Dear friends,

This year, the Chamber Music Festival Chania reaches its twelfth edition, having already realized 39 concerts, which were attended by over 6,500 music lovers, from Crete and all over the world. Its host, Minoa Palace Resort, continues to be one of the few hotel groups in Greece that chooses to "invest" in culture and dream of a guest who consciously chooses his/her holiday destination with cultural and cultural criteria. Crete is a unique place where millennia of history, culture and traditions meet: an amalgam of East and West, where these two countervailing forces shape its current vibrant and unified identity.

Thus, this year's Festival - which echoes, among other things, the thoughts, anxieties and concerns of our very fluid era - bears the title "East & West Wind". After all, in the European area, the distinction between West and East is not only geographical, but mainly cultural.

Especially in music, which primarily concerns us, one notices that Central European music creation from the 18th to the 20th century emphasized expressive clarity and density, morphological architecture and harmonic clarity, while, at the same time, East was gradually discovering a "voice" of its own, which balanced between the living popular tradition and the simultaneous admiration for the West^ between the passion of the Slavic soul, but also the disarming awe of its vast surface. The 12th Chamber Music Festival Chania aims to highlight these opposing aesthetic trends, this coexistence that marks the European musical pluralism, contrasting, in each of its seven concerts, works of German classicism and romanticism with works from Russia, Poland, Armenia and the Czech Republic.

Important invitations will strengthen the already bright “musical-human capital” of the Festival: It is with great pleasure that the Festival welcomes back the Czech violinist Josef Špaček, both as a violinist and as a member of the Trio Zimbalist. At the same time, for the first time, the Festival has the honor of greeting the charismatic violinist Roman Simović, concertmaster of the London Symphony Orchestra and an active soloist, and the eminent violinist Milena Simović, who excels both in the field of symphonic music as well as in chamber music. Lastly, bassoon player Rui Lopes stands out among our guests – a renowned soloist and bassoon professor at Strasbourg Academy.

The Festival always supports the work of young artists. This year, this exact goal takes on a central character and pervades the entire Festival. Next to the stable group of musicians and the prominent guests, this year, there will be young Greek musicians who make us proud all over the world: The clarinetist Panagiotis Giannakas, who has just assumed the position of Solo-clarinet of the Athens State Orchestra, is completing his studies at Music Academy of Geneva and stands out in the most important competitions worldwide, while horn player Angelos Sioras was a member of the Graz Opera Orchestra before assuming the position of Solo French horn at the Greek National Opera. Finally, this year's - youthful- group of the Chamber Music Festival Chania is completed by the oboist Makrina Troullou, the violinist Yiannis Mageiropoulos and the violist Antonis Tzivenis, members of the even younger generation of Greek musicians.

A big thank you is due to our supporters: First of all, to the Region of Crete and the Ephorate of Antiquities of Chania, as with their help the Festival holds two concerts in the magical Ancient Theater of Aptera. As well as the Ministry of Culture, the Greek National Tourism Organisation, the Municipality of Chania and Alpha Bank for their continuous faith and support in our vision. Finally, a special place in our hearts is held for each of you who choose to stand by us and give value to our efforts.

We thank you and look forward to seeing you again!