Unbeknownst to many lovers of classical music on the one hand, and to many lovers of Paxos’s late summer charms on the other, this idyllic little Greek island an hour’s boat ride from Corfu has for 25 years been hosting its own chamber music festival. Each September a small group of the most talented young musicians from the UK and elsewhere gathers on this Ionian island paradise to rehearse and perform a short series of concerts. So if you are thinking of a quiet Greek island holiday after the August rush, why not arrange a week or two on Paxos to coincide with this year’s performances on 7, 9 and 11 September?

 

The three concerts, organised as always by the Paxos Festival Trust, take place in the old school building in the centre of Loggos.  It’s hard to imagine a setting more atmospheric for music than a warm Paxos September evening, as I can testify from my own experience. In the festival’s very early days, I stood at the door of the school house in Magazia, a small inland village close to Loggos, craning my neck to catch the strains of Beethoven’s first Razumovsky quartet carried on the night air. The concert was a sell-out, but that didn’t prevent a group of us late-comers hovering around the door. To hear the athletic rhythms and tight harmonies of this great music more or less in the open, under the star-studded Greek night sky, enveloped by the lingering heat of another sun-drenched Paxos day, was a memorable experience indeed.

 

Nowadays the concerts are held in Loggos, on the sea, and the melodies of Beethoven, Schubert and Mozart waft out from the open doors of the school, across the village square and on over the still waves of the Ionian.  And for these concerts in Loggos, Travel à la carte’s Paxos villas and apartments could not be more conveniently located.  The company has a range of properties in Loggos itself, from two-person studios to the more spacious apartments at the old Manor House overlooking the bay, as well as several comfortable villas with pools within 15-20 minutes’ walk of the concert hall. So no need to fight for space in Loggos’s little car park: just amble down from your accommodation at your leisure to take your seat.  You could even dine before hand, at one of Loggos’s harbour-side tavernas, or have a cool pre-concert drink at one of the jetty bars. These days concert tickets are available a day or two in advance, so you can be sure of not being obliged, as I was, to catch the strains of harmony on the night air. Our Paxos office, also located on the spot in the centre of Loggos, will be able to furnish you all the information you need.

 

But act soon. Paxos’s music festival has gathered quite a number of loyal followers over the years, and they are already making sure they’ve secured their favourite accommodation. They know what a magical combination the love of Paxos and of classical music can be in those balmy days of the late Greek island summer.