6th International Kalamata Music Days

Who we are.

The International Kalamata Music Days is a classical music festival taking place annually in Kalamata, southern Greece. The festival is organised by the Municipal Conservatory of Kalamata and the PHARIS – Kalamata Municipality Beneficiary Organisation and was founded by cellist Indira Rahmatulla, who serves as the Artistic Director, composer Stathis Giftakis and cellist Dimitris Lampos. Since its launch in the summer of 2017, the festival has established an international profile, by focusing on promotion of artistic expression and providing support of pedagogical work and music education.

Our mission.

• To promote music pedagogy and education through international masterclasses, seminars and workshops;
• To organize high-calibre and inspirational concerts and events;
• To enhance Kalamata’s music education initiatives;
• To create opportunities for international artistic exchange;
• To support local musicians and existing programmes;
• To feature emerging artists and ensembles through various performance opportunities;
• To facilitate communication and collaboration among Greek and international artists;
• To encourage collaborative projects that combine music with performing or visual arts;
• To promote and advocate for the social importance of arts and artists;
• To encourage and facilitate the advancement of music and cultural education of the community at large.

The International Kalamata Music Days was created as a response to the remarkable musical development in the region in the last decade. The vision of the festival is to continue this enhancement through education and international artistic exchange.

Concert programme announcement – 6th International Kalamata Music Days.

Dear friends of music, our dear audience,

The International Kalamata Music Days, faithful to their annual appointment, are back for the 6th consecutive year with an impressive concert programme full of inspiration and outstanding international artists. From July 25 until August 2, 2022, the city of Kalamata will be bursting with music from classical to jazz and from chamber to great symphonic music!

This year’s concert programme starts with the final concert of the piano masterclass on July 25. The participants in the piano lessons with Alexia Mouza will present in the garden of the museum Collection of Greek Costumes "Victoria Karelia" the works they studied for eight days during the masterclass. The next night, July 26, the internationally acclaimed Boccherini String Trio will perform works by Beethoven, Kodály and Cras at the breath-taking Ancient Messene Theatre. This concert is a co-production with the Ephorate of Antiquities of Messenia. On July 27 and, this time, at the Kalamata Dance Megaron, the exceptional woodwind quintet Azahar will present compositions by Reicha, Hindemith and Nielsen. An ensemble with "great imagination and technical precision", according to the Süddeutsche Zeitung, this Spanish ensemble was awarded at the 63rd ARD International Music Competition in Munich and is currently pursuing an international career playing in major concert halls around the world. The concert is held under the auspices of the Spanish Embassy and the Instituto Cervantes in Athens.

Then, the Kalamata Festival Orchestra – our orchestra founded last year and consisting of Greek and international musicians – will perform at the Dance Megaron Gustav Mahler's 4th Symphony transcribed for chamber orchestra, under the direction of Joshua Weilerstein. The soloist will be soprano Elisabeth Freyhoff. Also, in the same concert, one or more of the participants in the conducting masterclass will conduct the Kalamata Festival Orchestra in "Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune" by Claude Debussy. The other participants in the conducting masterclass with Joshua Weilerstein will present their work the next day, July 29, at the Concert Hall of the Municipal Conservatory of Kalamata. Later that night, but this time at the Dance Megaron, the Underground Youth Orchestra will perform under the baton of living legend Christoph Eschenbach Beethoven’s 5th Symphony and Triple Concerto with soloist Katerina Chatzinikolau (violin), Johannes Przygodda (violoncello) and Triantafyllos Liotis (piano). The concert of the orchestra is held under the auspices of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Athens. Two explosive orchestral days completely dedicated to symphonic music!

On July 30, the participants of the viola masterclass with Ilias Sdoukos and the violoncello masterclass with Indira Rahmatulla will also present their work. The next night, July 31, Vassilis Varvaresos – undoubtedly one of the most important Greek pianists at the moment – will appear at the Dance Megaron for a solo recital with works by Bach, Chopin and Rachmaninoff. We will continue to have our attention focused on the amazing world of the piano, however, the next day as well, as we are very honoured to present to the Greek audience a jazz giant for the first time in Greece: on August 1 we will be able to enjoy on the stage of the Dance Megaron Enrico Pieranunzi; playing solo, but also in duo with the double bassist-phenomenon from Kalamata Arionas Gyftakis. Earlier in the day, the final concert of the violin masterclass with Pablo Hernán Benedí will take place at the Municipal Conservatory of Kalamata.

Our festival will close with the annual chamber concert of the masterclasses’ tutors. On August 2, Alexia Mouza, Pablo Hernán Benedí, Ilias Sdoukos and Indira Rahmatulla will perform at the Dance Megaron Mozart's Piano Quartet in G minor K. 478 and Schumann’s Piano Quartet in E-flat major Op. 47.

The piano masterclass with Alexia Mouza will take place from July 18 to 25. This will be followed by the viola masterclass with Ilias Sdoukos from July 21 to 30, the violoncello masterclass with Indira Rahmatulla from July 22 to 30, the conducting masterclass with Joshua Weilerstein from July 24 to 29 and the violin masterclass with Pablo Hernán Benedí from July 25 to August 1. The lessons will take place at the Municipal Conservatory and the Philharmonic Amphitheatre of Kalamata.

As part of the festival, on July 25, the violinist Argyro Seira will present the work "Narratives" for solo violin by Fani Kosona in the Concert Hall of the Municipal Conservatory of Kalamata. The work was composed in 2020, includes 3 pieces for solo violin and is dedicated to the memory of the eminent composer, conductor and teacher Theodoros Antoniou. This will be followed by a lecture on contemporary music in which, among other