After Covid, Angela Hewitt ends her Italian festival

The pianist has posted:

A big decision that I have not taken lightly, but which I know is the right one: this year’s Trasimeno Music Festival will be the last.
This is our 18th festival. We began in 2005 with just six concerts in the week, all in the Castle of the Knights of Malta in Magione–which remains everybody’s favourite venue. It grew to include many other wonderful venues around Umbria and neighbouring Tuscany (Perugia, Gubbio, Trevi, Cortona, Bevagna, Panicale, Assisi), and our best years were probably between 2014 and 2019. Then covid hit and the world changed.

In 2020 we cancelled like everybody else had to; in 2021 we had a lovely mini-festival which was very touching and special, despite social distancing. In 2022 I myself got covid and missed most of it.

This year–I don’t know–something is different. I’ve tried so hard to get people to come, to little effect. I simply can’t put in this monstrous amount of work all year round for so few people to show up. It makes no sense. Even if the artistic rewards are great (and we have wonderful musicians this year, as we’ve had every year), it’s simply too disheartening. As one of my volunteers said today, the amount of work is “massacrante” (back-breaking). And our beloved Operations Director, Guglielmo, is in hospital at the moment with pneumonia and will miss the whole thing. We are very sad about that.

BUT: for those of you who are coming, and for those of you who I still hope will buy tickets in the next 10 days, we will perform for you with all our heart and soul and give you an experience you won’t forget. We are here for you 100%!!
The Trasimeno Music Festival has been without a doubt one of the great things of my life. I thank all of you who have made it a possibility.
Much love, Angela