Sobrio - The Music Village

Sobrio - The Music Village

The Villaggio della Musica (Music Village) is located in the beautiful mountain village of Sobrio (Valle Leventina, 1’100 metres above sea level) and comprises some 50 houses, each of which is dedicated to a great composer. The idea was born with the aim of creating an international meeting centre that would allow young musicians to spend periods of study and activity far from the cities and large tourist centres in an ideal environment, in contact with nature, where they could rediscover themselves, their enthusiasm, give concerts, attend courses and, above all, create innovative proposals.

The heart of the Village is the Gustav Mahler House, which hosts master classes, study weeks, competitions, piano recitals and chamber music concerts. The Francis Poulenc House, on the other hand, is used for the accommodation of students, teachers and guest musicians. The owners of the other houses, in different ways, collaborate in promoting the various activities.

The initiative includes not only the organisation of courses and events, but the creation of a real village with dwellings for musicians and melomaniacs, a 'musical' hotel, a house for artists of the Third Age, a recording studio, a luthier's workshop, a concert hall and facilities for special sports and leisure activities.

From the beginning of July to mid-October - in the Church of St. Laurence and in the Mahler House - the Sobrio Festival takes place, presenting particularly talented young musicians alongside established artists. In parallel, the Sobrio Festival Academy organises master classes with internationally renowned artists. Since 2019, the Festival has hosted the 'E. Tschaikowsky' Prize, an international piano competition born out of the encounter between Elizabeth Tschaikowsky, cousin of the great Russian composer, and the Ticino pianist Mauro Harsch, creator of the Villaggio della Musica.

The beauty of the place and the uniqueness of the initiative attract an ever-increasing number of visitors and musicians to Sobrio, including members of the Berliner Philharmoniker and the Orchestra of the Teatro alla Scala. Everyone agrees that Sobrio has what it takes to become a special and exclusive cultural centre halfway between Milan and Zurich.

In order to cope with the many requests, it became necessary to build a hall/theatre with around one hundred and fifty seats. Mario Botta recently designed a completely innovative, compact and very functional hall, also suitable for dance performances.

The Sobrio Festival will take place from 29 June to 13 October 2024.