Recitals at Shoe Factory bring renowned musicians

April at the Nicosia venue will be an exciting month says ELENI PHILIPPOU

Music and more music is reaching the capital very soon. April at The Shoe Factory will be an exciting month as recitals and concerts arrive to take over its floor. Outstanding musicians, both from the international classical music scene and beyond, and also the local music world, will head to Nicosia to perform for local music lovers. Get ready for a packed spring cultural agenda with renowned and emerging musicians.

Coming up first is a Byzantine music concert with Kudsi Erguner and Giannis Koutis on April 3. The Pharos Arts Foundation collaborates with the Institut Français de Chypre to present a unique evening of sacred and magnificently mystical music. Under the direction of the renowned Erguner, the Sacred Melodies of Cyprus project was born out of the deep need to manifest the richness of the common musical elements between Byzantine and the Sufi music traditions, which are an integral part of Cyprus’ historic musical landscape.

The concert will present the Byzantine music that has been practised for centuries and heard all over the churches in Cyprus, as well as Sufi music from the ceremonies of the whirling dervishes of Nicosia, which were mainly practised at the historical Mevlevi-Hane, built in 1593 in the heart of the city. The performance will also feature Nikos Andrikos on lavta and voice.

On April 11, the foundation will present a violin and piano recital with two brilliant Cypriot artists of the younger generation as part of its Cyprus Artists Series. Violinist Konstantina Maimari and pianist Christos Yiallouros will present a classical music repertoire at The Shoe Factory, demonstrating their exceptional talents in a virtuosic programme of sonatas by Beethoven, Stravinsky and Prokofiev.

On April 19, Russian pianist Vladimir Petrov will return to The Shoe Factory three years after his monumental performance in Nicosia. The Laureate and Audience Prize Winner at the 63rd Ferruccio Busoni Competition 2021 will present a masterful performance with works by Chopin, Liszt, Scriabin and Prokofiev, certain to enchant audiences.

Kudsi Erguner and Giannis Koutis

Concert on Byzantine and Sufi music. April 3. The Shoe Factory, Nicosia. 8.30pm. €20. www.pharosartsfoundation.org. Tel: 22-663871

Violin and Piano Recital

With Konstantina Maimari and Christos Yiallouros. April 11. The Shoe Factory, Nicosia. 8.30pm. €20. www.pharosartsfoundation.org. Tel: 22-663871

Piano Recital

With Russian pianist Vladimir Petrov. April 19. The Shoe Factory, Nicosia. 8.30pm. €20. www.pharosartsfoundation.org. Tel: 22-663871