El silencio imposible (“The impossible silence”) celebrates the silence, the peaceful nuances, the intimate. Nicholas Spanos, countertenor, Rafael Catalá, guitar, arrangements and composition, and Florian Eggner, violoncello, present a live programme that begins with works by John Dowland and George Frideric Handel. Completely in the style of the ancient music heard so far, the journey passes through Rafael Catalá’s eponymous work before culminating in a series of Sephardic songs that Catalá artistically arranged for this special instrumentation. Catalá, hailing from Valencia, and Spanos, born in Thessaloniki, give these songs unique authenticity, both being places where the population of Sephardic Jews exerted enormous influence until the waves of displacement in the 15th and 16th centuries. A homage to tranquility and contemplation in today's noisy and fast-paced world.

Rafael Catalá was born in Valencia. His concerts in many countries throughout Europe, Japan, the Near East, Mexico and the United States and his CD recordings for acclaimed labels, some of which have won awards, have made him a highly esteemed musician. As a composer, always in search of something new, Rafael Catalá integrates trends from different origins in his works. He also seeks the participation of outstanding early music soloists as well as important jazz musicians who enrich his music with an improvisational component and thus open up new perspectives.

Nicholas Spanos initially studied in Greece with Aris Christofellis. He subsequently continued his studies at the music faculty of the University of Maryland (USA) as well as with the class of Charles Spencer at the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna. He has taken part in numerous master courses given by prominent teachers such as Kurt Equiluz, Delores Ziegler, Anna Tomowa-Sintow and Michael Chance.

He has regularly worked together with ensembles such as the Venice Baroque Orchestra, Les Talens Lyriques, the Camerata Stuttgart, the Clemencic Consort, the Orchestra 1756 Salzburg, the National Opera of Greece, Megaron the Athens Concert Hall, the State Orchestras of Athens and Thessaloniki, the Greek National Theatre and the Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra.

Florian Eggner is a soloist and chamber musician. His numerous competition successes, including 1st prize in the Brahms Competition and 1st prize in the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition, attest to his international career already in his young years. Florian Eggner regularly holds masterclasses in Austria, Switzerland, Great Britain and Australia. In 1997, he founded the Eggner Trio together with his brothers. Since then, Florian Eggner has played concert tours worldwide. His collaboration as a soloist with orchestras such as the South Bohemian Chamber Philharmonic, INSO Lviv, and the Lower Austrian Tonkünstler Orchestra have achieved major successes internationally. Numerous CD productions and recording awards, as well as a Grammy nomination in the Best Small Ensemble category, round out his multifaceted career.