The second concert of the 13th International Pharos Contemporary Music Festival, on Friday 7 October, is a rare and remarkably captivating event since it presents for the first time in Cyprus the Dutch pan-flute virtuoso Matthijs Koene. Internationally recognised as one of the foremost panpipes players of our time, Koene is celebrated for his ground-breaking vision and approach, which have vastly expanded the technical and expressive capabilities of this ancient instrument, and introduced it to the classical music world.
With a repertoire spanning from the early Renaissance to the 21st century, Matthijs Koene has inspired numerous composers to write pieces for panpipes, and to date, more than 200 new works have been written for and dedicated to him. He has received several awards, including the Vriendenkrans Prize from the Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and a Diapason d’Or, and he has appeared at the world’s most prestigious venues. For his recital in Nicosia, which is supported by the Embassy of the Netherlands in Cyprus, Matthijs Koene will perform works by Claude Debussy, Steve Reich, Calliope Tsoupaki, Evis Sammoutis, Ron Ford, Roderik de Man and Daan Manneke.
MATTHIJS KOENE
Internationally recognized as one of the foremost panpipes players of our time, Matthijs Koene is celebrated for his ground-breaking vision and approach, which have vastly expanded the technical and expressive capabilities of his instrument, and introduced it to the classical music world.
With a repertoire spanning from the early Renaissance to the 21st-century, Matthijs Koene has inspired numerous composers to write pieces for panpipes. To date, more than 200 new works have been written for and dedicated to Matthijs: solo, in chamber music, with organ, as part of an ensemble and solo with orchestra. He has collaborated extensively with composers such as Theo Loevendie, Roderik de Man, Calliope Tsoupaki, Klaas de Vries, Fabio Nieder, Martijn Padding, and Klas Torstensson, to name but a few.
Matthijs Koene has received several awards, including the Vriendenkrans Prize from the Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam in 2003, and more recently, a Diapason d’ Or award for his CD La Flute de Pan & Quintettes by Jean Cras. He has appeared in venues such as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, De Doelen in Rotterdam, the Carnegie Hall in New York and the National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra Concert Hall, while he has been invited to perform in important festivals of contemporary music, such as November Music (Netherlands) and Donaueschinger Musiktage (Germany).
As a soloist, Matthijs has appeared with leading orchestras and ensembles, such as the Dutch Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, I Barocchisti, and the Combattimento Consort, under the baton of such renowned conductors as Markus Stenz, Franck Ollu and Diego Fasolis. He is a member of the Black Pencil Ensemble, and he has collaborated with the Musikfabrik, Ictus, and Oxalys ensembles.
Matthijs Koene received his first panpipes lessons at the age of 7, and continued his studies at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, where he graduated with distinction. In 2005, he was appointed professor of Panpipes at the same institute. He plays on a pan flute that was developed after a two-year-collaboration with the organ manufacturer Flentrop. The instrument was granted to him on loan by the Dutch Musical Instruments Foundation.
PROGRAMME
Calliope Tsoupaki (b.1963)
Song for life and death (2018)
Evis Sammoutis (b.1979)
Syrinx 2.0 (2022)
Roderik de Man (b.1941)
Longeur for pan-flute and tape (2015)
Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
Syrinx (1913)
Ron Ford (b.1959)
Probe (2015)
Steve Reich (b.1936)
Reed Phase (1966)
Daan Manneke (b.1939)
Faux Bourdon (1997)
Tickets
Venue The Shoe Factory
Location
Info 22 663871
Supported by the Embassy of Ireland in Cyprus
