THE 29th International İzmir Festival started on May 26 with a concert by the Luigi Cherubini Youth Orchestra, founded by Italian maestro Riccardo Muti, who has been decorated with the greatest honorary medals of many countries. 

The festival, organized by the İzmir Foundation for Culture, Arts and Education, presents a wide spectrum of classical, traditional and contemporary works in music, ballet, theater and opera, including both international and national performances. It attracts great attendance from both locals and foreigners visiting Turkey.

World-famous Israeli-American violinist Itzhak Perlman was due to take the stage on May 30, accompanied by pianist Rohan De Silva. 

The ambassadors of Cuban music, the Buena Vista Social Club, which has so far performed countless concerts around the world, will take the stage in the poplar holiday town of Çeşme on June 29 as part of their “Adios Tour.”

Omara Portuondo, Eliades Ochoa, Guajiro Mirabal, Barbarito Torres and Jesus “Aguaje” Ramos will perform in the concert. 

On June 16, Polish pianist Janusz Olejniczak will present a program of works by Chopin and Debussy. 

Olejniczak has recorded best-selling soundtracks for two famous movies: Roman Polanski’s “The Pianist” and Andrzej Zulawski’s “La note bleue;” he appeared in the latter as an actor, playing the role of Frederick Chopin.

An American organist known for his virtuosity, showmanship, technique and arrangements, Cameron Carpenter, will meet the audience on June 18 with his special instrument, called the “International Touring Organ-ITO.”

He will take the İzmir stage for the first time, performing a repertoire from Bach, Dupre, Chopin, Bernstein, Scriabin and others. 

The Hungarian Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra and the Arkas Trio will perform together on June 20. The Arkas Trio is made up of violinist Tuncay Yılmaz and pianist Emre Elivar, who have won prizes and awards in international competitions, and Gustav Rivinius, a German cellist who gained recognition after winning the gold medal at the International Tchaikovsky Competition. 

On June 22, within the scope of the project titled Contemporary Voices – Ensemble Sagittarius Vocal Soloists and Turkish Soloists, soprano and musicologist Çimen Seymen and young Turkish soloists, under the baton of French maestro Michel Laplenie, will perform a harmony of works of Ahmed Adnan Saygun and Ulvi Cemal Erkin, as well as French composers Maurice Ravel and Francis Poulenc. 

Soprano Peola Santucci, tenor Vincenzo Mario Sarinelli and pianist Mairizio Aben will take the stage accompanied by the Italian Chamber Orchestra during the Echoes of Italy concert on June 25. 

The Soul Rebels Brass band will be another performer of the festival on July 1. The festival will be closed with the Geneva Grand Theater Ballet on July 2. 

The Ahmet Adnan Saygun Culture Center, Aegean University, the Ataturk Culture Center, the Celsius Library, the Ephesus Odeon, the Çeşme and Kültürpark Open Air Theater and the İzmir Economy University Open Air Show Center are the venues of the festival.