakovich (1906–1975) Piano Quintet in G minor, Op.57 (1940) Maria Meerovitch /piano, Daishin Kashimoto / violin, Boris Brovtsyn / violin, Sam Barsegian / viola, Alexander Chaushian / cello

SSaattuurrddaayy 11 JJuunnee,, 22001133 // TThhee OOlliivvee GGrroovvee,, DDeelliikkiippooss // 88::3300ppmm An open-air concert for strings with: Violin: Boris Brovtsyn, Levon Chilingirian Viola: William Coleman, Diemut Poppen, Sam Barsegian Cello: Alexander Chaushian

Programme:

Johannes Brahms (1833–1897) String Quintet No.2 in G major, Op.111 (1890) Boris Brovtsyn / violin, Levon Chilingirian / violin, William Coleman / viola, Sam Barsegian / viola, Alexander Chaushian / cello

Interval

W.A. Mozart (1756 –1791) String Quintet No.3 in C major, K.515 (1787) Levon Chilingirian / violin, Boris Brovtsyn / violin, Diemut Poppen / viola, William Coleman / viola, Alexander Chaushian / cello

Boris Brovtsyn / violin Boris Brovtsyn was born in 1977. After graduating from Moscow´s Central Music School in 1994, he entered the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory where he studied with Maya Glezarova. During his time there he became a laureate of international competitions, such as Georg Kulenkampf (1994, Cologne), Transnet (1996, Pretoria) and Yehudi Menuhin (1998). In 2001 he was a finalist at the Queen Elizabeth Violin Competition and won the 2001 Reuters Prize. The following year he won the Tibor Varga International Violin Competition. In 1998, Brovtsyn made his UK debut with the BBC Philharmonic conducted by Rumon Gamba. In 2000, he became a student of David Takeno at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and in 2004, he won the GSMD´s highest award, the Gold Medal (past winners include Jacqueline du´Pre, Tasmin Little and Bryn Terfel). As a soloist, Boris Brovtsyn has collaborated with artists such as Yuri Bashmet, Gerd Albrecht, Yan Pascal Tortelier, and Arvo Volmer to name but a few, and appeared with Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, Orchestre National de Belgique, BBC Philharmonic, Orchestre National de Lille and Moscow State Chamber Orchestra, Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra. He has performed at festivals including the Verbier, Lugano, Edinburgh, Oxford Chamber Music, and Ryedale. Recently he has played with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande in Geneva and Warsaw, the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Utah Symphony Orchestra, and he has participated in the Jerusalem Chamber Music Festival. Future engagements include among others performances with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra under

Vassily Sinaisky, with the Chamber Orchestra of the Enescu at the Festival “George Enescu” in Bucharest, with the Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra under Jakub Hrusa and a tour with the Warsaw Philharmonic under Antoni Wit.

Daishin Kashimoto / violin Concertmaster of the Berlin Philharmonic, Daishin Kashimoto studied with Prof. Naoko Tanaka, a faculty member at the Juilliard School. He was accepted by the pre-college division of the Juilliard School as its youngest student and received the Edward John Noble Foundation Scholarship. He continued his studies in Germany with Prof. Zakhar Bron at the Luebeck Musikhochschule and at the Staatliche Hochschule fur Musik in Freiburg under Prof. Rainer Kussmaul. In 1988, Kashimoto gave his first recital, as well as his first

concert as a soloist with the New York Symphonic Ensemble in New York. Since then, he has given recitals and solo appearances in the USA, the Far East and in many European countries. He has performed with numerous internationally renowned orchestras, including the

State Symphony Orchestra of Russia, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Radio Symphony Orchestras of Cologne, Frankfurt and Moscow, Orchestre National de France, Vienna and Berlin Symphony Orchestras, English Chamber Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony, under the baton of such great conductors as Hugh Wolff, Lord Yehudi Menuhin, Seiji Ozawa, Lorin Maazel, Heinrich Schiff, Mikhail Pletnev, Myung-Whun Chung and Yury Temirkanov. Daishin Kashimoto is first prize winner of such renowned competitions as the 6

th Menuhin International Junior Violin Competition

(England, 1993), the International Competition for Violinists (Cologne, 1994), and, in 1996, as the youngest winner in history of both the International Fritz Kreisler Violin Competition in Vienna and the Marguerite Long – Jacques Thibaud International Competition for Piano and Violin in Paris. In 1994, Daishin was awarded the Steigenberger Prize and the Davidoff Prize, as well as the Brahms Prize (Germany, 1999). Kashimoto signed a worldwide recording contract with Sony Classical and has released two CDs with Itamar Golan and a live recording with the Staatskapelle Dresden and Myung-Whum Chung.

Levon Chilingirian / violin Levon Chilingirian was born in Cyprus to Armenian parents and was introduced to music from a very early age through his pianist mother and violinist great uncle. When the Chilingirian family immigrated to London in 1960, Levon concentrated on the violin, studying at the Royal College of Music. His early influences in music were his uncle, the violinist Manoug Parikian, his teacher Hugh Bean, musicologist Hans Keller, and the Amadeus Quartet. His career as a recitalist was launched by winning the first prize in the 1969 BBC Beethoven Competition, followed by the Munich Duo first prize in 1971. The same year, he formed one of the most active and celebrated string quartets on the international scene, the Chilingirian Quartet. The music director of the talented Swedish string

ensemble Camerata Roman, Levon Chilingirian has appeared as soloist with the BBC Symphony, London Philharmonic, Bournemouth, Liverpool Philharmonic, Scottish Chamber, and Russian National Orchestras, received the Cobbett Medal, the Royal Philharmonic Society's chamber music award and, in January 2000, an OBE in the Queen's Honours List for his services to music.

Charles Sewart / violin With tours to over forty countries as a member of the Chilingirian and Mistry String Quartets Charles Sewart has, over twenty years, enjoyed a busy schedule of performing, recording and teaching at some of the world’s most prestigious venues and festivals. Recordings for Virgin/EMI, Decca, Hyperion, CRD, Chandos, Classic fm have received high acclaim. Charles is currently Head of Strings at the Purcell School and, since leaving the Chilingirian Quartet in 2007, has enjoyed a broad and varied performing career including international concerto performances, leading, presenting and directing gala performance of music of the Strauss family. Charles is also an enthusiastic viola player and takes particular pleasure in exploring

the great masterpieces of the string quintet repertoire.

Monika Urbonaite / violin Monika Urbonaite was born in Lithuania into a musical family. From an early age she played as soloist with various orchestras and won numerous competition awards both in her native Lithuania and abroad. After having won the "Talent of Hope" award at the Heifetz competition in Vilnius, she was invited by Gidon Kremer to join the Kremerata Baltica chamber orchestra. She spent the next six years there, touring all over the world and collaborating with the likes of Martha Argerich, Misha Maisky, Gustavo Dudamel, Yo Yo Ma, and with the orchestra's founder, Gidon Kremer. Monika Urbonaite has recently graduated from Trinity College of Music where she was a recipient of numerous scholarships and awards including the Leverhulme, the Founders, the TCM Trust and the Tillett and Colin Keer Trust scholarships and also won the Vivian Joseph classical concerto

competition. She studied with Ofer Falk.

William Coleman / viola William Coleman has made many appearances as a chamber musician and soloist, and as the violist of the acclaimed Berlin-based Kuss Quartet. His concert schedule has included concerts at the Salzburg and Edinburgh Festivals, as well as at the Berlin Philharmonie, Vienna Konzerthaus, Wigmore Hall, Theatre du Chatelet Paris, Washington Library of Congress and Carnegie Hall. William studied at the University “Mozarteum” in Salzburg with Thomas Riebl and Veronika Hagen, and at Boston's New England Conservatory with Kim Kashkashian. During this time he also received coaching from the Hungarian pianist Ferenc Rados. He has performed with some of the world's finest musicians, including Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Christian Tetzlaff, Yuri Bashmet, Miklos Perenyi, Kim Kashkashian, Boris Pergamenschikov and Leif Ove Andsnes. In 2002, William joined the Kuss Quartet. Since then, the quartet has been a recipient of numerous prizes. They took on the role of cultural ambassador for the President of Germany, traveling with him on the much-discussed first visit to Israel. The Kuss Quartet has recorded numerous CDs for Sony/BMG and ECM. They have also been recorded worldwide for radio and television. Most recently the quartet broadcast for the BBC, live from the Frick Collection in New York.

Samvel Barsegian / viola Samvel Barsegian was born in Yerevan/Armenia in 1971. He started to play violin at the age of six, and in 1987, he switched to the viola. He was accepted by the Yerevan State Conservatory in 1989, where he won the First Prize in the National Competition. Between 1991 and 1997, he studied at the Freiburg School of Music in Germany with Professor Kim Kashkashian. From 1995 until 1998 Samvel was taking viola and conducting lessons with Rudolf Barshai. At the same time, he actively participated in a number of master-classes by legendary musicians such as Janosh Starker, Josef Silverstein and Mstislav Rostropovich. In 1998 Samvel was appointed principal violist of the Flemish Fhilarmonic orchestra in Antwerpen/Belgium, a position he held for many years. In 2008 he moved to Lisbon/Portugal, where he was appointed principal violist of the Gulbenkian orchestra. Samvel Barsegian has conducted a number of European orchestras, and he is the founder of the Lisbon Chamber Orchestra, of which he is the chief conductor and artistic director.

Diemut Poppen / viola Diemut Poppen is one of the finest viola players of her generation. Born in a musical family, Poppen studied in Germany, USA and Paris with some of the greatest viola players of her time, including Yuri Bashmet, Kim Kashkashian, Bruno Giuranna and Peter Schidlof. Diemut Poppen has been awarded several scholarships and prizes, among them the Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes and the renowned European Music Prize. As a soloist, Diemut Poppen has performed in major music centres all over the world including the Carnegie Hall in New York, Barbican in London, Philharmonie in Berlin and Mozarteum in Salzburg and has worked with musicians like Claudio Abbado, Leonidas Kavakos and Viktor Tretyakov. Poppen was for 15 years the principal viola and a founding member of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. Presently, she is professor of viola and chamber music in Detmold, Germany and at the renowned Escuela di Reina Sofia in Madrid, giving, at the same time several international master-classes. She is artistic director of the Thuringische Sommerakademie for Chamber Music and of the Detmolder Sommerakademie. She has also acted as artistic director of the chamber music seria Osnabrucker Kammermusiktage in Osnabruck, Germany, for several years. Several composers have written new pieces for Diemut Poppen, including solo works, as well as concertos, sonatas and chamber music. She has performed the viola concertos of Mikhail Pletnev, Vassily Lobanov and the work Styxx by G.Kancheli for viola, symphony orchestra and choir. Diemut

Poppen has recorded for Deutsche Grammophon, Cappricio, Live classics, EMI, Tudor, Ediphone, Ondine, among others. Cyprus is Diemut’s favourite country and she visits the island quite regularly.

Alexander Chaushian / cello First Prize winner of the Premio Mozart Competition in Verona, Italy in 1990 and the International Music Competition in Holland in 1992, Alexander Chaushian also received the Guilhermina Suggia Gift in London - a grant awarded to outstanding string players - on three occasions. In 1997, he was awarded the Orchestra of New England Soloist Prize, as well as the First Summis Auspiciis Prize of Young Concert Artists in New York. In 1999, he was the recipient of the Anna Instone Memorial Award sponsored by Capital Radio. In 2001, he was the joint recipient of the Pierre Fournier Award, while in 2002, he won the Third Prize in the 12

th

International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. Chaushian was also awarded the Third Prize and the Special Prize given by the Munich Chamber Orchestra at the Internationaler Musikwettbewerb der ARD in Germany in September 2005. Alexander Chaushian has appeared in prestigious venues throughout the world, and as a soloist, he has played with a number of renowned orchestras, including the Vienna Chamber Orchestra at Vienna’s Konzerthaus and at the Bruchnerhaus in Linz, the London Mozart Players and the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Royal National Orchestra of Belgium, Les Solistes Européens de Luxembourg in a gala concert conducted by Yehudi Menuhin, the Boston Pops Orchestra at Boston Symphony Hall, and the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Chaushian has given recitals at the Harrogate Festival in England, the Kuhmo International Festival in Finland, La Jolla Festival in the USA, the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, and in Montpellier as recipient of the Beracasa Foundation Prize of the Radio-France and in Montpellier Festival. Since 2002, he has been acting as the artistic

director of the Orpheus & Bacchus Festival in Bordeaux in France and the International Pharos Chamber Music Festival in Cyprus. In 2006, Alexander Chaushian recorded Dmitry Shostakovich’s Cello Sonata for Performance Channel Television, as well as Wim Zwaag’s Cello Concerto with the Núrnberger Symphoniker. His solo debut recording for the BIS label of Weinberg’s Sonatas, in which he is partnered with Yevgeny Sudbin, was released to much acclaim. It was recently followed by another highly acclaimed CD for BIS, which includes cello sonatas by Rachmaninov, Borodin and Shostakovich.

Marc Coppey / cello French cellist, Marc Coppey, winner of the two highest prizes at the 1988 Bach competition Leipzig at the age of 18 is considered to be one of the leading cellists of today. Lord Yehudi Menuhin discovered Marc’s talent at an early age, and subsequently invited him to make his Moscow and Paris debuts by performing the Tchaïkovsky Trio with himself and Victoria Postnikova, a collaboration documented on film by famous film director Bruno Monsaingeon. In 1989 Mstislav Rostropovitch invited Marc to the Evian Festival and from that moment on his solo career took off. These past or coming months, he is performing as a soloist with the Orchestre de Paris, the Slovenian Philharmonic, Baden-Baden and Freiburg SWR Orchestra, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio-France, the BBC Wales Orchestra, the RTE National Symphony Dublin, the Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, the Liège, Zagreb Soloists, Castilla y Leon, Cannes, Izmir, Marseille, Poitou-Charentes, Caen, Manhattan School of Music, Paris Conservatoire orchestras. A frequent soloist with the leading orchestras of today, Marc Coppey has collaborated with many distinguished conductors such as Eliahu Inbal, Emmanuel Krivine, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos and Asher Fisch. He has appeared in some of the most prestigious concert halls of the world such as Wigmore Hall in London, the Schauspielhaus in Berlin, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Salle Pleyel, the Théâtre de la Ville, the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, the Théâtre du Chatelet and the Cité de la Musique in Paris, the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, the National Concert Hall in Dublin, the Rudolfinum in Prague, the Liszt Conservatory Hall in Budapest, the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory in Moscow, the Capella in Saint-Petersburg, the Casals Hall

in Tokyo or the Metropolitan Museum in New York. He is a regular guest of the festivals of Radio-France-Montpellier, Strasbourg, Musica, Besançon, La Roque d’Anthéron, Monte-Carlo “Printemps des Arts”, Nantes “Folles Journées”, West Cork, Campos do Jordao (Brazil), Stuttgart, Midem, Kuhmo, Korsholm and Prades. An avid chamber music player, Marc Coppey has explored and performed the cello repertoire with such renowned artists as Maria-Joao Pires, Paul Meyer, Emmanuel Pahud and the Takacs, Tokyo, Prazak, Talich or Ebene Quartets. From 1995 to 2000 he was a member of the Ysaÿe Quartet, performing at the most prestigious international concert venues. Marc Coppey’s choice of repertoire is eclectic and innovative. He frequently plays the complete Bach Suites and other well-known and loved concert repertoire, and also brings to the public’s attention works that are rarely heard. Performing and promoting contemporary music is very important to Marc Coppey and composers such as Christian, Durieux, Fedele, Fénelon, Jarrell, Krawczyk, Lenot, Mantovani, Monnet, Pauset, Pécou, Reverdy and Tanguy have all dedicated works to him. He gave the world premieres of Lenot ’s Concerto, Monnet Concerto, Tanguy’s First Concerto and the French premiere of Elliott Carter, Mantovani and Tüür cello Concertos. In November 2009, he is chosen to play Bach in Paris, place de la Concorde, for the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall. Marc Coppey’s many recordings have received critical acclaim worldwide. They include works by Beethoven, Debussy, Emmanuel Fauré, Grieg and Strauss, produced by the labels Auvidis, Decca, Harmonia Mundi and K617. His latest release of the complete Bach Suites (awarded Télérama’s ffff) and a CD dedicated to Dohnanyi (featured in the “10 de Répertoire”), were both recorded for the Aeon/Harmonia Mundi label. In addition to his solo concert career and his chamber music activities, Marc Coppey is a professor at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris and gives master-classes all over the world. He is the artistic director of the Colmar Chamber Music Festival. He is also the artistic director of the Zagreb Soloists since 2011. He performs on a rare cello by Matteo Goffriller (Venice 1711) and resides in Paris. www.marccoppey.com

Hayk Khachatryan / double-bass Born in 1973 in Armenia into a family of musicians, Hayk Khachatryan began taking lessons on the violin when he was seven. He entered the Erevan State Conservatory in 1990 to study double-bass with Professor Vahe Terzyan and he graduated in 1997. From that time until 2001, Hayk worked on his concert and teaching diploma at the Tibor Varga Music Conservatory Sion under Professor Ferenc Bokany, with additional chamber music mentoring from Professors Tibor Varga and Gabor Takac. During this period he was the recipient of a scholarship from the Ghoukassyants Brothers Foundation. Hayk has appeared as a soloist under Emin Khachatryan with the Armenian State Chamber Orchestra, with the Tibor Varga Festival Orchestra conducted by its namesake, and the Orchestra La Folia with Mirion Glas. While still a student Hayk won the first prize in the chamber music competition Valentino Bucci and has appeared with such orchestras as the Erewan Symphony Orchestra, the Serenade Chamber Orchestra, the Armenian State Chamber Orchestra, the National Orchestra of Lyon, and the Bern Symphony Orchestra. In 2000, Hayk Khachatryan became a member of the orchestra of the Zurich Opera, in 2006 of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, in 2007 of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, and in 2009 of the Zurich Chamber Orchestra. He has additionally

performed in the United States, Japan, and China, and under the baton of numerous conductors, including Claudio Abbado, Zubin Mehta, Bernard Haitink, Pierre Boulez, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Franz Welzer-Mφst, Daniele Gatti, and Daniel Harding.

Sergei Nakariakov / Trumpet, Flügelhorn “Sergei Nakariakov plays the trumpet the way the rest of us breathe – if we are lucky” San Fransisco Chronicle Sergei Nakariakov has broken through more than a few of the perceived boundaries framing the world of the trumpet in classical music. Dubbed "The Paganini of the trumpet" by the Finnish press after a performance at the Korsholm Festival when he was only 13 years old, and in 1997 "Caruso of the Trumpet" by Musik und Theater, Sergei has developed a unique musical voice, which is, much more than a vehicle for astonishing virtuosity. His repertoire includes not only the entire range of original literature for the trumpet; but is continually expanding into broader territories, including many fascinating transcriptions, while he searches for

ever new means of musical expression. At the same time, he has single-handedly brought the flügelhorn to prominence on the concert platform. Born in Gorky in 1977, Sergei began to play the piano when he was six years old, but moved on to the trumpet, after a spine injury in 1986 curtailed his piano studies. In the early years, his father tirelessly sought various trumpet teachers, however Sergei pays tribute to the technical and musical gifts he has learned from his father, Mikhail Nakariakov, who has transcribed a large repertoire of classical concertos for the trumpet – and with whom he studied daily from the very beginning, and since 1995 exclusively! From the age of ten Sergei started to perform with orchestras in major concert halls of the Soviet Union. In 1988, he got a diploma at a brass competition for adults. It became clear that in order to develop his carrier and to travel, he had to leave the Soviet Union. His family made the decision to move to Israel in order to give him the liberty to travel. In 1991 he enjoyed great success at the Ivo Pogorelich Festival in Bad Wörishofen. In August of the same year he made his debut together with the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra at the Salzburg Festival. One year later, Sergei was a guest at the Schleswig - Holstein Musikfestival where he was awarded the "Prix Davidoff" . Since then he has appeared in many of the worlds leading venues, including the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, the Lincoln Center in New York, the Royal Festival Hall and the Royal Albert Hall in London, Théâtre des Champs Élysées in Paris. Sergei Nakariakov has been collaborating with the world's most feted musicians, orchestras and conductors, such as Vladimir Spivakov, Christoph Eschenbach, Yury Bashmet, Yury Temirkanov, Vladimir Ashkenazi, Jiří Bělohlávek, Dmitry Sitkovetsky, Sir Neville Marriner, Valery Gergiev, amongst others. Nakariakov received the ECHO Klassik Award on ZDF as instrumentalist of the year from the German Phono-Academy. In 2006, he premiered with the Munich Chamber Orchestra, the work “ad absurdum” – a concerto specially composed for him by Jörg Widmann, which features Nakariakov’s unusual circular breathing capabilities. A year later, he performed “ad absurdum” with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Jiri Belohlavec at the Barbican in London. Sergei Nakariakov's huge discography with Teldec Classics International (WARNER) has drawn the most enthusiastic public and critical acclaim and has won many distinctions, including, RTL d'Or and the highest classification: "R10 - Coup de foudre" by the French magazine Repertoire. In Japan, Nakariakov appeared in Seijirô Kôyama’s film Taiga-no itteki, where he impersonated a Russian trumpet player and also played in the soundtrack of the film. www.nakariakov.com

Maria Meerovitch / piano Maria Meerovitch was born in St.Petersburg and began her music education at the age of six. At the age of eight she performed at St. Petersburg Philharmonic Hall for the first time, where she was complimented by Grigory Sokolov, one of the greatest musicians of our time. She continued her studies at St. Petersburg Conservatory’s Junior Music Institute with M. Freindling and M. Lebed, and later under Prof. Anatol Ugorski at the Rimsky-Korsakov St. Petersburg State Conservatory, with piano as principal subject. In 1990 Meerovitch moved to Belgium after having received a scholarship from “Fonds Alex de Vries” – Y. Menuhin Foundation to study at the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp. She subsequently won first prizes at several International Competitions such as the G.B. Viotti in Italy and Ch. Hennen

in the Netherlands. She has been performing around the world ever since, with appearances in solo recitals and chamber music concerts in venues and festival such as, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Bad-Kissingen Musik Festival, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Cité de la Musique in Paris, Opera City Hall in Tokyo, Musikhalle in Hamburg, Newport Music Festival in Newport, Martha Argerich’s Meeting Point in Beppu, Theatre des Champs Elysees in Paris, and National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing. She has appeared as a soloist with numerous orchestras around the globe including the Taiwan National Symphony Orchestra, Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra, Nordic Symphonie Orchestra, The English Chamber Orchestra, and Mannheimer Philharmoniker. Her performance at The ECO Music Cruise 2010 led to immediate re-invitation to play with P. Zukerman and B. Bonney in 2011 and to perform as a soloist with the ECO and M. Vengerov conducting in the next season’s festival. Meerovitch collaborated and made a number of recordings with a number of international chamber music partners (S. Sondeckis, H. Krebbers, Ph. Hirschhorn, D. Jurovsky, E. Watts, Mahler Chamber Orchestra Soloists) including her close duo partnership with Sergei Nakariakov, with whom she appeared in an ARTE production Ich war nie ein Wunderkind (I have never been a Wunderkind) in 2005. Together with Nakariakov, she also recorded Widmung (Dedication), which was released by Warner Classics.

Ashley Wass / piano “A thoroughbred who possesses the enviable gift to turn almost anything he plays into pure gold” Gramophone Magazine Described as an “endlessly fascinating artist”, Ashley Wass is firmly established as one of the leading performers of his generation. He is the only British winner of the London International Piano Competition, prize-winner at the Leeds Piano Competition, and a former BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist. Increasingly in demand on the international stage, Ashley has performed at many of the world’s finest concert halls including Wigmore Hall, Carnegie Hall and the Vienna Konzerthaus. He has performed as soloist with numerous leading ensembles, including all of the BBC orchestras, the Philharmonia, Orchestre National de Lille, Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic, RLPO, and under the baton of conductors such as Simon

Rattle, Osmo Vanska, Donald Runnicles, Ilan Volkov and Vassily Sinaisky. In June 2002 he appeared alongside the likes of Sir Thomas Allen, Mstislav Rostropovich and Angela Gheorghiu in a gala concert at Buckingham Palace to mark the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, a performance broadcast live to millions of viewers around the world. In recent years he has become a regular guest at the BBC Proms, making his debut in 2008 with Vaughan Williams’ Piano Concerto, and returning in following seasons to perform works by Foulds, Stravinsky, Antheil, and McCabe. Renowned for a broad and eclectic repertoire, Ashley has received great critical acclaim for his recordings of music from a wide range of styles and eras, with glowing reviews of his interpretations of composers such as Liszt, Franck, Beethoven and Bridge. His survey of Bax’s piano music was nominated for a Gramophone Award and his discography boasts a number of Gramophone ‘Editor’s Choice’ recordings and BBC Music Magazine ‘Choices’. Much in demand as a chamber musician, Ashley regularly partners many of the leading artists of his generation. He is a frequent guest of international festivals such as Pharos (Cyprus), Bath, Ako (Japan), Cheltenham, Kuhmo, Mecklenburg, Gstaad, City of London, and Ravinia and Marlboro in the USA, playing solo recitals and chamber works with musicians such as Mitsuko Uchida, Steven Isserlis, Emmanuel Pahud, Richard Goode and members of the Guarneri Quartet and Beaux Arts Trio. Ashley Wass is the Artistic Director of the Lincolnshire International Chamber Music Festival. The Festival has grown from strength to strength during his tenure, with sold-out performances of challenging repertoire and broadcasts on BBC Radio 3. Ashley is currently a Professor of Piano at the Royal College of Music, London, and is an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music.

Vahan Mardirossian / piano Vahan Mardirossian was born in Yerevan, Armenia. Since 1993, he has been living in France, where he studied with Jacques Rouvier at the Paris Conservatoire. He graduated with distinction after being awarded the First Prize for Piano, the Chamber Music Prize and the Conservatoire’s highest diploma, which enabled him to continue for postgraduate studies. Since his début as a pianist, he has frequently appeared with some of the world's most notable orchestras, including the Orchestre National de France, Orchestre de Paris, the Armenian Philharmonic

Orchestra, the Portugal Symphonic Orchestra, Orchestre de Cannes, Orchestre National de Pays de la Loire, the Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, the Paris International Orchestra, the Bienne Symphonic Orchestra, and collaborated with conductors such as Kurt Masur, Yuri Ahronovitch, Yutaka Sado, Juraj Valcuha, Stefan Sanderling and Philippe Bender. He has performed recitals throughout Europe, America and Asia. His numerous recordings, featuring music by Bach, Händel, Schubert, Brahms and Liszt, amongst others, have been highly acclaimed by the critics and are regularly broadcast around the world. His recent album Armenia – which is devoted to the classical music of Armenia – has received the Choc of the Year Award for 2007 by Le Monde de la Musique magazine. Vahan Mardirossian is simultaneously leading a promising career as a conductor. At the age of 15, he was appointed the Principal Conductor and the Musical Director of the Youth Chamber Orchestra by the Youth Cultural Center of Armenia. More recently, Mardirossian had been invited by Kurt Masur to the Conducting Seminar in New York, where he conducted the Manhattan School Orchestra. Vahan Mardirossian is also the founder of the Maestria Chamber Orchestra, with whom he has performed in the most prestigious concert halls in France including the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris and the Halle aux Grains in Toulouse. He has conducted renowned soloists such as A. Markov, X. Phillips, J-M. Phillips-Varjabedian, G. Hoffman, R. Pidoux, N. Dautricourt, M. Coppey, E. Rozanova, R. Daugareil. Since September 2010, Vahan Mardirossian is the Principal Conductor of Caen Symphony Orchestra and the Musical Director and Principal Conductor of National Chamber Orchestra of Armenia.