13th CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL CHANIA 2025
"WAR AND PEACE"
24 August - 4 September 2025
The Art of Music is, by its very nature, an endless "study" of composing contrasts and conflicts: sound is born from silence and "dies" in it, harmonic relaxation follows tension, dissonant intervals seek their resolution in consonance, the loud contrasts with the soft, the different timbres of instruments create a diverse and constantly changing soundscape. In this light, great composers had highly effective artistic tools to express through their works the devastation and tragedy of war conflict as well as the blessing of peace, harmonious coexistence, and social happiness.
Under this musical prism and on the occasion of the eightieth anniversary of the end of World War II, the Chania Chamber Music Festival 2025 unfolds a thematic thread that connects significant works written just before, just after, or during the War-works written to celebrate triumphs, mourn defeats, reflect on the crushing nature of death, and contemplate the value of life. Prokofiev's Sixth Piano Sonata, Shostakovich's Eighth Quartet, Weinberg's Quintet, and Strauss's Metamorphosen are, each in their own unique way, musical monuments to the countless victims of the Nazi scourge that swept through Europe-this Europe of humanism, democracy, and cultural flourishing, expressions of which are, on one hand, magnificent classical works like Mozart's Sonata for Two Pianos or Beethoven's Clarinet Trio, and on the other hand, groundbreaking masterpieces like Janáček's Concertino or Bartók's Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion (in the 20th century).
At the same time, the Festival pays tribute to the centenary of the birth of our great composer Mikis Theodorakis by presenting one of his most groundbreaking and pyrotechnic works, the Fourth String Quartet. Additionally, it welcomes for the first time the world-renowned piano virtuoso, Denis Kozhukhin. The award-winning Russian soloist will perform the epic work of the American composer Frederic Rzewski, "The People United Will Never Be Defeated," a series of 36 variations on the eponymous song from Chile, a poignant anthem of the ongoing struggle against authoritarianism and one of the most interesting piano works of our time. Finally, this year's Festival is honored by the presence of the tireless historian Maria Efthymiou, who, with her distinctive eloquence that characterizes her authoritative speech, will set the broader political and social context of the works to be presented.
Information: www.chambermusicfestival.gr
UNDER THE AUSPICES AND SUPPORT OF
Ministry of Culture
WITH THE SUPPORT OF
Region of Crete
Municipality of Chania
Municipality of Platanias
Municipality of Heraklion
GRAND SPONSOR:
EMresorts
SPONSORS:
Alpha Bank
Concert Program of the 13th Chamber Music Festival Chania
Monday, August 25th, 2025, 9:00 PM
Minoa Palace Resort Conference Center
Concert 1: Wounds & Lamentations
[80 years since the end of World War II -
50 years since the death of Dmitri Shostakovich]
MIETZISLAV WEINBERG (1919 - 1996)
Piano Quintet, Op. 18
Josef Špaček, violin
Roman Simović, violin
David Bogorad, viola
Angelos Liakakis, cello
Vasilis Varvaresos, piano
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH (1906 - 1975)
String Quartet No. 8 in C minor, Op. 110
Roman Simović, violin
Josef Špaček, violin
David Bogorad, viola
Alexander Wollheim, cello
The expression of intense emotions and passion has remained one of the primary goals of Art even in the 20th century. Music, in particular, may have moved away from the idealized outbursts of Romanticism and the passionate, bombastic expressions, but it channeled the same, if not sometimes greater, emotionality, simply through different means. Thus, at the heart of the 20th century, one encounters music like that of Weinberg and Shostakovich, which brims with life, adventure, and poignant "gestures." Music that, although born from tumultuous and bleak times (specifically from World War II), did not limit itself to expressing images of horror and tragedy but offered, in its own way, a much-desired sense of hope and faith in Humanity, which remains ever relevant.
THE 1ST CONCERT OF THE FESTIVAL WILL BE PRESENTED
AS AN AVANT PREMIERE IN HERAKLION ON SUNDAY, 24.08.2025,
CO-ORGANIZED AND SUPPORTED BY THE REGION OF CRETE
(Free admission with entry passes - Reservations start date: TBA)
Tuesday, August 26, 2025, 9:00 PM
Minoa Palace Resort Conference Center
Parallel event: Lecture by historian Maria Efthymiou
Wednesday, August 27, 2025, 9:00 PM
Minoa Palace Resort Conference Center
Concert 2: Light & Shadow
ALFRED Schnittke (1934 - 1998)
Trio for violin, viola and cello
Josef Špaček, violin
Milena Simović, viola
Angelos Liakakis, cello
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770 - 1827)
Trio for piano, clarinet, and cello in B-flat major, Op. 11
Titos Gouvelis, piano
Odile Ettelt, clarinet
Alexander Wollheim, cello
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (1756 - 1791)
Sonata for two pianos in D Major, K.448
Titos Gouvelis, piano
Vasilis Varvaresos, piano
Light and shadow always coexist, just as within Man coexist the magnificent and the trivial, the "sacred" and the "fallen." And great Art, as a human creation, has always expressed this so provocative and revealing duality. The concert program attempts to do the same, meaningfully juxtaposing two "bright" masterpieces of the classical chamber music repertoire with the "dark" String Trio of the leading post-war Russian composer, Alfred Schnittke. Mature Mozart and young Beethoven confidently and flawlessly outline optimism, spiritual well-being, and positivity-elements that, two centuries later, Schnittke deconstructs, mocks, but also... longs for.
Friday, August 29, 2025, at 21:00
Minoa Palace Resort Conference Center
Concert 3: Transformations
[100 years since the birth of Mikis Theodorakis]
MIKIS THEODORAKIS (1925 - 2021)
String Quartet No. 4 "Mass"
Giorgos Demertzis, violin
Eleana Stratou, violin
David Bogorad, viola
Angelos Liakakis, cello
SERGEI PROKOFIEV (1891 - 1953)
Sonata for Piano No. 6 in A Major, Op. 82
Vasilis Varvaresos, piano
RICHARD STRAUSS (1864 - 1949)
Transformations (transcription for string septet)
Roman Simović, violin
Iason Keramidis, violin
Milena Simović, viola
David Bogorad, viola
Angelos Liakakis, cello
Alexander Wollheim, cello
Konstantinos Sifakis, double bass
In 1940, Sergei Prokofiev sees the clouds of the bloody Second World War thickening and the "storm" of destruction and death breaking out. And through his wildly beautiful Sixth Piano Sonata, he sonically captures the relentless brutality that Europe is experiencing. Five years later, Richard Strauss mourns for his devastated homeland, paying for its "sins," as he mourns for the past glory of its spiritual heritage, which has now been shattered. Each of them thus speaks of the "laurels" of victory but also the "cypresses" of the dead. And a few years later, in 1958, in distant Greece, the young Mikis Theodorakis, having experienced the tragedy of the bloody civil war and the hopes for a better tomorrow, bears witness through his charged music to the passions, conflicts, and quests of an entire era.
Sunday, August 31, 2025, at 21.00
Minoa Palace Resort Conference Center
Concert 4: Before the Storm
[80 years since Bartók's death]
ANTONIS TZIVENIS (b. 2000)
Selection from the 10 pieces for string quartet
Giorgos Demertzis, violin
Eleana Stratou, violin
David Bogorad, viola
Angelos Liakakis, cello
LEOŠ JANÁČEK (1854 - 1928)
Concerto for piano, two violins, viola, clarinet, horn, and bassoon
Titos Gouvelis, piano
Iason Keramidis, violin
Josef Špaček, violin
Milena Simović, viola
Odile Ettelt, clarinet
Angelos Sioras, horn
Malte Refardt, bassoon
BELÁ BARTÓK (1881 - 1945)
Sonata for two pianos and percussion
Vasilis Varvaresos, piano
Titos Gouvelis, piano
Jean-Baptiste Leclère, percussion
Spyros Lampouras, percussion
Monday, September 1st, 2025 at 21.00
Minoa Palace Resort Conference Center
Concert 5: Variations of Victory
[50 years since the end of the Vietnam War]
FREDERIC RZEWSKI (1938 - 2021)
El pueblo unido jamás será vencido! (People united will never be defeated!) (1975)
Denis Kozhukhin, piano
This year, Chamber Music Festival Chania joyfully and honorably welcomes one of the world's top pianists, Denis Kozhukhin, the 2010 winner of the International Queen Elisabeth Competition in Belgium. Sought after in all the major halls and by all the major orchestras, Kozhukhin chose to perform a landmark work in the 20th-century piano repertoire, the 36 Variations on the well-known Chilean song "The People United Will Never Be Defeated" by the American composer of Polish descent, Frederic Rzewski. This epic and colossal work was written in 1975, exactly the year the Vietnam War ended, but also during the harsh dictatorship of Pinochet, as a tribute to the struggle of the then-battered Chilean people for freedom and democracy. A shocking work, following the tradition of Bach's great Goldberg Variations and Beethoven's Diabelli Variations, in Kozhukhin's hands will undoubtedly be an unparalleled musical experience!
Wednesday, September 3rd & Thursday, September 4th, 2025, at 21:00
Ancient Aptera Theatre
Concert 6th & 7th: The Soldier's Tale
IGOR STRAVINSKY (1882 - 1971)
The Soldier's Tale (for clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, trombone, percussion, violin, and double bass)
Michalis Aerakis, narration
Odile Ettelt, clarinet
Malte Refardt, bassoon
Dimitris Gogkas, cornet/trumpet
George Krimperis, trombone
Jean-Baptiste Leclère, percussion
Iason Keramidis, violin
Konstantinos Sifakis, double bass
When in 1918 the great modernist Igor Stravinsky was writing The Soldier's Tale, Europe was emerging from the Great War, which not only cost millions of lives but also dealt a heavy blow to its prestige and the values of humanity, freedom, and peace. But Europe, through its "defeat," found the strength to be reborn and look forward - and this is primarily what its Art did! Thus, although Stravinsky wrote The Soldier's Tale for seven instruments and not for the massive orchestra he had used until then, he discovered new (and equally successful!) ways to narrate, to move, to ignite the imagination, to stimulate the spirit and soul of the listeners. This vibrant score by Stravinsky, full of humor, action, a dance mood, grotesque twists, and virtuoso brilliance, concludes this edition of Chamber Music Festival Chania in the most impressive way!
THE CONCERTS AT ANCIENT APTERA ARE PART OF THE CRETE FESTIVAL - CO-ORGANIZED WITH THE REGION OF CRETE & THE CHANIA ANTIQUITIES SERVICE
(Free admission with entry passes - Reservations start date: TBA)
Avant Premiere - Concert
Sunday, August 24, 2025
time 21:00
Heraklion Small Garden Theater
"Manos Hatzidakis"
Free admission with entry passes
* Booking starts: TBA
Concert 1: Wounds & Lamentations
Monday, August 25, 2025
time 21:00
Conference Center Hall
Minoa Palace Resort
€15 general admission
€7 students/youth up to 25 years old, unemployed, disabled
Lecture by historian Maria Efthymiou
Tuesday, August 26, 2025
time 21:00
Conference Center Hall
Minoa Palace Resort
Free admission with entry passes
Concert 2: Light & Shadow
Wednesday, August 27, 2025
time 21:00
Conference Center Hall
Minoa Palace Resort
€15 general admission
€7 students/youth up to 25 years old, unemployed, disabled
Concert 3: Transformations
Friday, August 29, 2025
time 21:00
Conference Center Hall
Minoa Palace Resort
€15 general admission
€7 students/youth up to 25 years old, unemployed, disabled
Concert 4: Before the Storm
Sunday, August 31, 2025
time 21:00
Conference Center Hall
Minoa Palace Resort
€15 general admission
€7 students/youth up to 25 years old, unemployed, disabled
Concert 5: Variations of Victory
Monday, September 1, 2025
time 21:00
Conference Center Hall
Minoa Palace Resort
€15 general admission
€7 students/youth up to 25 years old, unemployed, disabled
Concerts 6 & 7: The Soldier's Tale
Wednesday 3 & Thursday 4 September 2025
time 21:00
Archaeological Site of Aptera
Free admission with entrance vouchers
* Distribution of entrance vouchers will start at a later date.
Combined ticket for 5 concerts & lecture
25/8 - 01/09/2025
Conference Center Hall
Minoa Palace Resort
€60 price for combined ticket (5 concerts & lecture)
€40 price for combined ticket (5 concerts & lecture)
for students/youth up to 25 years old, unemployed, disabled
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