Days of Music on the island of Rhodes
Punctual as usual, the Days of Music Festival on Rhodes is about to take place once more. Classical music will fill the Palace of the Grand Master and the Panaghia tou Kastrou venues from September 19 through October 2, featuring acclaimed international artists, including up-and-coming cellist Wen-Sinn Yang, pianist Wolfgang Glemser and top maestro Dejan Dacic. Wen-Sinn Yang opens the festival with a concert of works by Bach, Mendelssohn-Bartholdy and Rachmaninov, accompanied by pianist Ferline Studi. Yang was born in Bern, Switzerland, in 1965 and won the first prize at the 1991 Geneva International Music Competition. Since then, he has performed at major concert halls in Europe, Taiwan and Japan, collaborating with distinguished maestros, such as Lorin Maazel, Sir Colin Davis, and Wolfgang Sawallisch. On September 24, the Berlin Soloists Quartet classical music ensemble, which is touring some of Europe’s and America’s largest concert halls, will play landmark 20th century compositions along with pianist Wolfgang Glemser. Austria’s Ensemble Accentus will play Sephardic melodies from the Mediterranean on September 26, songs of the Spanish-Jewish community which was scattered across the eastern Mediterranean at the end of the 15th century and adopted elements of other cultures in the years that ensued. The ensemble was founded by Thomas Wimmer and specializes in early Spanish music, with an emphasis on improvisation. A Greek chamber music ensemble, the Transcription Ensemble, which was founded by the Forminx company, will interpret transcriptions of classics by great composers on September 30. The festival will end with a concert by the Gratz Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra on October 2. Under the baton of Dejan Dacic, the orchestra will pay tribute to Sibelius on the occasion of the 50-year anniversary of the composer’s death. For information: www.musicinrhodes.gr.
