Our organiser

Gunnar Strømsholm is the founder and organiser of the Casa dei Mezzo Music Festival.

Welcome to the 2010 Festival

Gayane Gasparyan & Gunnar Strømsholm

Quite a few festival-goers wonder what it is that I get up to during the 'low season' of the Festival year.

Well, after a welcome post-Festival Summer break back in Norway, the Autumn and Winter months here on Crete are busily spent tending the olive grove and gardens at Casa dei Mezzo, planning the next season for 'The White Houses', and then adding the finishing touches to the next Festival program. Now, after all this, I'm excited to share with you some of the exciting things that will be happening here in Makrigialos from 24 to 29 June 2010.

It's now 200 years since Robert Schumann was born, and our in-house Trio dei Mezzo, probably one of the most exciting new Piano Trio ensembles to emerge lately, will perform his Piano Trio no.1 op. 63. Then Norwegian pianist Sveinung Bjelland will play Fantasie op.17 which will also be featured on his next CD to be recorded later this year for the Simax label.

There are two more birthday boys this year, Frederic Chopin and Ole Bull. Pianist Apostolos Palios will play Chopin's 4 Ballades, and violinist Marko Pop-Ristov will bring Ole Bull's 'Herd Girl' to Crete.

After her success at last year's Festival, mezzo-soprano Hege Høisæter just had to come back to sing Berlioz 'Le Morte de Cléopâtre'. New to our festival this season, coloratura soprano Mari Eriksmoen will be singing Rachmaninov, and by popular demand baritone Mark Oldfield will be here again to sing songs by Beethoven, Finzi and Vaughan Williams. Tenor Geir Eikeland, another of our newcomers, will join our other three singers under the artistic direction of John Lidal for our Opera/Lyric Gala on 29 June.

After the Festival John Lidal will be bringing his famous Opera Workshop 'Lidal North' to Makrigialos, and we will be greatly honoured to welcome tutors and singers from all over the world to our village here on Crete.

Everyone involved in making the 'Casa dei Mezzo Music Festival' come to life each year is now really looking forward to opening the main doors of Villa Casa dei Mezzo to let the public take their seats, as it's our public we're here to entertain, and in the best possible way we know how.

With best wishes,

Gunnar Strømsholm
Tel [Mobile, Greece]: +30 69487 50992
Tel [Mobile, Norway]: +47 922 88 474
Tel [Mobile, UK]: +44 (0)7905 700 846
Email: casadeimezzo@sit.forthnet.gr

Gunnar's 2009 Festival message ...

The idea for a music festival at Casa dei Mezzo came to me during the building of the new Villa Casa dei Mezzo, when the courtyard started to take shape. We quickly discovered that the acoustics are incredible, and that the size and shape of the courtyard make it a perfect concert arena.

Also, Crete is a very popular tourist destination for many Northern Europeans. Unfortunately though, the 'culture' that some visitors bring with them does not always impress the locals, so my idea with this festival is to bring artists from other parts of Europe, and to play together with some of the best of the Greek musicians available.

Now in its sixth season, the Casa dei Mezzo Music Festival is heading in the direction of becoming more of a chamber music festival with a traditional classical repertoire. However, there will always be some newly composed music, as well as two concerts devoted only to Greek music.

The first concert at Casa dei Mezzo was held on Monday 7th June 2004, when Øystein Sevåg premiered his musical composition 'Casa dei Mezzo', which had written as a dedication to the new villa. In June 2005, Øystein returned with some of his friends and the Casa dei Mezzo Music Festival became a reality and a success.

Now, with Doreen Wells, Marchioness of Londonderry as our patron, I sincerely hope that our festival will become an important event for the whole of the Makrigialos community and its many visitors.

I look forward to welcoming you to Crete in 2009.

With best wishes,

Gunnar Strømsholm
Tel [Mobile, Greece]: +30 69487 50992
Tel [Mobile, Norway]: +47 922 88 474
Tel [Mobile, UK]: +44 (0)7905 700 846
Email: casadeimezzo@sit.forthnet.gr