Kairos String Quartet

The Berlin-based Kairos Quartet was founded in 1996 and made its debut at the Darmstadt International Holiday Courses. It focusses on the promotion of new music from the second half of the 20th Century to the presence. Therefore, landmark compositions since the 1950s and world premieres are at the heart of the quartet's activity, which also includes samples of the Western musical tradition, music of other cultures (like the Far East), or compositions employing media (electronics, video, speech, or the scene.

Kairos (Caerus - Καιρός) is the god of the auspicious moment in Ancient Greek mythology. He was recognized as the youngest son of Zeus by the poet Ion of Chios (490 - 421 B.C.) Depicted as a youth with winged shoes and a long lock of hair hanging down his forehead by the sculptor Lysippos, he symbolizes opportunity. Juxtaposed with Chronos (measured time - Χρόνος), is a concept of time that is intimately linked to human experience. As a musician one can feel “Kairos” when perfect harmony is achieved between all participants; these rare and magical moments are the ultimate goal of all artists working with time.

The Kairos Quartet takes great care in the selection and combination of pieces, sometimes curating even their own concert series as was the case with the concert and talk series Five Windows onto the String Quartet Since 1950, which took place at the Kulturbrauerei Berlin in 2001/02 and presented composers such as Ferneyhough, Lachenmann, and Lucier. The Quartet has also developed close professional relationships with the composers Haas (Austria), Estrada (Mexico), Netti (Italy), Newski (Germany/Russia), and Lim (Australia). Through workshops, master classes, and lectures on new music and performance practice, the Kairos Quartet reaches out to music students and the general public; these have so far taken place as part of festivals, or in music schools, in Austria, Germany, Mexico, Norway, Poland, and Switzerland.

The Quartet was invited to numerous international festivals of such different leanings as Ultraschall, MaerzMusik (both in Berlin), Eclat Stuttgart, Huddersfield, Berliner Festwochen, Wien Modern, Salzburger Festspiele, Klangspuren/TransArt, Warsaw Autumn, Ljubliana Festival, Festival d’Automne, and the Festival de Cervantino. Radio productions and live recordings were made by most major German radio corporations as well as the BBC, DRS, ORF, and RAI. The Quartet's CDs have populated various best-of lists and received the German Record Critic’s Award (1/2005). In 2001, Kairos was the first ensemble to become fellows at the Academy Schloss Solitude.

The many artistic partners of the Kairos Quartet include baritone Dietrich Henschel, Mayumi Miyata (sho), the sound poets Valeri Scherstjanoi and Michael Lentz, actress Martina Gedeck, the Schlagquartett Köln, and the Vokalsolisten of the SWR.

Kairos String Quartet
Wolfgang Bender / violin
Stefan Häussler / violin
Simone Heilgendorff / viola
Claudius von Wrochem / cello

Programme:
Toshio Hosokawa (b. 1955) Landscape I (1992)
Iannis Xenakis (1922 – 2001) ST/ 4 (1962)
Giacinto Scelsi (1905 – 1988) String Quartet No.3 (1963)

Interval

Evis Sammoutis (b. 1979) Ρίμες - Rhymes
Georg Friedrich Haas (b. 1953) String Quartet No. 2 (1998)

The concert of the Kairos String Quartet in Cyprus is jointly presented with the Goethe-Institut Cyprus

Information & Tickets:
Information: Pharos Arts Foundation Tel. +35722663871 / www.pharosartsfoundation.org

Tickets: €20 Adults / €15 Members of the Foundation, Concessions

Box Office: Tel. 7000-9304 (daily 9.30-11.30am) / www.pharostickets.org

The event is part of the 4th International Pharos Contemporary Music Festival
Having established itself as one of the most cutting-edge and innovative annual events in the Eastern Mediterranean, the International Pharos Contemporary Music Festival is already in its fourth year. The Festival is dedicated to the promotion of new music: The well-established masterpieces of the contemporary music literature of the 20th century as well as a great number of premieres by young leading composers from all over the world who have been commissioned by Pharos to write new works especially for this occasion. The Festival aims to provide a forum for composers and performers to advance and develop new projects and explore new sound worlds in chamber music settings. Its objective is also to endorse contemporary music to the general audience of Cyprus, and elsewhere, as this is the music of our times – it is directly linked with many forms of visual and creative arts, and sciences, and reflects the intimacy of the modern-day human spirit.

The 4th International Pharos Contemporary Music Festival is certain to be a thrilling experience! It continues to diversify by presenting a number of exciting events, from 9 until 29 September 2012 and a seldom heard repertoire for strings, winds, voice, percussion, harp and accordion. Six of the finest contemporary ensembles in the world will present classical contemporary masterpieces by composers such as Schönberg, Stockhausen, Xenakis and Ligeti while they will simultaneously join forces with over 20 young, but internationally acclaimed composers from all over the world. Each of these composers has written a newly-commissioned work that will be given its world premiere during the Festival concerts.