Stockholm's Old Town, clothed in the soft hues of early summer is once again the setting for captivating musical experiences. The magnificent sounds of the baroque, renaissance and medieval periods merge with these unique historical surroundings. Come to Stockholm and let the intoxicating power of music overwhelm you!

Stockholm Early Music Festival's programme once again boasts an array of the finest international artists. Helsinki Baroque Orchestra with Maria Cristina Kiehr as soloist inaugurate the festival, in honour of the 200th anniversary of Finland's independence from Sweden. The German vocal ensemble, Ensemble Officium spin a silken web around their audience with Palestrina's exquisite vocal counterpoint, Sweden's folk singer Lena Willemark challenges the boundaries of early music, and castanets provide a fiery accompaniment to Spanish baroque dance. Don't miss the opportunity to hear Micrologus from Italy, with their performance of Robin and Marion, arguably the first ever opera. Watch out for the baroque pirates Red Priest and their daring interpretations!

This year, SEMF is also host to REMA 2009, a European conference which gathers together representatives from early music festivals all over Europe. Concerts for children together with seminars and masterclasses complete the comprehensive programme for this year's festival.

It's never too late for early music! Welcome!

Peter Pontvik This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Artistic Director SEMF Photo: Katarina Widell

The Festival Enchants the Island

The isle is full of noises,
Sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.
Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
Will hum about mine ears; and sometime voices...

With Shakespeare it is an enchanted island. With us it is an islet - The Old Town, when it each year transforms itself into Stockholm Early Music Festival. An act of magic signed Peter "Prospero" Pontvik.

SEMF, this festival which seems so modestly limited to five rich days in the
very center of the city. It actually has an extent far greater than many flashy
and star-studded festival in the wide world.

It spans many centuries, even millenia. It contains much more than classical music, more than Western Art music, more than dance music and folk music...
In the Stockholm Early Music Festival there is room for the entire world.

Speakers at gatherings love to state that music is a universal language. Nonsense! Music is in fact thousands of languages, voices and instruments. This has SEMF both understood and recognized.

Camilla Lundberg SVT Photo: Bengt O Nordin

Dear Visitors,

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the Stockholm Early Music Festival. As in previous years, the festival presents a wide-ranging programme from a fascinating period of music history in an appropriately historical setting. Stockholm Early Music Festival has become a tradition in the early summer when Stockholm is most charming and delightful that at any time of the year.

Per Unckel County Governor Photo: Johannes Jansson, norden.org