6th Saronic Chamber Music Festival
28 July – 9 August 2016
Galatas – Spetses – Hydra – Poros – Kythera
The Saronic Chamber Music Festival returns for a 6th year – with concerts in Galatas, Spetses, Hydra, Poros, and for the first time, Kythera – offering another unique Saronic summer of transformative music-making.
Ten world-class musicians will arrive on these beautiful Greek islands to perform eight chamber music concerts of exceptional quality between 28th July and 9th August, 2016. They will perform great works of Brahms, Beethoven, Kodály, Mozart, Janáček, Mendelssohn and Martinu to a fast growing audience of local residents and international tourists in intimate settings befitting a very intimate kind of music.
The international Saronic Chamber Music Festival is organized by the Leondari Ensemble: a group of friends and musical partners from all over the world who meet annually in the inspirational environs of the Saronic Islands to explore the music that they love and to perform for an audience they are passionate to play for. The 2016 Saronic Chamber Music Festival is made possible by the generous support of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany and receives the full backing of the municipalities of Hydra, Spetses, Poros, Trizinias-Methana and Kythera. The Hydra series is sponsored by Mr Hercules Kontos in memory of his wife, Therese Kontos, a lover of music.
Please see the full festival programme of the 6th Saronic Chamber Music Festival below:
28 July 2016, 21:00 – GALATAS A Leondari String Quartet – Janáček & Beethoven 6 Bagatelles, Op. 9 Webern String Quartet No. 2, “Intimate Letters” Janáček String Quartet in Bb major, Op. 130 Beethoven Galatas School |
29 July 2016, 21:00 – SPETSES A Leondari String Quartet – Janáček & Beethoven 6 Bagatelles, Op. 9 Webern String Quartet No. 2, “Intimate Letters” Janáček String Quartet in Bb major, Op. 130 Beethoven Kapodistrian Cultural Hall |
30 July 2016, 21:00 – HYDRA Janáček’s String Quartets & Brahms’ String Quintets String Quartet No. 2, “Intimate Letters” Janáček String Quartet in Bb major, Op. 130 Beethoven String Quintet No. 2 in G major, Op. 111 Brahms Bratsera Hotel |
4 August 2016, 21:00 – HYDRA String Quartet in Bb major, Op. 18 No. 6 Beethoven Duo for Violin and Cello, Op. 7 Kodály String Quintet in C minor, Op.104 Beethoven Bratsera Hotel |
5 August 2016, 21:00 – SPETSES Three Madrigals for Violin and Viola, H.313 Martinu String Quartet No. 1, “Kreutzer Sonata” Janáček String Quintet No. 6 in Eb major, K. 614 Mozart Kapodistrian Cultural Hall |
6 August 2016, 21:00 – HYDRA Janáček’s String Quartets & Brahms’ String Quintets Three Madrigals for Violin and Viola, H.313 Martinu String Quartet No. 1, “Kreutzer Sonata” Janáček String Quintet No. 1 in F major, Op. 88 Brahms Bratsera Hotel |
7 August 2016, 21:00 – POROS String Quartet in Bb major, Op. 18 No. 6 Beethoven String Quintet No. 6 in Eb major, K. 614 Mozart String Quintet No. 1 in F major, Op. 88 Brahms Syggrou Amphitheatre |
9 August 2016, 21:00 – KYTHERA String Quintet No. 6 in Eb major, K. 614 Mozart String Quintet No. 1 in A Major, Op. 18 Mendelssohn Zeidoros Artspace, Amphitheatre |
Tickets:
FULL FESTIVAL PASS – 80 Euro (premium)
HYDRA SERIES PASS – 35 euro (standard), 70 euro (premium)
HYDRA / SPETSES – 15 euro (standard), 30 euro (premium)
POROS / KYTHERA – 10 euro (standard)
GALATAS – entry by donation.
Children: free entrance at all concerts.
Book your tickets in advance and get the special discounted festival passes at www.saronicfestival.com/book-tickets
A few words about the artists and the Leondari Ensemble:
The Leondari Ensemble is comprised of musicians from Europe, North America and Australia who perform regularly with many of the world’s most renowned ensembles including the London Symphony Orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic, ARC Ensemble, the English Chamber Orchestra and the Vienna Piano Trio.
American-Canadian violinist Benjamin Bowman is a member of the critically acclaimed chamber music group, ARC Ensemble and is concertmaster of the American Ballet Theatre; Bogdan Bozovic is a former violinist of the Vienna Piano Τrio; born in Belgrade, he enjoys a versatile international career as chamber musician, soloist and chamber orchestra leader; James Barralet is a British cellist, festival director, arranger and composer and the artistic director of the Whittington Chamber Music Festival.
The Saronic Chamber Music Festival and the Leondari Ensemble were both founded by Greek violinist, Jannis Agraniotis, and Australian violist, Francis Kefford. Jannis is a regular performer with the Greek National Opera and Athens Camerata (Friends of Music Orchestra). He has appeared in all of the major Greek concert halls and as a recitalist and chamber musician in Germany and elsewhere. Francis is a frequent performer with the UK’s leading orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Opera House Orchestra, the Aurora Orchestra and the English Chamber Orchestra.
The Leondari Ensemble will once again be accompanied by esteemed guest artists: veteran soloist, chamber musician and pedagogue, Canadian violist, Steven Dann has been principal viola of some of the world’s leading orchestras (National Arts Centre Orchestra, Ottawa; Tonhalle Orchestra, Zurich; Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam; Vancouver Symphony; Toronto Symphony Orchestra) and teaches viola and chamber music at the Glenn Gould School, Toronto’s Royal Conservatory of Music; the Canadian cellist, Ariel Barnes, is Principal Cello of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra; the young British violinist Anna Blackmur is Section Leader, Second Violins of the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; Clemens Linder of Austria holds the position of Assistant Principal, Second Violins at the Deutsches Symphony Orchestra, Berlin; finally, the award-winning violist, Ruth Gibson, teaches viola at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester while being the founder and artistic director of the String Quartet Collective, which is currently in residence at the Royal College of Music in London.
Read the artists’ biographies at: www.saronicfestival.com/artists
General info: www.saronicfestival.com