Cyprus’ villages have been known to welcome music festivals for years yet the forests, not so much. So the arrival of a music festival at the Forest Theatre in Kato Amiantos is an exciting addition to the island’s cultural scene.
Located deep in the forest of Troodos, 1,150 meters above sea level, the Kato Amiantos Forest Theatre is a unique location. Throughout July and August, a series of music concerts will take place among the trees, offering listeners evenings of classical music, jazz and traditional sounds from Cyprus and Greece. All in the cool climate and refreshing air of the Cyprus mountains. Quite the escape from the summer heat!
The festival kicked off on July 12, and seven more concerts await. In its third edition, the festival hopes to give professional artists the platform to promote their art and make cultural activities in the rural mountains of Cyprus more prominent.
Up next is a concert of traditional music of Cyprus and Greece by four musicians with a live ceramist on stage. On July 24, the concert will begin at 8pm (as all of the festival’s concerts do) and bring together the violin, the laouto, the piano and traditional percussions.
A jazz trio will take the stage next on August 4 with George Koulas on drums, Irenaios Koulouras on acoustic bass and Christos Yerolatsitis on piano. A night of songs and arias from Greece and Italy will follow on August 10 with pianist Manolis Neophytou and singer Andria Demosthenous. On the following night, a piano recital with Alice Power and Nicoletta Savvidou will take place playing Chopin, Liszt, Granados and Glass.
Three more concerts will take place in August before the festival concludes its 2024 edition. A Songs of the World evening with Vakia Stavrou and Manolis Neophytou on August 17, a piano recital by Neophytou on August 21 and a performance by a piano trio to wrap up the events on August 30.
Mountain Music Festival
Traditional music of Cyprus and Greece. July 24. Jazz Trio. August 4. Songs and arias from Greece and Italy. August 10. Songs of the World. August 17. Piano recital. August 21. Piano trio. August 30. Forest Theatre in Kato Amiantos, Troodos. €13-30. Tel:99-580982, 99-833944. manosneo@hotmail.com
