Holidays in Macedonia: music festival in Ohrid

At the height of the summer tourist season in the religious capital of Macedonia, the ancient city of Ohrid, will begin the annual Ohrid Summer Festival. During its more than fifty-year history the festival has become one of the most significant cultural events of the country. Every year from 12 July to 20 August in Ohrid gather artists from all over Europe, as well as tens thousands of tourists.

The Ohrid Summer Festival originates from a concert, which took place in 1961 in the church of Saint Sophia. Since then the festival has increased in scope and popularity (for 16 years Ohrid Summer art festival has been a member of the elite European festivals association), while its scenes hosted such great musicians and bands of our time as Leonid Kogan, Igor Oistrakh, Mstislav Rostropovich, Sviatoslav Richter, Ennio Morricone, Paul van Dyk, Mikhail Pletnev’s Orchestra and Symphony Orchestra of Israel.

Musical and theatrical events are held throughout the city in the Amphitheater by the walls of the Samuil’s Stronghold on the shores of beautiful Lake Ohrid and restored cathedral of St. Clement. However such important events as classical music concerts, performances of symphony orchestras and opera singers are traditionally held in the church of Saint Sophia, which hall has unique acoustics.

The festival program this year will also please music lovers by performance of unique Dominican pianist and composer Michel Camilo. At The Ohrid Summer Festival will also perform Russian virtuoso violinist Ilya Gringolts (winner of the prestigious Premio Paganini contest), well-known cellist Enrico Rinaldo, Slovenian band "Перпетуум Џезиле", which gathered the record number of views (20 million) on YouTube, as well as many others.