Patmos Music Festival Launches with Chamber Music, Followed by Religious Music Events

The 3rd Patmos Chamber Music Festival kicked off on August 26, drawing global attention with performances by internationally renowned musicians.

This year’s festival, which runs until August 31, features an impressive range of works spanning from the Renaissance to contemporary compositions, all under the auspices of UNESCO.

Organised by the Italian group Associazione Patmos Music Festival in collaboration with the Patmos Municipality and supported by the South Aegean Region, the festival marks a significant milestone. For the first time, the Chamber Music Festival and the 22nd Festival of Religious Music, which takes place from September 1 to 6, have been unified under a single entity: the "Patmos Music Festival."

The opening recital set a high bar, with performances of Franz Schubert's "Arpeggione" Sonata in A minor, D 821 (1824), Gabriel Fauré's Violin Sonata No. 2 in E minor (1917), and Camille Saint-Saëns' Trio No. 1 in F major (1864). The pieces were brought to life by acclaimed musicians Irène Duval (violin), Steven Isserlis (cello), and Connie Shih (piano).

Chamber Music Festival performances are being held at various iconic locations, including Panagia Diasozousa Square in Chora, the Palio Dimotiko Scholeio in Chora, and the courtyard of the Dimotiko Scholeio in Skala. The upcoming Religious Music Festival will feature performances at the amphitheatre below the Monastery of St. John the Theologian and adjacent to the Holy Cave of the Apocalypse, where St. John the Evangelist was exiled.

The festival boasts an impressive lineup of artists, including Ian Bostridge (tenor), the Brussels Chamber Orchestra, Alessandra Ammara (piano), Alessandro Carbonare (clarinet), and Michael Guttman (violin, directing). Additional performers include Anush Nikogosyan (violin), Maya Oganyan (piano), Andrea Oliva (flute), Alinka Rowe (viola), Andreu Vidal Siquier (trumpet), Jing Zhao (cello), and the Guttman Tango Ensemble.

Roberto Prosseda, who also performs on the piano, serves as the festival’s artistic director, with Massimo Fino as the executive director and musical manuscript expert.

All recitals are free and open to the public, though reservations are required through the festival's official website, where a detailed program can also be found:

(Source: Amna)