The Molyvos International Music Festival

The Molyvos International Music Festival is an annual chamber-music festival held in the medieval village of Molyvos on Lesvos. It was founded in 2015 by the pianist sisters Danae and Kiveli Dörken with Dimitris Tryfon. The 11th edition ran from 12 to 19 August 2025 under the theme CHAOS, exploring what the founders described as the creative power of disorder and the tension between dissolution and a new harmony.

The 2025 programme comprised three concerts on the island, three in Molyvos, and a children’s concert. The individual programmes were titled Pandemonium, Pain, Opportunity, Rebellion, Hope, and Creation. Performers alongside the Dörken sisters included the violinists Antje Weithaas, Hyeyoon Park, and Florian Donderer, and the cellists Tanja Tetzlaff and Christian-Pierre La Marca. Concerts were held at the Castle of Mytilene, the Castle of Agioi Theodoroi, and the Museum of Industrial Olive-Oil Production. The festival also included Molyvos Musical Moments — informal pop-up performances in the lanes and squares of the village.