World-class performers, including the "Russian Paganini," Maxim Fedotov, Turkish piano virtuoso İdil Biret, Italian tenor Nicola Martinucci and Uruguayan bandoneon player Héctor Ulises Passarella, will take to the stage for the seven concerts in this year's festival, which will run through Aug. 25.
This year's lineup will feature works associated with the festival's main theme of "Love of One's Country." Yücel Canyaran, the festival's art director, said in a written statement that the organizers had "left concerns over popularity aside" while preparing the festival lineup. "While presenting the diverse works of the most notable composers in the history of music, we asked our performers to include in their repertoires some modified examples of tango, Neapolitan music, and jazz reincarnated in new shapes in the mold of formal classical music," Canyaran added.

The festival opens Friday night with a concert titled "Hot Tunes from Cold Lands," featuring Bedrich Smetana's symphonic poem "My Country," to be performed by the Bilkent Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Işın Metin. Crowning the opening concert will be violin virtuoso Fedotov, the holder of the title of "Russian Artist of the People" and a gold medal winner at the Tchaikovsky Violin Competition.

On the second night the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, with Fedotov as its conductor this time, will accompany Biret, a frequent participant in the festival, and the soloists of the Kremlin and Bolshoi ballets. The day's sunset concert will feature guitarist Ezgi Anıl and the Orfeon Choir.

On the third night, following a recital by Jülide Yalçın Dittgen and Ece Tokatlı Sayarı, the Doğuş Children's Symphony Orchestra, conducted by resident maestro Rengim Gökmen, will present an unforgettable concert with the Trio Nota Bene and the renowned Italian tenor Nicola Martinucci.

On the closing evening, after a sunset concert by the Trio Ephesus, audiences will first be treated to a performance by the Héctor Passarella Tango Octet and their dancers, followed by a selection of opera arias, Neapolitan songs and selected hits from Broadway musicals, sung by Turkish opera tenors İhsan Ekber and Onur Turan and sopranos Görkem Ezgi Yıldırım and Ayça Varlıer. They will be accompanied by the İzmir State Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Erol Erdinç.

Being the only music festival in the world to be held in a marina, the annual D-Marin event has managed to turn into a major art event in its first three years, constantly expanding its audience and adding prominent musicians to its lineup. The inaugural festival was held in September 2005 with the theme of "Love and Peace." Music lovers were ferried over to Turgutreis from the nearby Greek islands of Kos, Kalimnos and Leros for the festival, which featured concerts by Biret, accompanied by the Belgrade Chamber Orchestra, and Gülsin Onay, accompanied by the Bilkent Symphony Orchestra, as well as harpist Şirin Pancaroğlu and violinists Tedi Papavrami and Alexander Markov. Drawing an audience of 7,000 in its first year, 12,000 in its second and 13,500 in its third, the festival's organizers hope to reach even more listeners in the years to come. The festival's goal is to be able to host more foreign artists and orchestras each year and to eventually qualify as a member of the International Festivals and Events Association (IFEA).

Apart from the opening day, the festival will features two concerts each day, with the first one beginning at 7:30 p.m. and the second at 9:30 p.m. For tickets, go to the festival's Web site at www.dmarinfestival.com/eng.html.

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