String instruments

When his father was struggling to play cura - a stringed musical instrument - the baby fingers of 4-year-old Eren Yavuz were striking notes like an adept musician.

Proving that music is a universal language, the baglama, a stringed instrument closely linked to Anatolian Turkey, has found one of its fiercest fans in the far-flung Nordic north, in Sweden.

Over September 27-29, Romania will participate in Cremona Mondomusica, the largest world fair of violins, where it will bring six stands and, for the first time, 12 luthiers, the head of the Romanian Luthiers Association, Claudiu Mare, told AGERPRES on Tuesday.

Julia Flores Colque still sings with joy in her indigenous Quechua tongue and strums the five strings of a tiny Andean guitar known as the charango, despite a recorded age of almost 118 years.

Hailed as one of the finest cellists alive today, Spain's Pablo Ferrandez - named Young Artist of the Year at the 2016 International Classical Music Awards - will perform on the picturesque island of Hydra on Saturday, August 18, in a charity concert in aid of the Kouloureiou Hospital, supported by the island's metropolitan church. Ferrandez will be joined by Greek violinist Yannis Georgiadis.

The 14th International Classical Music Festival of the Cyclades returns to the Apollon Theater in Ermoupoli from August 12 to 18. The annual festival features artists from all over the world in performances of classical works from chamber music to arias under the artistic direction of Greek National Opera violinist Giannou Margaziotis.

A string trio featuring Faidon Miliadis on violin, Angela Lianaki on viola and Angelos Liakakis on cello, along with members of the Greek State Orchestra, will perform music by Beethoven and Dohnanyi at St Paul's Anglican Church on Sunday, February 12, starting at 8.30 p.m. Tickets cost 10 euros at the door.

The Greek musical genre rebetiko was inscribed on UNESCO's 2017 representative list of Intangible Cultural Heritage during its annual meeting held in Jeju, Korea, Ekathimerini reported.

St Paul's Anglican Church presents "Sounds - Two Strings Combinations," featuring Eleni Papadopoulou on violin and Isidoros Sideris on the cello, on Sunday, October 22. The concert is designed to showcase how the combination of the two instruments produces sounds that "unite" and "divide," creating the sensation of a multi-handed instrument. Starts at 8.30 p.m. and admission costs 12 euros.

Japanese tsugaru-shamisen soloist Keisho Ohno performs at the B&M Theocharakis Foundation in central Athens on Friday, November 11. Tsugaru-shamisen is a traditional Japanese instrument that originated in China in 16th century. The recital is set to start 9 p.m. and admission is set at 10 euros; 5 euros for students.