The Stresa Festival will inaugurate its 48th edition on May 2, 2009 with the Spring Concerts, five open-air events entitled Pentagramme Fioriale, Flowery Staves. Staves are the five-line diagrams on which music is written, and the flowery no doubt refers to the exquisite garden venues which have been chosen for the five concerts in May.

The Settimane Musicali di Stresa, as it is known here, is without question one of the best known European classical music events, each year offering the opportunity to hear internationally famous artists perform in some of the most beautiful settings imaginable.

The Festival will continue in August with Musical Meditations, five more concerts in five other stunning settings, including the Bach cello suites again performed at Santa Caterina and a string quartet performance in the Hall of Tapestries in the Borromeo Palazzo on Isola Bella. Stresa Musicale: www.stresafestival.eu/blog Here you'll find more information, videos, and you can purchase tickets.