2011 Anniversary Brochure - Paxos Festival Trust

PAXOS MUSIC FESTIVALS......
THE FIRST 25 YEARS

THE 2011 SEPTEMBER PAXOS FESTIVAL
is presented by
THE PAXOS FESTIVAL TRUST
in association with
THE CULTURAL ASSOCIATION OF PAXOS
CONTENTS
3 Prologue
10 The Early Years 1986 - 2004
16 Spring Festivals with IEMA 2004 on
22 GSMD at the September Festivals 2005 - 2009
24 The Shoestring Years 2010 on
26 2011 Programme of 5 Concerts
36 The Performers
36 Chronology
Book produced by the Paxos Festival Trust, who hold the copyright.
Printed by Rother Valley Press in UK
2
1

Welcome to our celebrations for the 25th anniversary of the Paxos Festival.
Maybe only a very special mind with vision, musical skills and determination could
guide an Englishman from the City of London to create a music festival on a small
Greek island, far distant from Athens.
This programme book attempts to set down recollections of the last 25 years,
gathered from that lively gathering of people who became drawn to the charisma
of John Gough and helped to make his concept grow .
Beginning with those first concerts under the olive trees, the events have flourished,
changed and expanded so now we have two festivals, have helped form the Ergon
Ensemble as Greece’s New Music group, and the Festivals are widely recognised
and critically acclaimed.
The compilation of these words and images of the last 25 years attempt to highlight
the peaks ( and maybe troughs ), the variety of music and events that have
occurred, and the experience gained by musicians from being together for many
days honing their skills. Many of the faces have become international figures
in the music world, as soloists, leaders in orchestras, conducting, composing, and
taking leading roles in opera houses.
John always wanted the island to be involved in this adventure. Early on the Arion
choir became involved and this grew with performances by the children,and then
came the commissioned cantata for the Millenium with huge forces.
Now we can hear the results from setting up the Music School by the Municipality
with instruments from the Trust.
This programme book is a tribute to John’s initiative,and to Martine’s wonderful
tolerance and humour amongst the massive disruptions it brought to their household,
without any effect on their generous hospitality
Nick Thompson Chairman, Paxos Festival Trust
3

4 5

I met John Gough the very first year he came to Paxos in the ‘70s, as he was
renting one of my aunt’s apartments for his family.
Classical music was not a new sound to my ears, as I listened to it a lot on the radio;
especially during the night with Athina Spanoudi’s broadcasts. So, when I first heard
the rumour that a classical music festival was being organized on Paxos, I was ecstatic.
I kept going to all the early concerts and started thinking of ways to make this music
a common sound to locals’ ears. The only way was through proper classical music
education for local children.
In 1996 I was director of the Cultural Society board with Kostas Anemogiannis as
chairman. John Gough embraced our request to involve locals in the festival
activities, and stated that the future of the Festival could only be ensured if locals
could get an immediate relation with classical music, Thus a long collaboration
started between the Cultural Society and the Trust, which included many kinds of
aid from our part towards the organization of the Paxos Music Festival.
Since 1997 locals started participating in the organizing of the Festival with great
zeal; the local community embraced the Festival more every year and the “Arion”
local choir performed for the first time at Disco Aloni in Lakka. In 1998 the choir
performed again in one of the High School classrooms in Bogdanatika. In 1999 not
only the choir but also local children participated, performing in the “Carnival of
Animals” at Disco Phoenix in Gaios. It was a revelation for all of us. The children’s
touching performance proved how receptive they were to this type of musical
education.
2000 was a very important year for the Festival. John Gough had commissioned a
cantata on the history of Paxos to celebrate the new millennium. The choir, local
children, directors of the Paxos Festival Trust board (including John himself), a large
number of musicians and artists from the Greek National Opera appeared on
stage. It resulted into one of the most important moments in the history of the
Paxos Music Festival.
This was followed in 2001 with local children participating in the performance of
the Prokoviev’s “Peter and the Wolf” and Mozart’s “Toy Symphony”
This is how classical music education started on Paxos. It led to the founding of the
Municipal Philharmonic Orchestra in 2002,and the local school hired its first music
teacher. The interest from the children and their parents encouraged us to
establish the Municipal Music School in Magasia in 2008.
6
John was one of the first people to congratulate me on my election as the mayor
of Paxos in 2002. He hoped that with my gaining this position, he would finally
receive help from municipal authorities too and this has indeed happened.
2004 marked the beginning of a new aspect for the Paxos Festival; Spring concerts
began featuring young Greek musicians performing demanding contemporary
music under the artistic direction of the International Ensemble Modern Academy
of Frankfurt.
The talented Greek musicians participating in the Festival became ambassadors of
our island all over the world and I felt proud on many occasions..........each time a
famous musician would state he had taken part in the Paxos Music Festival, when
the Mistry Quartet toured Europe under the name Paxos Quartet, when I would
meet musicians in concerts all over Europe that had participated in the Paxos
Festival at some time, when the Athens Megaron offered its stages for the Festival’s
performances. Our emerging recognition came in May 2007 when the Paxos
Music Festival was voted fifth best classical music festival among the 10 best in the
world by Independent Newspaper readers, and again in 2009 when the Paxos
Music Festival was awarded first prize as the best peripheral music festival in
Greece by the National Organization of Theatre and Music Critics.
I still remember John’s agony for the future of the festival. I shared his anxiety as I
watched him age and become ill. 2005 was the last year of the festival, where he
was present. The Municipality of Paxos decided to honour John Gough in the last
September concert for all the 20 years of his efforts and financial contribution to
the realizing of the festival. It was a very touching and emotional evening for all of
us.
We all hoped for the festival to continue somehow; this year’s events prove it has a
glorious present. I wish wholeheartedly for its long future!
Spyros Bogdanos
7

PAXOS MUSIC FESTIVALS.......
THE FIRST 25 YEARS
8 9

The Early Years 1986 - 2004
John and Martine Gough first visited Paxos in 1970 on the advice of friends in Corfu
and were immediately enthralled.They loved the special peace to be found
amongst the olives and the solitude to be found in the coves of the East coast,
and the contrast with the grandeur of the cliffs on the west side of the island.
They purchased a cottage outside Loggos amongst the olives in 1973, and a
garden of hibiscus,oleander,lavender and rosemary was laid out.
John had studied piano at the Paris Conservatoire , but realised that this love
should remain a pleasurable pastime rather than his life. So Paxos was the perfect
place to escape from the pressures of his life in the insurance market in the City of
London, and play in silence.
John rapidly became involved in the simple island life by bringing together young
musicians who were known to him through his City connections.
The City Livery Companies invited the colleges to put forward musicians for their
annual concerts and so the Mistry Quartet who were studying at the Guildhall
played at the Fishmongers‘ Hall. Such was the success of the evening that in a
typically John burst of enthusiasm he suggested that they should come to Paxos to
stay, and play to his friends in the Garden.
Thus Jagdish came with Caroline Henbest - viola, Susan Monks - cello ( the second
violinist was not free) and also Nigel Shore - clarinet, for the first concerts in the
summer of1986.
The early Paxos festival rehearsals took place in the Gough garden, mornings from
9 till around 11 and then again in the early evening. The rest of the day was
devoted to swimming, boat trips and long, delicious lunches produced by Martine.
The concerts always took place outdoors in a variety of places and the setting was
always picturesque: John's garden or the Lakka schoolyard or up at Boikatika
against the backdrop of a beautiful sunset on the westside. The lack of acoustic
never really bothered us because the setting carried the music. One felt free to let
go and give, knowing that the audience, like us, was here in celebration of the
whole experience. Even though the concerts now take place indoors for practical
reasons,this remains the joy of Paxos that brings musicians back again and again.
There was always a lot of organising to do not only in getting us to Paxos but also
for the duration of the Festival itself: programme booklets, transporting us, the
chairs, the music stands, transporting members of audience who could not get
there on their own steam, etc. But he always found the time to sit and listen
attentively to all the rehearsals enjoying the process of a piece of music coming
together and our individual interactions in the endeavour. The Festivals became a
stimulus to further his own personal contact to music in many ways. He started to
explore the repertoire for string quartet with CDs, he started having piano lessons
with Julian Jacobson and whenever we played in London he was at the concerts
– in the front row! This was always followed by an invitation to a nice restaurant.
Henceforth all the programme planning for Paxos took place in the context of our
growing repertoire, his growing knowledge of the music and lovely meals!
If only every string quartet starting out had a supporter like John Gough!
Jagdish Mistry
10
The response from players and audience was such that John embarked on
formally setting up a Charitable trustas a company limited by guaranteed with the
following objectives:-
“to advance education and promote an understanding of serious or traditional
music....for the benefit of the public....
to provide awards.....to assist him or her in the advancement of learningand
proficiency in the execution and understanding of music.
to provide or organise concerts....at which beneficiaries of the trust and audiences
may increase their experience and understanding of music.....and widen the
cultural exchange between performers in the early years of their professional
careers and residents and visitors to the Greek island of Paxos.
The Articles not only defined the method of selection of the participants, but also
that all income of the trust be used solely to meet these objectives. Furthermore
John created a Board of Trustees chaired by the Queen’s solicitor to ensure that
the procedures were always adhered to.
The strong relationship with the City of london continued throughout John’s life
and led to scholarships being given at times by Livery Companies to outstanding
musicians who returned to paxos over several years. This led to the formation of
The Paxos Quartet.
The scholarships also eased some of the burden on John’s own immensely
generous pocket , as apart from an occasional offering from the Greek
Government( but not always ending with cash in the bank)and help in some years
from tour operators, his main support was from the island in the provision of facilities
for the performances.
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11

A good but robust piano was also needed that would withstand being moved
around the island on an olive oil truck to the various concert locations, and stored
in Magasia in the winter away from the salt air. His friend Michael Parfitt ( organist,harpsichord
maker, gilder amongst many skills) selected the Yamaha and then
meticulously tuned it daily after the afternoon practice session whilst audiences
waited outside until all had been properly done, including ironing the felt pads!
The Goughs were finding their cottage too small, and embarked on building a
new main house with a detached music room. A fine piano was obviously required
which culminated with John and Michael journeying to Grotrian Steinweg to make
the selection: its installation in its new home led to many joyous events
John Gough was such an inspiration for musicians and I am so grateful to him for
all he did for so many of us at the start of our professional life. How often do we get
the opportunity to play chamber music for days on end on a beautiful Greek island?
How often do we get the chance to rehearse properly over several days,
instead of cramming rehearsals into busy lives? Or to receive top coaching, as
from Julian Jacobson or members of the Ensemble Modern?
John's vision and enthusiasm gave us these wonderful opportunities.
I have so many fond memories of my time at Paxos: playing Schubert's Octet with
Jagdish Mistry al fresco at the back of the Loggos Schoolhouse one evening; performing
Arensky's Piano Trio in the open-backed rooftop Phoenix nightclub at
Gaios, and as the music got more stormy, a real storm broke out with wind and
rain lashing in...but we carried on playing.
Or performing Schoenberg's fiendish String Trio of all pieces and people really liking
it; practising outside in the olive grove in the afternoon heat so as not to disturb
neighbours in the siesta; seeing the cellist Alexander Scherf playing solo Bach cello
13Suites outside on the beach at Loggos; playing string quartets outside in the
square at Gaios with Claire Dolby, William Coleman and Jonathan Cohen; watching
Stravinsky's Soldier's Tale performed in Greek.
What else? Swimming, a boat-trip to anti-Paxos (where the locals apparently liked
to go because life was more relaxed there - as if like on Paxos itself was anything
but calm and relaxed!), Greek yoghurt and balconies and stairways brimming with
gorgeous bourgainvillea.
But the music was the greatest thing for me. Above all, it was the opportunity to be
a real musician and develop as a musician in idyllic surroundings.
Thank you, thank you, John! Marcus Barcham-Stevens
As a young musician, some of my most formative musical experiences occurred
on the idyllic island of Paxos in Greece.
The musicians I met there led to us forming a string quartet that we called the
Paxos Quartet in honour of John Gough and Paxos.
We played together for some years, Claire Dolby, Marcus Barcham Stevens, William
Coleman and myself a cellist, until we all headed in different directions in later
life. Playing chamber music to such a high level with international musicians was a
superb learning experience and we achieved a very high level during our studies
and concerts at Paxos. It was a hugely formative time when we studied hard and
received excellent tuition.
I believe that the opportunity to participate in such a festival gave us all a headstart
in our careers and helped us to develop as musicians.
Jonathan Cohen
12 13

So many memories! Most importantly the wonderful young players, and a few
singers, that we caught on the wing and gave a usually deeply appreciated
helping hand to. Pride of place, though he didn't really need us, must go to the
now international violin soloist Leonidas Kavakos who wowed us all when he was
18. Among the scores of students, particularly I think of Richard Bamping (principal
cello of Hong Kong Phil); James Boyd, top UK chamber violist; Alasdair Beatson,
fine pianist who was helped by John and the Trust to study with Menahem Pressler;
Sophie Karthäuser, wonderful Mozart singer, now with several highly acclaimed
CDs; Rafal Payne, stellar violinist; and for this writer maybe most of all Chris
Richards, immaculate clarinettist and now principal of London Symphony
Orchestra. Also all the wonderful Greeks who enlivened the place so much and
who loved John (and he them). A personal favourite: Evie Papathaniassou, cello,
who also put on some spectacular displays of Greek dancing. Many of them are in
respected positions in Greece or abroad, eg the conductor Vassilis Christopoulos,
Chief Conductor of the South-West German Philharmonic Orchestra, who came to
us first as an oboist and then returned to conduct The Soldiers Tale (Stravinsky).
The wacky venues (Alonis Disco, Lakka Schoolhouse) and the wonderful Phoenix
Music Club which became our home in the late 20th and early 21st centuries and
which is for me, somehow, the spiritual home of Paxos music. The exciting if nervewracking
one-off events: the huge theatrical "History of Paxos" in 2000 with me as
an improbable actor, the choir concerts which I (sort of) rehearsed and directed,
the Toy Symphony and Prokofiev "Peter and the Wolf", both with local children, my
transcription of Debussy's "Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune" (2003 I think) for every
participant on the festival, including a spectacularly beautiful Greek harpist, after
which I remember writing that I could now die happy; the cabaret and spoof
pieces and arrangements, "The Girl from Ipapanti", "Phil the Fluter's Ball",
Schoenberg's "Die Eiserne Brigade" with everyone dressed up in battle gear
borrowed from the local military - these mainly in the final "Surprise" concerts,
John's happy inspiration.
But above all, my annual hired motor scooter, an endless source of freewheeling
pleasure which I always preferred for travel even when my duties required me to
have a car.
A wonderful 17 years for which I shall always be deeply grateful!
Julian Jacobson
14 15

Spring Festivals with IEMA
Despite the continuing popularity of the annual concerts, John had felt for some
time that a new impetus to his mission was required to avoid the project becoming
static; changes were necessary and a new direction found.
This Festival is also the result of an earlier wish of John's. Already in the year 1989 –
90 John had financed a young Greek quartet to come and study at the Guildhall
School of Music in London and in the 90s he supported scholarships for young
Greek students to come to London through the Festival Trust. In the latter half of
the 90s John and Martine were living in Paris and whenever the Ensemble Modern
played there John was, like with the Mistry Quartet, always in the audience! He
started to explore the avenue of New Music with the same interest he had showed
earlier
for
string
quartets.
Jagdish Mistry
Jagdish is a founding member of the Ensemble Modern (EM), formed in 1980 in
Frankfurt and consisting of 19 soloists from Europe, India, South America and Japan.
EM embraces a wide range of disciplines, from music theatre to orchestral
works, via chamber music and multi media.
Combined with their highly innovative and open minded approach to the working
process, this has had a profound effect on all aspects of contemporary music
making.
This approach appealed to John’s desire to move forward into new areas. This was
echoed by EM’s long cherished ambition to share the depth and breadth of their
knowledge with young performers and composers and this was coupled with their
desire to integrate them into their own working environment in Frankfurt, which
had led to the founding that year of the International Ensemble Modern Academy.
The Paxos Festival was nowproviding an excellent opportunity to develop the
concept into holding masterclasses elsewhere.
When in 2003 the Ensemble Modern founded its Academy, John saw that this
could be one way that the Paxos Festival might continue when he could no longer
run it. We were invited to start with the IEMA in 2004. John also gave scholarships
for two students to study with IEMA in Frankfurt. For the Ensemble it was vital that
Paxos should attract Greek students, it should become a project where the
participants have a sense of ownership and that the work done on Paxos should
be available to a larger audience. Thus, with the help of Nada Geroulanos began
a connection to Greece's premier concert hall, the Megaron in Athens and the
foundation of an ensemble for New Music. Over the years, the concerts, with
repertoire, put together in consultation with the Megaron, have become an
important feature of Athens cultural life, and the Festival has become the fruition
of
John's
vision:
a festival
for
Greece.
Jagdish Mistry
IEMA agreed to join with the Trust in an annual joint venture based on the Paxos
Festival, specifically designed to provide the highest quality of training in the study
16
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and performance of 20th century and contemporary music for the most promising
young Greek graduates embarking on their professional careers. This could then
progressively encourage musical performance by these young people throughout
Greece, and maybe beyond.
The first Festival in June 2004 drew on four stipendaries from IEMA and five Greek
“candidates”, playing with four members of EM who became the teaching core in
subsequent years: Jagdish Mistry-violin, Roland Diry-clarinet, Michael Kasper-cello
and Ueli Wiget-piano.
The Trust provided bursaries for two of the young greeks to study at the IEMA in
Frankfurt for 6 months to help understand the process and to immerse themselves
in the music.
Apart from core works of modern music, the 2004 programme celebrated the
centenary of Nikos Skalkottas, and included Paxiot singers and dancers from the
Paxos Cultural Union.
Parts of this programme were then repeated in the first of many concerts at the
Ionian Academy in Corfu.
The success of the new venture led to the planning of the 2005 festival around
predominantly Greek players, and also to the decision to present a concert in
Athens. Nick Thompson had designed a new auditorium at the American School of
Classical Studies in the heart of Athens, and this was an ideal location to expose
the group’s work in the capital to a sophisticated audience and music critics.
Architects are high on adrenalin at the first performance in opening a new venue,
and this was heightened with the Festival musicians performing. All seemed to be
moving forward well with an appreciative audience until the final work; Ligeti’s
String Quartet No1. The fire alarm made it’s raucus entry at the end of the first bar,
maybe in disapproval of the music rather than the players.
All departed from the hall whilst the problem was fixed and the work began again,
but to a somewhat depleted audience. Following great applause, we went outside
to find that the reception consisted only of empty wine bottles and some
m e l o n s k i n s , a n d a v e r y v o l u b l e o t h e r p a r t o f t h e a u d i e n c e .
Nick Thompson
Word spread around Athens music circles of the quality of the playing and the
range of the programme that was appealing to a fair sized audience, leading to
an invitation to play in the chamber music hall as part of the Megaron’s 2006 season.
The indefatigable help and encouragement of Nada and the supporters she
gathered around her were fundamental to its success, and became the springboard
for her major fundraising campaign, without which the whole IEMA venture
would have collapsed.
Tragically, John was only able to share in this excitement from his hospital bed as
he had been knocked down by a bus in London, and his condition was becoming
serious.
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17

The master classes in Paxos in 2006 were focused on developing the programme for
the Athens concert on 24 May… the trip from Paxos to Athens was undertaken with
very mixed emotions for everyone.
The programme was passed around all the players for messages to be added for
John, and I wrote some notes on the preparation work in Paxos, and then on to the
press conference and large audience that came to hear the highly praised concert
in the Megaron that night. I took the large envelope to the post office at Athens
Airport, and was amazed when the counter assistant put five stamps on it, all
depicting a look-alike of John’s beloved Citroen 2CV, Poubelle. The family told me
how John’s eyes lit up when he saw the stamps, and one hopes that he fully realised
from my scrawl the triumph of his ambitions, and thus he could die shortly after as a
satisfied man.
The Artistic Director of the Megaron brought members of IEMA and a conductor to
Athens to rehearse the works before each of the winter concerts that became an
annual event. Working with Nada and some of the group’s most talented musicians,
they brought about the formation of the Ergon Ensemble as one of Greece’s prime
contemporary music groups, and Alexandros Muzas was appointed as its manager.
The development of Ergon, and its ethos along the lines of EM, has grown during the
subsequent public master classes in Paxos and these are now increasingly attended
by interested children, thus bringing together strands of the Trust’s principles.
Concerts in Corfu and subsequently in Athens have continued to draw interest and
good critical reviews. This was recognised by the award by the Greek Drama and
Music Critic in 2009 for the Paxos Festival. Prior to the 2011 Spring Festival, Ergon was
invited to play in the Herrenhausen Festival in Germany and then in the Athens
Festival celebrating the works of Xenakis; this received some excellent national press.
The work with IEMA and Ergon is financed separately from the September Festival,
and its considerable costs are funded by major sponsors who have included the
J.F. Costopoulos Foundation, the Ionian Bank Foundation, the Ernst von Siemens
Musikstiftung and the Leventis Foundation, together with many private sponsors and
supporters including the Dimarchos and Municipal Council of Paxos and the
Poseidon and Cultural Associations, the Music Department of the Ionian University
and Mr and Mrs Sergio Voulgaris in Corfu and Mr and Mrs Pavlos Karacostas in Athens.
The current financial difficulties in Greece and elsewhere come at a time when the
bird is preparing to leave the nest and fly… we wait with bated breath to see the
results.
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19

In 2003 Elmar Weingarten, cultural director of the Berlin Philharmonic contacted
me to ask my support in organizing a masterclass of contemporary music held by
Ensemble Modern Academy of Frankfurt on Paxos.
He spoke of how important John Gough was for the cultural life of the island of
Paxos. I agreed to meet with John Gough but made it clear to Mr Weingarten that
I had nothing to do with contemporary music up to that moment.
I met with John Gough in Athens shortly after that and we were immediately
bound with great friendship. I accepted his offer to visit Paxos and see for myself
what he was trying to accomplish regarding contemporary music. The violinist,
Jagdish Mistry, well known to me from Yehudi Menuhin Music School persuaded
me that it was a worthwhile effort.
My involvement officially started with Pavlos Karakostas, another friend with no
previous relation with contemporary music together with Ioannis Costopoulos and
his foundation as sponsors by my side.
I never regretted my participation in this project thanks to the island’s wonderful
environment, the great friendship relations I have created and also thanks to the
perfect collaboration with IEMA, Paxos Festival Trust and the wonderful musicians
that take part in the masterclasses each year.
The co-operation with the Music Department of the Ionian University, with the
Athens Megaron and the International Festival of Herrenhausen enriched the
whole project.
This experience offered me another aspect on the music world of today; the
reward was and continues to be invaluable.
20
Nada Geroulanos
21

GSMD at the September Festivals 2005 - 2009
One afternoon towards the middle of September 2003, over a stiff drink, John told
me, Julian Jacobson and Pal Banda that the Paxos Festival as we knew it was no
more. His reasons were cogent and compelling: what had started in 1986 as a
convivial and amateur event had turned into something serious, professional and
hugely expensive. He said he wanted to scale things back, and try to recapture
the easy spirit of that very first concert. He told us proud excitement about the new
Spring Festival of modern music (2004-present), which would concentrate on developing
the skills of young Greek musicians.
Later that day, over another drink, John admitted to me that some effort had
been made to save the Autumn Festival by finding a new benefactor to step into
the breach, but that negotiations had come to nothing. I have to say that I was a
little troubled by this, largely on behalf of the loyal audience we had built up over
the years, for most of whom the prospect of a modern music series would not be
enticing. At this point I have to admit to being a little underhand: without asking
John’s opinion, I informed Geoffrey and Hilary Herdman of the turn of events,
doubtless over yet another drink (I can only think it must have been a very hot
day). On being told the sort of money that might be needed to save the Festival,
Hilary’s response was magnificent, munificent and entirely characteristic: “I don’t
think that will be a problem, Philip”, she said.
John was a little surprised that the 2004 Festival happened after his having cancelled
it, but accepted the situation with good grace: “I’m not going to come
over all King Learish!” he told me at the time. Well, I’m very glad he didn’t, and
very glad for the hard work and generosity of Herdmans, because without them
there would not have been a 2004 Autumn Festival, and without a 2004 Festival
there would have been no Autumn Festivals in all the years since…. Somebody’s
just recharged my glass, so if you’ve got a drink to hand, join me in toasting Geoffrey
and Hilary, wherever they might be.
Philip Gibbon
In about 2003/4, John Gough became very much focussed on the new Spring Festival,
where the Trust was involved with the Ensemble Moderne. However, he was
happy for the Trust to continue with the September Festival, on the basis that this
was under the aegis of The Guildhall School of Music and Drama. This was a return
to the early days of the Festival, when many of the the students came from Guildhall.
Thus began 5 very happy years' direct association with Guildhall, for the first 2
years directed by Bernard Lansky, and then for 3 years by Caroline Palmer, who
had played at the Festival many years previously, at a time when she was staying
near Preveza.
So far as the students were concerned, I had thought that as they were all from
Guildhall, they would have played together regularly. However I was told by many
students that one of the benefits of coming to Paxos was that it gave the opportunity,
for example, of woodwind playing in ensembles with strings, something that
the
exigencies
of
timetable
and
rehearsal
rooms
makes
difficult
in
London.
22
22
The students' enthusiasm and hard work was matched by the professors. One particular
example was in I think 2006, when Bernard got to Gatwick at some hideous
hour in the morning, having flown in from Singapore the day before, to find that
following the terrorist bomb scare, no instruments could be taken on board as
hand
luggage.
Undeterred,
he
sent
the
students
off,
and
he
and
Lucy
Pickles
loaded the instruments into his VW Golf which fortunately he had left near Gatwick
This in itself was a miracle of packing. They set off by road, driving all night to get
the ferry from Italy, and arriving in Paxos only a day or so after the students. In the
meantime they managed to cram a student, stranded in Bologna, and her instrument
into a car already bulging at the seams!
It was that year that David Takeno came as Professor of Strings, and memorably
had a quartet marching round the school room at rehearsal, carrying a cello case
like a coffin, to find the funereal mood that hewanted from them.
One year Geoffrey and I drove to Paxos with a cumbersome passenger in the form
of a double bass. The logistics of taking this instrument are always a problem, but
as one of the staff at Guildhall had said, it does provide the "floorboards" to a
piece. It was a very tight fit, and a great relief to get it safely back to Guildhall!
Hilary Herdman
23

As the 2009 Paxos Chamber Music Festival came to a close, it was generally understood
that it was to be the last September festival on the island. The incredible support from
a private sponsor could not continue and the Festival’s association with the Guildhall
School of Music and Drama had also come to an end.
The Trust realised that even a single year’s gap would lose the essential momentum
and severely undermine the future. In discussion with the players outside the
Schoolhouse after the last concert over the apparent impossibility of continuing
without some funding, Lara Dodds-Eden suggested that some of the performers
were so inspired by the festival that they would support her in a shoestring programme
for 2010.
Lara brought together the musicians in london to rehearse an agreed programme,
thus shortening the time and cost on Paxos; the Herdman’s lent us their house as
did their neighbours the Barrie family. Paxiots were leant on to help and with Faye
Lychnou’s effort and contacts, the Trust were in a position to mount another Festival.
In the following September, six young musicians came to play for a committed
audience and an organising committee passionate about continuing John
Gough's legacy on the island.
Returning nearer to the simplicity of the festival's origins, the ensemble played
three concerts, utilising the combination of performers (a string quartet, pianist,
and a soprano) to present varied, striking programmes. The ensemble performed
lesser known works such as La Rosa, a cantata by the baroque Italian composer
Attilio Ariosti, Chanson Perpétuelle by Ernest Chausson and Erich Wolfgang Korngold's
lush Piano Quintet, alongside more familiar works: César Franck's Sonata,
Johannes Brahms' Piano Quartet in C minor and Franz Schubert's 'Death and the
Maiden' String Quartet.
Beautiful music wafted again amongst the bay and olive trees and over the Loggos
harbour, and the audience and the performers felt engaged in intimate and
vivid conversation with each other and the landscape. Together, the audience,
the performers, the local people, and the leadership of the committee kept the
festival’s spirit alive.
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Following that success,the 2011 Festival is extended to a run of five concerts over
two weeks in its 25th Anniversary year. Lara has again undertaken the demanding
task to programme the event with a particular emphasis on works that were
favourites of John.
The careers of performers from last year have moved on; after the initial announcement
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of the 2011 Festival, Rhona McKail was offered a role with Scottish Opera, that was
concurrent with Paxos; such are the trials of programming. Almost all the performers
will be new to the Paxos audience, including the Amythis Guitar Duo, which should
appeal to the many players on the island
The festival will begin with a concert dedicated to the memory of John Gough
and in celebration of the Festival's 25th Anniversary, and conclude with a
celebration of Greek music making on the island.
Highlights will include Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik as a salute to the first
concert in John’s garden, Schubert’s Trout Quintet and Fauré's La Bonne
Chanson,(concert1), Haydn’s Sunrise Quartet and a new commission by the Trust from
the young Greek composer Michail Palaiologou(Concert 2) Johannes Brahms'
Piano Quintet and Vivaldi’s Concerto for 2 Mandolins (Concert 3) Music for 2 guitars
and voice from Dowland to to-day (Concert 4) .
As the Festival begins with a concert celebrating the memory of John, it will conclude
with a celebration of the diversity of music making on the island (Concert5).
This opens with Pal Bandawho was a festival director for 6 years and Zsuzsa Berenyi
paying short pieces featured in earlier years.The evening finishes with a progamme
looking ahead; Natasha Zielazanski will be assisted by Michail Palaogolou, the Duo
Amythis and teachers in devising a programme by young Paxiot players, many of
whom will be playing instruments purchased for them by the trust from a special
donation.
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Concert 1 Thursday 8 September at 8.30 Loggos Schoolhouse
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-91): Serenade No. 13 in G Major, K.525, Eine Kleine
Nachtmusik
Allegro Romanze: Andante Menuetto: Allegretto Rondo: Allegro
It is not known why Mozart wrote this serenade, which has become one of his most popular
works. There are no records of it having been commissioned, and it was not published
until long after the composer’s death. He wrote ‘Eine kleine Nacht-Musik’ (‘a little serenade’,
or, literally, ‘a little night music’) next to its entry in his personal catalogue, which is
the source of the piece’s unofficial title, though Mozart probably intended it only as a
general description. According to the catalogue, its composition was completed on 10
August 1787.
The original scoring was for string quintet, as performed here, with an optional double
bass, but it is also commonly performed in arrangements for string orchestra.
A number of musicologists regard this serenade as the most popular Mozart piece
of all time. If so, it is not hard to see why. Its beauty is immediate and striking, from the first
famous theme—a classic example of the ‘Mannheim Rocket’ technique (setting soaring
arpeggios to a dramatic crescendo)—through to the thrilling final Rondo. Naturally there
are hidden depths also, as well as a degree of structural perfection that seems to mark
the piece out as more than a mere jeu d’esprit.
Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924): Le Bonne Chanson
Une Sainte en son auréole Puisque l'aube grandit La lune blanche luit dans les bois
J'allais par des chemins perfides J'ai presque peur, en vérité Avant que tu ne t'en ailles
Donc, ce sera par un clair jour d'été N'est-ce pas? L'hiver a cessé
Fauré composed this song cycle between 1892 and ’94, and in ’98 produced this version
for voice, piano, and string quintet. The poems are taken from a set by Paul Verlaine (1844-
96), which celebrate his engagement to Mathilde Mauté. Graham Johnson and Richard
Stokes suggest that the ‘unremitting happiness’ of these poems ‘represents a retreat into
fantasy visions of an ideal married life where [Verlaine] is safe from his homosexuality.’ As
for Fauré, he was in love when he wrote these songs, with their dedicatee, the soprano
Emma Bardac. Bardac, however, was married to somebody else at the time, and would
eventually remarry not to Fauré but to Claude Debussy.
The incredibly rich, constantly changing harmonies of this piece were too much for
some more conservative listeners, including Fauré’s teacher, Camille Saint-Saëns, who remarked
that the composer had lost his mind. But they delighted many others, including
the author Marcel Proust. The piece also contains quotations from many of Fauré’s earlier
works, most notably the song Lydia (1870), which Fauré hinted that he may also have
come to associate with Emma Bardac.
Georg Friedrich Handel (1685-1759): ‘Ombra mai fu’ from Xerxes
‘Ombra mai fu’ is the opening aria to Handel’s opera Serse (Xerxes). The opera was commissioned
in 1737 and first performed at the King's Theatre, Haymarket on 15 April 1738.
The libretto was adapted from one written by Silvio Stampiglia for an earlier opera by
Giovanni Bononcini. It tells the story of a Persian king, very loosely based on Xerxes I, who,
looking up one day from the contemplation of his favourite plane tree, sees Romilda, the
daughter of his vassal, and falls in love with her. Romilda, however, is in love with Xerxes’
brother, and Xerxes himself is already married to somebody else. Thus the usual operatic
complications follow, happily ending in a peaceful resolution.
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This aria occurs before all these complications begin, when Xerxes is lost in a love of a more contemplative
and less troublesome kind, wishing Fate to always smile upon his beloved tree and remarking
on its superiority to all other trees. The tune is very popular and is often performed in an
orchestral version that has come to be known as ‘Handel’s Largo’ (although the tempo marking of
the aria is ‘larghetto’).
Mozart: ‘Fuor del Mar’ from Idomeneo
This aria is from Mozart’s opera Idomeneo, re di Creta ossia Ilia e Idamante (Idomeneo, King of
Crete, or Ilia and Idamante). The opera was commissioned in 1780 and first performed at the Cuvilliés
Theatre of the Munich Residenz on 29 January 1781. The opera is set just after the end of the Trojan
War. Idomeneo is washed up on the shore of Crete after managing to survive a shipwreck and
promises to reward Neptune by sacrificing the first living creature he sees. Tragically, this turns out to
be his own son, Idamante. Idamante is also in love with Ilia, the captured daughter of the Trojan
king Priam, and their proposed marriage promises to ensure the peace between Crete and Troy.
Idomeneo is counselled to send Idamante into exile rather than to sacrifice him. But when he learns
of Ilia and her love for Idamante, he is doubly tormented about his decision, and sings this aria,
wondering whether he has been saved from one treacherous sea only to be plunged into another.
Franz Schubert (1797-1828): Piano Quintet in A Major ‘The Trout’, D.667
I. Allegro vivace
II. Andante
III. Scherzo: Presto
IV. Andantino – Allegretto
V. Allegro giustio
Schubert composed this work at the age of 22, in 1818. It has at least as good a claim to be Schubert’s
most popular piece as Eine Kleine Nachtmusik has to being Mozart’s. It receives its name
from the fourth movement, which presents a series of variations on Schubert’s song, Die Forelle (The
Trout). These endlessly inventive variations work by adding ever new ornaments and counterparts
to the melody, rather than, as was more common in Romantic composition, by creating permutations
of the thematic material.
The song describes an angler, unable to catch a clever trout who continually evades his
hook in a clear stream, who resorts to the villainous subterfuge of muddying the waters, much to
the narrator’s indignation. It ends by drawing a moral for young maidens, that they are more often
caught by deception than by skill. Though the whole piece, besides the fourth movement, does
not seem to be musically based on the song in any direct way, perhaps the images of the clear
brook, the dancing trout, and the crafty angler are evoked at various places. Schubert wrote the
piece while on holiday in Steyr, an arts colony in the Alps to which he had been taken by the famous
baritone Johann Vogl. Many have commented that the piece appears to reflect Schubert’s
holiday mood and his enjoyment of the countryside, which, having lived his whole life in the city, he
was probably experiencing for the first time.
The quintet is scored not for the usual string quartet and piano; instead of a second violin
part there is a part for double bass. A linking motive through all the movements except the Scherzo
is the rising sextuplet figure in the piano, also present in the accompaniment part to Die Forelle as
the representation of the bubbling brook. While not as structurally unified as other of Schubert’s
chamber works, the piece has an unmistakable emotional coherence.
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Concert 2 Saturday 10 September at 8.30 Loggos Schoolhouse
Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809): String Quartet No.63 in Bb Major, Sunrise, Op.76, No.4
Haydn’s Opus 76, a set of six string quartets, is a prime specimen of the radical inventiveness, even
mischievousness, for which he stands out among composers. It was commissioned by the Hungarian
Count, Joseph Erdödy, while Haydn was employed at the court of Prince Nicolaus Esterházy,
and includes many of his best known quartets, including the famous Emperor—number three in this
set. This one, number four, begins with a memorable rising violin figure over a sustained B-flat chord,
which gives the piece its nickname—‘sunrise’. A similar figure is then played over a more dissonant
sustained chord, before the music bursts into a radiant string texture. Other inventive features include
the passing of material from instrument to instrument, false starts, abrupt changes in dynamics,
and surprising phrase lengths.
Though full of sunshine, the piece is not without its dark moments; the second movement, for example,
reflects the same artistic maturity and profound themes as The Creation, Haydn’s great oratorio,
which he wrote at roughly the same time as this piece.
Jules Massenet (1842-191): ‘Méditation’ from Thaïs
Massenet’s opera Thaïs tells the story of Athanaël, a Cenobite monk living in Egypt during the time
of the Byzantine empire, who manages to convert the beautiful courtesan Thaïs to Christianity and
a life of chastity, only to regret his decision when he realises that he is in love with her. The opera
ends tragically, with Athanaël visiting Thaïs in her convent years later and finding her on her deathbed.
He loses all of his belief in eternal life and contempt for this world, realising that ‘nothing is true
but life and the love of human beings.’ It premiered at the Opéra Garnier in Paris on 16 March
1894, with the American soprano Sybil Sanderson as Thaïs – a role that Massenet had written especially
for her.
The Méditation is the entr’acte between the two scenes of the second act. Athanaël has arrived
from his monastery to attend a feast in Alexandria, held by his old friend Nicias, now a wealthy sensualist
and Venus-worshipper. Thaïs is the star attraction. Athanaël comes to her room late at night
and, after resisting her attempts to seduce him, attempts to persuade her that if she abandons the
life of the flesh her spirit will live eternally. She remains unconvinced, but later, while alone, begins to
contemplate the mysterious things Athanaël has told her. The Méditation is played while she deliberates,
before resolving to follow Athanaël into the desert and give up earthly things.
Rebecca Clarke (1886-1979): Viola Sonata
Impetuoso Vivace Adagio
In her prime Rebecca Clarke (1886-1979) was widely recognized as England’s leading female violist,
performing with artists such as Heifetz, Thibaud, Suggia, Casals, Szigeti, Rubinstein and Schnabel.
Her compositional output is small, but shows her to have been a highly gifted composer. She wrote
a selection of chamber works, including short pieces for the viola and piano that she wrote to perform
herself, as well as solo piano music, choral works, and a number of English songs to the poetry
of Yeats, Masefield and Housman. Sadly, only twenty works were published in her lifetime, and at
the time of her death in 1979, all of these were long out of print. Her music is striking not only for its
passion and power, but also for its lyricism and influences from French impressionism and English folk
song.
Arguably her best known work, the Viola Sonata is a powerful and expansive example post-
Romantic sonata. In 1919 Clarke entered the piece into a composition competition run by Elisabeth
Sprague Coolidge- a great American patroness of the arts. The distinguished competition jury was
unable to decide between two works for the $1,000 first prize- one was the Clarke Sonata, the other
Ernest Bloch’s Suite for Viola. In the end the Bloch Suite won the competition when Coolidge herself
was asked to make the deciding vote, but the fact that a woman had composed such a brilliant
work caused quite a stir, and it was even speculated that “Rebecca Clarke” was in fact a pseudonym
for Bloch himself.
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Clarke inscribes the sonata with a quotation from the 1835 poem La Nuit de mai, by Alfred
de Musset:
Poète, prends ton luth; le vin de la jeunesse
Fermente cette nuit dans les veines de Dieu.
Franz Schubert (1797-1828): Auf dem Strom, D943
Poet, take up your lute; the wine of youth
Ferments tonight in the veins of God.
This piece is a setting of a poem by Ludwig Rellstab (1799-1860). Rellstab originally offered his poems
to Beethoven, who died before setting any of them but passed them on to Schubert, having
made some preliminary markings. The younger composer’s tribute to Beethoven is clear in this song,
which quotes from the Funeral March of the Eroica Symphony. Perhaps Schubert imagined the
lover in the poem, saying farewell to his beloved as he disappears down the river, as Beethoven
himself, saying goodbye to the world. The piece was among those performed in the only concert
he attended that was entirely dedicated to his own works, given on the anniversary of Beethoven’s
death, March 26, 1828. Schubert died only later that year, and, at his own request, was buried beside
Beethoven in the village cemetery of Währing.
Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937): Mythes Op.30
La Fontaine d’Aretheuse Narcisse Dryades et Pan
Szymanowski composed these three pieces in 1915, dedicating them to Zofia Kochańska, the wife
of the famous violinist Pawel Kochański, with whom the composer himself premiered the piece. His
and Kochański’s intention was to create a new style of expression on the violin, and indeed the violin
writing of this piece was carefully studied by the greatest twentieth-century composers including
Bartok, Prokofiev, and Stravinsky.
The subjects are, of course, taken from Greek mythology. Arethusa, one of the Nereids, was the
nymph of the famous fountain in the island of Ortygia, near Syracuse. Narcissus was a beautiful and
vain youth who ignored the advances of the nymph Echo, who died of grief. As a punishment, he
was caused to fall in love with his own reflection in a still pool. Pan was the god of flocks and shepherds,
who wandered around the valleys of Arcadia leading the dances of the Dryads (nymphs) on
his shepherd’s flute. Here are Szymanowksi’s own words concerning the mythical subjects of the
piece:
‘This is not meant to be a drama, unfolding in scenes one after another, (each) of which has
anecdotic significance - this is rather a complex musical expression of the inspiring beauty
of the Myth. The main ‘key’ of the ‘flowing water’ in Arethusa, the ‘stagnant water’ in Narcissus
(the still and clear surface of the water in which the beauty of the (ephebe) Narcissus
is reflected) - these are the main lines of the piece ... In the Dryads one can imagine the
content in an anecdotic sense. Hence the murmuring of the forest on a hot summer's night,
thousands of mysterious voices, all overlapping in the darkness - the fun and dancing of the
Dryads. Suddenly the sound of Pan's pipe. Silence and anxiety. An atmospheric, dreamy
melody. The appearance of Pan, the Dryads’ amorous [word illegible], their ambiguously
expressed fear = Pan skips away - the dance begins anew - then everything calms down in
the freshness and silence of the breaking dawn. In all, a musical expression of the dreamy
tension of a summer night....’
Michail Palaiologou (1981- ): Kaonas
The work Kaonas takes its title from the Greek word for seagull (in the dialect mostly used in the
Greek islands of the Ionian sea). It is a set of five miniatures for tenor, piano and string quartet. The
poems used are all Kantsones composed by Spyros Bogdanos, the current mayor of Paxos. Each
miniature is composed based on a different poem and while in none of the poems is presented in
whole, each conveys the vivid images and emotions drawn by the poet.
Kaonas is commissioned by the Paxos Festival Trust.
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Concert 3 Tuesday 13 September at 8.30 Loggos Schoolhouse
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937): Cinq mélodies populaires grecques, Arr. Harold Gretton)
In 1904 the musicologist Pierre Aubry approached Ravel with an urgent request. He was
giving a lecture on Greek folksong and needed examples that could be performed to his
audience. A mutual friend, Michel Dimitri Calvocoressi, produced French translations of
five folk songs from Chios, for which Ravel produced piano accompaniments in only thirtysix
hours! Calvocoressi then produced three more translations for Ravel to set. The final version
of the cycle, published in 1906, selected the five favourite songs from the total eight
Ravel and Calvocoressi had produced.
As always, Ravel found a way to express his own personal compositional style, full of
intriguing modal harmonies and intricate rhythmic patterns, while retaining the distinctive
Mediterranean flavour of the tunes. Since many of the accompaniment figures seem to
mimic traditional plucked and strummed instruments, an arrangement for guitar seems
natural.
Calvocoressi’s French texts are still under copyright and cannot be reproduced
here, but the attached translations by Peter Dayon are available.
Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921): Carnival of the Animals XIII: 'Le Cygne' (The Swan), Arr.
Harold Gretton
Saint-Saëns composed La carnaval des animaux (The Carnival of the Animals) in 1886. It is
a suite of fourteen pieces, each depicting a different zoological exhibition (it would be
wrong to say ‘each depicting a different animal’, since ‘Aquarium’, ‘Aviary’, and ‘Pianists’
are not animals), along with a Finale. Saint-Saëns refused to publish most of it during his
lifetime, concerned that it would give him a reputation as a trivial composer. Today, however,
it is his most popular piece and generally taken as a demonstration of the composer’s
genius rather than his triviality.
Le Cygne (The Swan) is the only movement Saint-Saëns did publish during his lifetime.
It is probably the most famous of them all, often performed on its own, and a core
piece in the cello repertoire (commonly played also on the double bass). The rippling figures
on the piano – or here, on the guitars – represent the swan’s paddling feet beneath
the surface of the water, while the serene melody depicts her/his graceful gliding over the
surface. It became especially famous when used by Michael Fokine as the score for his
1905 ballet, The Dying Swan, performed many times by Anna Pavlova.
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741): Concerto for 2 Mandolins, Strings and Continuo in G, RV532
Vivaldi composed over 500 concertos, many of them, including this one, for the girls at the
Ospedale della Pietà, where Vivaldi worked as a violin teacher, as well as a conductor
and composer, from 1703 until 1740. The date of this composition and its circumstances
are unknown. It is the only concerto Vivaldi wrote for two mandolins and is somewhat less
famous than his solo mandolin concerti (one in C major, RV425, was used by François Truffaut
in his 1968 film The Bride Wore Black, while one in D major, RV93, appears in Todd Solondz’s
film Happiness (1998) – both with rather unfortunate associations). Having two instruments
to play off each other, however, suits Vivaldi’s style – full of exuberant contrasts,
echoes, intertwining, and untwining – wonderfully.
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30
Guillaume Lekeu (1870-94): Nocturne, No. 3, extract of Trois poémes
The brief life of the Belgian composer Guillaume Lekeu, cut short by typhoid fever at the
age of 24, was full of artistic promise. He won the Prix de Rome twice, was taught composition
by César Franck and Vincent d’Indy, and was an admired friend of the violinist
Eugène Ysaÿe, who commissioned a violin sonata from him.
Lekeu began writing songs at the age of 17. His first two songs were settings of poems
by Alphonse Lamartine (1790-1869), but after this Lekeu only set his own poems. This
Nocturne is the last of a set of three poems (‘Sur une tombe’ and ‘Ronde’ are the others).
The score is inscribed with lines from Victor Hugo’s exuberant love poem, Écoute-moi,
Madeleine! (Listen to me, Oh Madeleine!), which are as follows:
…Le printemps…
A cette nuit, pour te plaire,
Secoué sur la bruyere
Sa robe pleine de fleurs
The Springtime…
Tonight, to please your eye,
Has shaken upon the heather,
Its robe of flowers!
But this is the only mention of night in Hugo’s bright, clear, and joyful poem; what Lekeu
meant by transforming it into this mysterious and brooding nocturne (some have called it
a landscape seen with the eyes of the soul) is unclear, though undoubtedly the result has
a strange kind of opaque beauty.
Johannes Brahms (1833-97): Piano Quintet in F Minor, Op. 34
This quintet was begun sometime in 1862. Like almost all of Brahms’ great works, it had a
somewhat tortuous birth. He originally conceived it as a string quintet with two cellos. He
sent the first three movements of this version to his mentor Clara Schumann and his friend,
the violinist Joseph Joachim, in August 1862. Both were impressed but felt that something
was missing. Brahms transformed the material into a Sonata for Two Pianos (eventually
published as Op. 34 bis), and performed this version with Karl Tausig in 1864. Clara Schumann,
however, remained unconvinced by the material in this form, finding that it felt too
much like an arrangement. In the summer of 1864, Brahms recast the material as a quintet
for the ensemble seen here tonight, suggested to him by the conductor Hermann Levi,
who remarked: ‘You have turned a monotonous work for two pianos into a thing of great
beauty, a masterpiece of chamber music.’ Thus has it remained.
Many of Brahms’ works take fairly strict classical forms and scale them up to gigantic proportions,
whereby they take on a surprising character: this piece is typical in this respect.
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Concert 4 Thursday 15 September at 8.30 Loggos Schoolhouse
Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757) - Two Sonatas
Despite his Italian heritage and education, Domenico Scarlatti, born in Naples in 1685, is
today remembered chiefly for the Spanish character of his works. First educated by his
father, the eminent composer and pedagogue Alessandro Scarlatti, his early career took
him through Venice to Rome, where he composed operas for an exiled Polish Queen, and
where he was acclaimed for his skill on the harpsichord. He travelled once to London to
direct an Opera at the King's theatre, and moved to Lisbon in 1719, teaching music to the
Portuguese Princess Barbara. He married in Rome in 1728, and moved to Madrid, again
under the employ of Princess Barbara, who married into the Spanish royal household in
1733.
Although he did not settle in Spain until he was already 48 years old, the influence
of Spanish folk idioms has often been noted in his music, particularly in the 555 keyboard
sonatas. These idioms can be heard in his use of the Phrygian mode, sharp dissonances,
flamenco dance rhythms, and sudden modulations. These characteristics have led
Scarlatti's works to be associated with the guitar, which is tuned in the Phrygian mode, and
on which shifting chord shapes create dissonances with open strings and facilitate sudden
chromatic modulations. The first Sonata (L.23, K.380) selected for today's concert also
features the Fandango rhythm, with it's emphasis on the second half of the first beat.
J. K. Mertz (1806-1856) - Two Miniatures
I. Am Grabe der Geliebten
II. Tarantelle
Relatively little is known about the Hungarian/Slovakian guitar virtuoso J.K. Mertz. Even his
Christian names are contentious, although the names Johann Kaspar are generally
accepted. Born in Bratislava, we know he was invited to perform in a concert in that city,
organised by Hummel in 1834. He also performed in Vienna in 1840, and shortly after was
published by the prestigious Haslinger publishing house. During a tour of Poland, Russia
and Germany, he met piano virtuoso Josephin Plantin. The two were married in Prague in
1842, and returned to Vienna, where both were active as composers, teachers and
performers. They frequently performed duets together of their own composition. In 1846
Mertz became very sick with neuralgia, and because of mismedication, remained
impaired for the next 18 months. He must have remained active as a composer during this
time, because from 1846-1847 Haslinger released many works by Mertz, including opera
transcriptions, a guitar method, transcriptions of Schubert songs, and perhaps Mertz's bestknown
series of concert works, the first 10 books of Bardenklänge.
Active as a performing artist in Vienna, it is natural that Mertz's musical language
has been compared with those of von Weber, Listz, and Schubert. Some of Mertz's most
frequently performed works are his transcriptions of six Schubert songs, and among his
eleven guitar duets, many resemble in content and language the songs of Schubert. With
titles like ‘Ich denke Dein’, ‘Ständchen’, ‘Unruhe’, amd ‘Verspergang’, they are lyrical and
Romantically expressive. Am Grabe der Geliebten is programmatic, following the thoughts
of a protagonist as he or she stands over the grave of his or her loved one, filled with grief
and accompanied by distant church bells. Tarantelle is based on the popular dance from
the Taranto province in Italy, traditionally danced when someone has been bitten by a
tarantula to beat the effects of the poison.
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Phillip Houghton (1954- ) - Wave Radiance
Australian composer, guitarist and painter Phillip Houghton writes the following about his
work:
‘If we can think of the atmosphere as the skin of the Earth, and of peel as the skin of an
orange, it came to me that colour is the skin of resonance: the skin of sounds we hear; the
skin of light which artists try to paint – coming to us in waves of energy, in all colours: rough
to smooth: soft to harsh: near and far. Colour illuminates form. Initial images that came to
me whilst writing the music were: a deep, dark ocean, with all kinds of exotically coloured
creatures and jelly-fish floating in and out of view … drifting like luminous clouds of
evanescent colour and light in a black void, suspended in time and space. I also had
images of a single drop of water, hovering, clinging to a blade of grass … of whale song
radiating through an ocean. All the time this resonance.
Colour and resonance is like a “living sonority” that's all around us. Connecting
everything. It sings of energy … sometimes of things familiar, sometimes of a mysterious
echo from the unknown … always transforming, morphing, into new form, pattern and
ambience. In writing this piece, I was drawn to this energy. Wave Radiance has no
melody. It is more like a “sonic event”, exploring how sonorous, resonant energy radiates
through everything – and how we perceive and experience it as colour. This piece is how I
felt it, on guitar.’
Annette Kruisbrink (1958- ) - Homenaje a Andrés Segovia (Encuentro; Scherzo; Llanto;
Recuerdo)
Annette Kruisbrink is certainly one of the most prolific living composers of guitar music. A
guitarist herself, she performs regularly with Belgian guitarist Arlette Ruelens as the Anido
Duo, for which she has written a large body of concert duets. In her compositions, she
does not limit herself to only one style, but shows an enormous variety of influences. From
Indian Ragas to Latin America Sambas, and a whole plethora of genres in between, she
never shies away from incorporating a new language into her compositional vocabulary.
The Homenaje a Andrés Segovia is not only dedicated to Segovia, the great Spanish
guitarist who popularised the classical guitar during the 20th Century, but also influenced
by his style of playing. Each of the four movements employ great lyricism, as well as
frequent changes in colour and vibrato. The Homenaje a Andrés Segovia won first prize in
the Fort de France guitar composition competition (Martinique) in 1994.
Pierre Petit (1922-2000) – Tarantelle
Pierre Petit is better known as an administrator and critic than for his compositions, yet he
produced two of the most popular and most often performed guitar duets in the
repertoire: the Toccata and the Tarantelle. Born in Paris, Petit studied at the Paris
Conservatory (CNSM), winning the prestigious Prix de Rome in 1946. In 1950 he was made
director of light-music for the ORTF, the French national radio and TV broadcaster. He
wrote his two guitar duets after hearing the well-renowned Duo Presti-Lagoya, to whom
both works are dedicated.
J.S. Bach (1685-1750) - Ciaccona BWV 1004
The Ciaccona (or Chaconne) is the final movement of the five-movement violin Partita
BWV 1004, in D minor. Bach may have written this Partita as a response to the death of his
first wife, Maria Barbara ; Bach is known to have been profoundly religious. The opening
theme has an optimism about it: the highest voice first rises a sixth, before falling not to D
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minor but to B flat major. The motif resolves inevitably to its tonic, but the theme then rises
again, a full 9th above its opening note, and does not finish on D, but a third higher.
Overall the melodic shape is not falling hopelessly, but rising. Throughout the first
section of the work, often arpeggiated. These might be interpreted as Bach's wife's ascent
to heaven. The counterpoint of falling chromaticism in the bass is likely to represent Bach's
own grief: a chromatically descending bass was frequent in the Baroque era.
The middle section modulates to D major, and the bass continues to descend. The
middle section becomes an appeal to the Holy Spirit to help him deal with his grief. The
final section returns to D minor, and the counterpoint of rising phrases over a falling bass
resumes. The final iteration of the theme which closes the work resolves to a single note,
This is perhaps a final acceptance of loss, of grief, but also of hope, and of a greater glory.
John Dowland (1563-1626) and Thomas Morley (1557/8-1602): Songs
Come Again Awake, Sweet Love Wilt Thou, Unkind, thus Reave Me
It Was a Lover and His Lass (Morley) Weepe You No More
John Dowland is best known today as a writer of melancholy songs (‘Semper Dowland,
semper dolens’ (Always Dowland, always doleful) was the name of one of his consort
pieces). But in his own time he was renowned as a lutenist, singer, and composer of
consort music. In 1580 he went to Paris to the French court where he converted to
Catholicism. He became lutenist to Christian IV of Denmark in 1598, and then after working
for Lord Howard de Walden, he was appointed a court lutenist for James I. The
melancholy character of his songs was partly dictated by the fashion of his time; the
delicacy of his lute-writing and the innovative incorporation of sophisticated Continental
composition techniques (employing more dissonance and chromaticism than was usual in
English music of the time) are his own unique contributions.
Thomas Morley was born in East Anglia. He became a chorister at his local
cathedral to be taught by the great William Byrd. He received his bachelor’s degree from
Oxford in 1588 and was then appointed as an organist to St. Paul’s Cathedral. His setting
of the song, It Was a Lover and His Lass, from Shakespeare’s As You Like It, is probably his
most famous song. Morley is now famous for having created the English Madrigal
tradition, along with Thomas Weelkes, John Wilbye, and others and a very influential
teaching manual, the Plaine and Easie Introduction to Practicall Musicke; a valuable
source on sixteenth-century composition and performance practice.
Joaquín Rodrigo Vidre (1901-99): Songs
Adela De Ronda Coplas del Pastor Enamorado
En las Montañas de Asturias Canción del grumete
Blind from the age of three, Rodrigo wrote all his compositions in braille. Although, he was
a virtuoso pianist, many of his most popular pieces, the Concierto de Aranjuez for
example, are part of the core guitar repertoire. He was not a guitarist himself, but he
learned to write for the instrument masterfully, in the process learning a great deal about
various Spanish folk music traditions. Adela, De Ronda, and En las Montañas de Asturias (In
the Mountains of Asturias) were originally part of a set of Twelve Spanish Songs, published
in 1951. Coplas del Pastor Enamorado (Verses of the Shepherd in Love) is the earliest of the
group, published on its own in 1935. Canción del Grumete (Song of the Cabin Boy) was
published a little later, in 1938.
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Concert 5 Saturday 17 September 8.30 Loggos Schoolhouse
This concert will complete the 2011Festival by bringing together a recital in the first half of
short pieces played by one of the tutors of the last decade and his partner which typify the
Festival's music of that period,
The second half will feature the young musicians of Paxos in works prepared specially for
this concert with tutors provided by the Paxos Festival Trust.
The Duo Amethys will follow-up their Concert 4 by working with young guitarists from the
island to produce a piece for a guitar orchestra, and maybe some individual performances.
London based cellist Natasha Zielazinski assisted by composer Michail Palaiologou,
will lead a one week workshop which will be an opportunity for young people from the
island to come together and engage with music in a creative manner.
They will improvise, respond, and jointly compose a new work to be performed as the
conclusion of the Paxos Festival.
The piece will take inspiration from the sea, the island, and the lives of the people of
Paxos.
The Trust provided instruments for teaching music on Paxos whilst the Municipality brings
the teachers; this concert will provide an opportunity to display their skills in an evening
that takes the tradition of the last night Surprise Concert to new levels !
PROGRAMME
Pal Banda (Cello ) and Zsuzsa Berenyi (piano and violin)
Handel-Halvorsen: Passacaglia
Bach: 3No Two part inventions
Kodaly: Duo Op.7 1st Movement
Mozart Duo in G major
Ravel: Duo !st & 2nd Movements
INTERVAL
Young Paxiot Musicians
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Clockwise from top left:
Bartosz Woroch
Pablo Benedí
Rosalind Ventris
Duo Amythis
John Bacon
Paolo Bonomini
Clockwise from top left:
Lara Dodds-Eden
Michail Palaiologou
Pal Banda & Zsuzsa Berenyi
Natasha Zielazinski
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John Bacon (tenor)
England-based Canadian tenor John Bacon is rapidly establishing himself as a
singer of exceptional musicianship, warmth, style and character. Having
performed throughout Europe and Canada, this youthful tenor has also been
praised for his dramatic intensity, vocal beauty, clarity and agility.
Recent performances include his first Nemerino in Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore in
Tokyo, a tour of France and England of Handel’s Acis and Galatea with New
European Opera, Bach’s St John Passion in Vancouver and the Sailor in Purcell’s
Dido and Aeneas in Toronto. A singer who excels at oratorio and song, John
regularly performs a wide variety of repertoire ranging from Bach to Britten. John’s
concerts include working with such distinguished artists and conductors as
Graham Johnson, Iain Burnside, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Sian Edwards and Bruce
Pullan.
Winner of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s Radio Two Début Series for
Young Performers, John is also a graduate of the Opera Course at the Guildhall
School of Music and Drama. While at the Guildhall, he was a prize winner in the
English Song Competition and represented the college in the LSO Discovery
Lunchtime Concert Series. John is currently based in London where he is a resident
artist of Yehudi Menuhin’s Live Music Now, performing regularly with pianist Helen
Mills.
Pablo Hernán Benedí (violin)
Pablo Hernán Benedí was born in Madrid, and started playing the violin at the age
of four. Since 2009 he has been studying at London's Guildhall School of Music and
Drama (GSMD) with David Takeno, and since 2010 Pablo has been a member of
the Chiaroscuro Quartet along with Alina Ibragimova, Emilie Hörnlund and Claire
Thirion.
Pablo has led and worked with orchestras including Simon Bolivar Orchestra,
Orchestra Iberoamericana and European Camerata, with performances in
Carnegie Hall, Auditorio Nacional Madrid and El Liceu Barcelona. Pablo has also
performed in masterclasses with the Casals and Quiroga Quartets, David Quiggle,
Anuska Comesaña and Gordan Nikolitch.
Paolo Bonomini (cello)
Born in Brescia in 1989, Paolo finished his cello courses at the age of 17 with the
highest mark, cum laude and honourable mention, studying with Maestro Paolo
Perucchetti. From 2005-2010 he continued studies in Brescia with Mario Brunello
and since June 2010, he has been a student of Maestro Antonio Meneses at the
Hochschule der Künste, Bern. Paolo completed a Konzertdiplom with full marks
and merit, and is currently continuing his studies towards a Masters in 'Specialized
Music Performance', again under the tutorage of Maestro Meneses.
He has won many prizes and competitions, including first prizes at the Romanini
Competition of Brescia, the National 'City of Giussano' Competition, and the
Vittorio Veneto National Exhibition of String Instruments. In addition to these
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successes, Paolo won the Concours Solisten-Vorspiel 2009 der Schenk Stiftung Prize,
which is awarded to the best students of all the Swiss music colleges.
Paolo performs with a number of chamber and symphony orchestras, and has
played under the baton of conductors such as Claudio Abbado, Alexander
Lonquich, Zsolt Nagy, Benjamin Schmid and John Axelrod. As a soloist Paolo has
played, among others, with the International Piano Festival Orchestra 'Arturo
Benedetti Michelangeli' conducted by Agostino Orizio. He has played in
masterclasses given by Enrico Bronzi, Enrico Dindo, Jens Peter Maintz, and has
performed live for Italian National Radio.
Lara Dodds-Eden (piano)
After completing her undergraduate studies at the Australian National University
(ANU) under the guidance of Susanne Powell, Australian pianist Lara Dodds-Eden
moved to London in 2006 to take up postgraduate studies in Accompaniment at
the GSMD, where she studied with Caroline Palmer. Over the course of her time in
London Lara has appeared in recital at prestigious venues including Wigmore Hall,
Royal Festival Hall, the Purcell Room, the Royal Opera House Crush Room, St John
Smith Square, the Barbican, St James' Piccadilly and LSO St Luke's.
Lara programmed the concerts for both this and last year's Paxos International
Music Festival, and she also programmes a concert series at St Mary and St John
the Divine in Balham. (see her website www.laradoddseden.com)
Duo Amythis (Guitar duo)
After meeting in 2008, Véronique van Duurling and Harold Gretton formed the Duo
Amythis in Australia in 2009, and since then have given concerts in Australia,
Switzerland, the Netherlands, and France. In that same year, the duo were major
prize-winners in the Transylvania International Guitar Competition, Romania. In
2010, they were awarded a ‘Live Music Now' stipend, which sees them giving
regular concerts in Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany, and they also co-founded an
Autumn Guitar Series with fellow students, and organise concerts in Alsace, Kehl,
and Gengenbach.
Véronique van Duurling (guitar)
Véronique completed her Bachelor of Music in 2005, and her post-graduate
degree with Carlo Marchione in 2009 at the Conservatory of Maastricht. She is
currently undertaking a course of study with Duo Melis at the Strasbourg
Conservatory. She was a major prize-winner at the renowned Cordoba Guitar
Festival (2010). She also won two first prizes in the Jongeren op het Podium
Competition in Belgium, as a soloist and in the chamber music category. The
prestigious Forte-Institute in Belgium awarded her two concerts, in the illustrious
Academiezaal and the Keizerszaal in Sint-Truiden (2008). She was also a major
prize-winner at the Transylvania Guitar Competition (2009), and in June 2010 she
was awarded a grant by the Dutch Prins Bernard Cultuurfonds to purchase a
guitar by the Australian luthier, Greg Smallman and Sons.
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The eminent Dutch guitarist and composer Annette Kruisbrink praised Véronique’s
interpretation of Kruisbrink’s Hommage to Segovia as the finest that she has heard.
She performs concerts regularly in Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, France
and Australia. She was also invited to perform in concerts all over Ireland, in
Romania, Switzerland, Czech Republic and Greece.
Harold Gretton (guitar)
Harold Gretton began playing guitar at the age of seven. He completed his
Bachelor of Music with first-class honours in 2006 at the ANU School of Music under
the guidance of Timothy Kain. He went on to complete his PhD at the ANU School
of Music in 2010, and recently began a Cours de specialisation at the Strasbourg
conservatory with Duo Melis.
Harold has won numerous national and international competitions, including first
prizes in a number of international guitar competitions in Vienna, Cordoba, Coria,
Transylvania, Sernancelhe and Lagonegro. He was awarded second prizes in the
51st Tokyo International Guitar Competition and the Gisborne Music Competition.
He has performed concerts in Miami, Vietnam, Australia, and all over Europe. He
has been invited to perform concertos with the Orquestra Filarmonia das Beiras,
conducted by Pedro Neves; the Canberra Symphony Orchestra, conducted by
Nicholas Milton; and on two occasions with the ANU School of Music Symphony
Orchestra, with conductors Nigel Westlake and Max McBride.
Michail Palaiologou (composer)
Michail Palaiologou was born in Greece. He obtained his Artist's Diplomas at the
Conservatory of Serres under the supervision of Ina Nikrasova-Papadopoulou, and
in 2006, Michail received a scholarship to study composition in London at the
GSMD with Dr Paul Newland and Dr Richard Baker. Michail is currently continuing
postgraduate studies on scholarship at the GSMD with acclaimed composer Julian
Anderson.
During the past few years Michail has been involved in a diverse number of
projects and festivals, including the 'Sounds New' Festival, Festival Voix De La
Méditerranée, the Paxos International Music Festival and the EKON/Greek Music
and Performing Arts Festival. His music has been performed in UK venues, including
London's Wigmore Hall, Bishopsgate Institute and Barbican Art Gallery, and
abroad, including Greek venues such as the Athens Megaron and American
venues such as Poets' House in New York.
Michail's collaboration with D Agrafiotis, Chinese Notebook, has been published at
Readings Web Journal and www.poiein.gr. His work for orchestra, Pindos, won the
first price at the Frank Prindl Composition Competition and he was a finalist of the
London Contemporary Chamber Orchestra's Piece Of The Year' Composition
Competition with his work for chamber orchestra Insomnia-1030452.
His future engagements include new compositions for various ensembles and
performances at Wigmore Hall, The Place and the GSMD.
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Rosalind Ventris (viola)
Described as a 'remarkable talent' for her performance of Mozart's Sinfonia
Concertante with violinist Tasmin Little, Rosalind Ventris performs regularly as a
soloist and chamber musician in the UK, playing in venues such as St.John's Smith
Square, the Barbican, the Royal Festival Hall, and the Wigmore Hall. She studied at
Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, winning all the University's prizes for musical
performance, including the Nigel Brown Prize. Currently finishing her Masters at the
GSMD with David Takeno, Rosalind has recently won the Max and Peggy Morgan
Award, and participated in masterclasses given by Tabea Zimmerman and
Barbara Westphal.
Aged 17, Rosalind won the Gwynne Edwards Memorial Prize for the most promising
British entrant, and the European Union Chamber Orchestra Prize at the 2006 Lionel
Tertis International Viola Competition. She frequently performs as a concerto
soloist, performing works such as Bartok's Viola Concerto, Bruch's Double Concerto
and Walton's Viola Concerto. A keen chamber musician, Rosalind has performed
with the Dante and Endellion string quartets. (See her website
www.rosalindventris.com)
Bartosz Woroch (violin)
Bartosz Woroch began his musical education at the age of six. He studied with
Marcin Baranowski at the Paderewski Academy of Music in Poznan and in the
class of Monika Urbaniak-Lisik at the Hochschule der Kunste Bern, and at present
he is a Fellow at the GSMD where he studies in the class of the cellist Louise
Hopkins.
Bartosz is a laureate of numerous international competitions including the Michael
Hill, Pablo Sarasate and Takasaki and has appeared with the Bern Symphony
Orchestra , Poznan Philharmonic, Auckland Philharmonic, Silesian Philharmonic,
and the Polish Radio Chamber Orchestra amongst others. In January 2007 at the
age of 22 Bartosz was appointed Concertmaster to the Poznan Philharmonic
Orchestra. However, he left this position in April 2008 to pursue his keen interest in
both solo and chamber music. As a chamber musician and member of the award
winning Cappa Ensemble Bartosz has performed at the Wigmore Hall, Barbican
Hall, Palais des Beaux Arts, at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, West Cork Chamber
Music Festival , Radio France Festival in Montpellier and Verbier Festival. He has
toured New Zealand, Australia and Singapore and is a recipient of the Irish Music
Network Scheme Award.
In September 2009 he was appointed as an assistant to Monika Urbaniak-Lisik at
the Hochschule der Kunste, Bern, and in January 2011, Bartosz was recommended
by the GSMD to participate in the renowned Winter Music Creative Residencies in
Banff, Canada, where he worked with Henk Guittart on Fantasies for violin and
piano by Schubert and Schönberg.
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Pal Banda and Zsuzsa Berenyi
Pal was born into a musical family in Budapest. He began to learn the cello at the
age of 9. At the Franz Liszt Academy of Music he studied with his father, Ede
Banda as well as György Kurtág and Ferenc Rados.
In 1982 Pal received a commendation on the Moscow International Tchaikovsky
Competition , became Principal Cello in the Camerata Academica, Salzburg and
a member of The Chamber Orchestra of Europe.
As a soloist he has performed throughout Europe and was member of the
Fitzwilliam Quartet, the Katin Piano Trio andthe Allegri String Quartet from
1998-2008. Pal also teaches at the Purcell School and has given master classes in
many countries including the USA, Singapore, Greece Hungary and England .
Pal was one of the directors of the Paxos International Festival from 1999-2004, with
Julian Jacobson and Plilip Gibbonn
His cello was once in the possession of the Eszterházy family.
Zsuzsa studied the piano at the Bartok Specialist Music School and obtained her
first class degree at the Liszt Academy of music on the violin in 2006From the age
of 15she took part in Andras Schiff’s and Gyorgy Kurtag masterclasses. She toured
and recorded the late mozart Sonatas as a pianist with Denes Zsigmondy.
In the UK she is a member of London Musical Artand leader/soloist of I Maestri
Symphony orchestra and the Marmari trio, playing across Europe with these.She
appears frequently with Dernes Zsigmondy in germany and Switzerland and with
the Louis Spohr Sinfonietta at Austrian summer festivals.
Zsuzsa’s work with jazz pianist Tibor Markusis on CD with the Equinox Quartet.
Natasha Zielazinski (Workshop Leader)
Natasha Zielazinski is a London based cellist and composer. She is a member of
Jetsam, an experimental contemporary music ensemble who create and perform
original and commissioned works as well as repertoire by composers such as Luis
Adriessen and Fred Rzewski. In addition to her work with Jetsam, Natasha has
worked in collaboration with the Hofesh Shechter Dance Company and the Royal
College of Arts among others, leading to performances in the United Kingdom at
the Barbican Centre, the Roundhouse, the Bath International Festival and the
South Bank Centre as well as extensive performances at international festivals and
venues.
Apart from her performance practice, Natasha is committed to leading and
developing projects which focus on creative community engagement and has
worked for the Barbican Centre's Creative Learning department, the London
Sinfonietta, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Aldeburgh Music, the
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's OrchKids program, and the Wigmore Hall.
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Chronology
1970’s Goughs visit Paxos for first time
1973 Buy cottage outside Loggos
!986 January Fishmongers concert by Mistry Quartet
First concert in garden by Mistry Quartet and Nigel Shore
Registration of “Prizewinning Performers Trust”
Vassilis Makris, composer, forms Arion Choir
1987 Mistry Quartet and Neyire Ashworth
1988 Mistry with student quartets from GSMD & Athens
1989 Julian Jacobson joined as Musical Director,with
Mistry Quartet
1990 Trust re-registered as “Paxos Festival Trust Ltd”
1991 Expansion under Julian Jacobson & Jagdish Mistry
produce 12 recitals including Leonidas Kavakos
-violin,Althea-Maria Papoulias -soprano,
Appollo Saxophone Quartet
1994 JulianJacobson joined by Suzanne Stanzeleit and
Neyire Ashworth as directors
Kavakos and Papoulias joined by Christophoros
Stamboglis-bass
Performances at Loggos Schoolhouse, Paxos Club,
Gaios and Aloni Disco,Lakka
1995 Kavakos, Papoulias and Stromboglis return.
12 short concerts including at Phoenix Disco,Gaios
!997 Jagdish returns and with Julian and Philip Gibbon
present 3 nights of the “Soldier’s Tale’ with TV actor
Christophoros Papakaliates -Soldier & Lili Spatha
- Princess Seats at 2000dr for this extravaganza
1998 Introduction of 1000dr admission for all concerts
4 City Livery Companies provide scholarships.
Mini Stories” at Boidanatika and Greek Folk Songs
with the Arion Choir
1999 Return of the scholars and William Coleman-viola
to form Paxos String Quartet.
“Carnival of the Animals” with Paxos children.
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2000 “We shall be here...”: staged cantata commissioned
by the Trust to celebrate 2000years of Paxiot history
Jagdish returns to play in Schubert Octet
Most concerts return to the Phoenix Disco
2003 Mediterranean/20thC slant to programme.
Discussions begin with IEMA re new Music
2004 First Paxos Spring Music Festival with IEMA
Concert at Ionian University
Last of the Festivals under Jacobson/Banda/Gibbon.
Harry of Piano bar fame returns for a concert
Conversion of Loggos Schoolhouse
Paxos hosts “ Cultural Village of Europe.
Discussions with Herdmans on future of September Festival
2005 IEMA Spring festival concerts in Corfu and Athens
GSMD presents September Festival
John Gough has serious accident
2006 IEMA Spring Festival ends with concert at Megaron
in Athens
John Gough dies: Nick Thompson becomes Trust Chairman.
GSMD students led by Bernard Lanskey and David Takeno.
2007 Spring Festival concert returns to Corfu
2008 IEMA prepare french, spanish and german programmes
for 3 Megaron concerts.
Concept of Ergon in Athens begins
GSMD September students include wind players, and
“Carnival of the Animals” with Paxiot children.
2009 Paxos Festival given Greek Music and Drama Critics Award
Last September Festival with GSMD
2010 Franck Ollu conducts larger works in Spring Festival
Lara Dodds-Eden produces “shoestring” September
Festival.
2011 Spring Festival moved to Gaios; improvements to
Loggos Schoolhouse
Ergon concerts in Megaron, Athens Festival and
Herrenhausen, Germany
Lara Dodds-Eden programmes 25th anniversary Festival
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The 2011 Paxos September Festival is presented by the Paxos Festival Trust in
conjunction with the Cultural Association of Paxos
The concert programme has been devised and directed by Lara Dodds-Eden
with Natasha Zielazinski leading the workshop.
Programme notes are by Alexander Douglas, and Harold Gretton for Concert 4
This programme book has been compiled by Nick Thompson with contributions
from
Spiros Bogdanos, Nada Geroulanos Jagdish Mistry Julian Jacobson
Philip Gibbon Hilary Herdman Jonathan Cohen Marcus Beecham-Stevens
Faye Lychnou and Miles Stockwell have assisted in providing photographs,
translating, production and distribution.
The portrait of John Gough is by Kalia Kouva and was commissioned by the
Municipality of Paxos
Special thanks are given to the Mayor and Municipality of Paxos for their
continuing support for the Festivals, and for the provision of the Loggos
Schoolhouse and other facilities
This Festival would not have been possible without the financial help of the Thames
Wharf Charity, and the generous individual sponsors who remain anonymous.
We are also grateful to the local enterprises who have assisted us with goods and
services.
Please add your name to our mailing list:- info@paxosfestival.org.uk
The Paxos Festival Trust Limited is a charity limited by guarantee and registered in
England and Wales, No 296319
Registered Office:- 22 Lichfield Road, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 3JR
Directors:- Nicholas Thompson (Chairman), Miles Stockwell (Finance)
Ivana Jenkins, Yannis Arvanitakis, Nada Geroulanos, Faye Lychnou.
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