44th Istanbul Music Festival to Take Place Between 1–24 June 2016

The 44th Istanbul Music Festival, organised by Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV) for the first time this year under the sponsorship of E.C.A. Presdöküm Sanayii A.Ş., will take place between 1-24 June. Drawing inspiration from Shakespeare's lines "If music be the food of love, play on," the festival will present an impressive programme for music lovers. The 44th Istanbul Music Festival will host nearly 600 local and international artists in Istanbul, including renowned performers such as İdil Biret, Murray Perahia, Gautier Capuçon, Angel Blue, Gérard Caussé, Herbert Schuch, Patricia Petibon, Alice Sara Ott, Maria João Pires, Antonio Meneses, Maxim Vengerov, Richard Galliano and Sylvain Luc, as well as leading orchestras from around the world including the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Venice Baroque Orchestra, Orchestra of the Swan, Artemis Quartet, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, and this year's resident guest orchestra Warsaw Philharmonic. The festival will host 26 concerts ranging from symphonic and chamber orchestras to recitals and special projects, and will host two world premieres and one Turkish premiere. The festival will reach audiences at 17 different venues this year. Among this year's innovations, the Music Trail will take festival followers on a musical journey through Mary (Panayia Isodion) Church, Three Horan Church, St. Anthony Lower Church, the Dutch Consulate Chapel and Crimean Anglican Church, which will be used as concert venues for the first time. The festival's now-traditional free Weekend Classics will this year be held at the Austrian Cultural Office Garden, Fenerbahçe Park and Sakıp Sabancı Museum Garden. The German Embassy Tarabya Summer Residence, Hagia Irene Museum, Boğaziçi University Albert Long Hall and South Campus, French Palace Garden, İş Sanat Concert Hall, Lütfi Kırdar Convention and Exhibition Palace, Süreyya Opera House and Uniq Hall Istanbul will be the other concert venues hosting the festival this year.