RELEASED TODAY: "EFTA SUITE", A synesthetic STRING QUARTET inspired by THE VASILICOS OF SANTORINI, GREECE

May 16, 2025

( Image: The "EFTA Suite" album cover, featuring a photo by Nikos Alexopoulos )

"EFTA Suite", a new synesthetic string quartet by iconic Greek hotel The Vasilicos and American orchestral composer Mary Bichner, is released today! Performed gorgeously by members of The Budapest Scoring Orchestra, the two-movement work is now available on all streaming services (including Spotify and Apple Music), or you can listen right here via Soundcloud:

Mary composed "EFTA Suite" after serving as composer-in-residence at The Vasilicos in May 2024, as part of the Santorini-based hotel's innovative “[To Build] A [Temporary] Home” ad hoc residency program. Each movement of the work conjures a specific memory from Mary's time in residence, with individual musical keys chosen to best "match" the experiences via Mary's synesthetic color palette.

For even more information on this wonderful project, here is a beautiful Instagram post that The Vasilicos shared today, in connection with the release:

Thank you so very much to founder and curator Daphne Valambous as well as all of The Vasilicos' team for this amazing collaboration, and for all of the incredible art the hotel brings to life via its "[To Build] A [Temporary] Home" program -- and beyond! And thank you one and all for listening to "EFTA Suite"!