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The 9th edition of MIK Festival starts/ Korça welcomes four days of art, music and homage to cultural icons

2026-07-10 14:39:00, Qyteti im CNA

The ninth edition of MIK Festival has opened in Korça, bringing for four consecutive days a rich artistic program that combines classical music, jazz, ballet, serenades, homages to prominent figures of Albanian culture and the discovery of places with historical and spiritual values. Under the artistic direction of the world-famous soprano Inva Mula, the festival continues to preserve its tradition, but also to bring innovations every year that make MIK one of the most important cultural events of the summer in Albania. At the opening ceremony, Inva Mula presented the program of this edition, describing the festival as a “bouquet” of concerts and artists, which is enriched with new artistic colors every year.

The 9th edition of MIK Festival starts/ Korça welcomes four days of art,

"MIK is always a beautiful bouquet, a bouquet of concerts, a bouquet of wonderful artists who come from all over the world. I would say that when you go from one edition to another, especially when you have done a beautiful edition before, you always set yourself the goal of what to bring to keep this audience always curious. And we wanted to start this year, as we have never started before, with Jazz Manouche music, which is a very beautiful and unknown music; jazz from the '30s, French jazz from the '30s. I am very happy that we are opening a window towards this genre, which I am convinced will be very popular with the audience."

After the opening concert, the festival continues with a special evening at the "Andon Zako Çajupi" Theater, dedicated to two of the most important figures of Albanian art and culture, Viktor Gjika and Teodor Laço, both originally from Korça.

The 9th edition of MIK Festival starts/ Korça welcomes four days of art,

"To spend tomorrow at the theater with a tribute concert, always with the sons of Korça, whom I hold very dear. I say that the more you search in Korça, the more values ??you find, which we have a duty to highlight and always remember. Then, it is about Viktor Gjika and Teodor Laço, two great figures of literary and cinematographic art. It will be a tribute evening, a wonderful evening where these two characters are intertwined. Both have been friends, have been friends, were born in Korça, have had a journey and have had collaborations between them. We will treat them as two special individuals, but also as two friends who have collaborated in cinematography. With wonderful artists like Ina Lako, Laura Lozi, Igli Tuga, the wonderful choir of master Suzana Turku and others, etc. "

Another novelty of this edition will be the "Moonlight Gala" spectacle, which will take place in the Drenova field, combining nature with art and the performance of Albanian and international ballet stars.

The 9th edition of MIK Festival starts/ Korça welcomes four days of art,

"There are many artists, I would say. We never count them by numbers, but we count them by works. To then go out on a night that we have never done before, a night that we have called 'Moonlight Gala'. Why did we call it that? Because every time we go there to the Drenova field, it strikes me how it is possible that a place that looks like 'nothing' during the day turns into magic at night. Why? Because art makes it magical, but nature also makes it wonderful. So last year I dreamed of a night under the beautiful moon of the Drenova sky with the ballet stars. I say it will be a spectacular night, an unforgettable night. I have gathered the stars of Albanian and international ballet and I believe that the audience will also appreciate it very much."

The festival will close on Sunday with two activities that aim to combine spiritual heritage with the musical tradition of Korça, taking the audience to another unknown destination and ending with serenades in the "Rinia" Park.

The 9th edition of MIK Festival starts/ Korça welcomes four days of art,

"To move on to the last day, Sunday, where for the first time we go to a place we have never been before. We will discover a place that is more than a church, it is a cult that remains to be discovered. We have a choir coming from Greece, for the first time a Byzantine choir. And to close it at dinner at the Rinia Park with serenades; with serenades with the most beautiful things, with serenades that have never been played, which we will sing together with the public. This is our bouquet for the 9th edition of MIK.

This year's novelty begins with the sounds of Jazz Manouche, a genre known in Europe, but presented for the first time in this form at MIK Festival. The participating musicians expressed their emotions about the performance in Korça.

The 9th edition of MIK Festival starts/ Korça welcomes four days of art,

“I feel really good. I think Korça is a nice city and I’m really happy to be here with my two friends from Kosovo. It’s also my first time in Albania, and it’s always a pleasure for me because I’m half Albanian and half French. My father comes from Kosovo, so it’s always a pleasure to be in Albania and Kosovo. It’s going to be Gypsy Jazz. I play double bass with my friend. In the past I’ve played with many famous musicians of this style, with violin and guitar, and tonight it’s going to be a fusion of French and Gypsy jazz. There will also be material from Django Reinhardt.”

For guitarist Armend Xhaferri, participating in Korça is a special experience, while he values ??the city as a place that has a natural connection with the spirit of this musical genre.

The 9th edition of MIK Festival starts/ Korça welcomes four days of art,

"Yes, I have been playing guitar for many years, but I have never been to Korça and I am very honored that I had the opportunity and they gave me the opportunity to be here with my friends and colleagues and present a new style of jazz, which is not very well known to the general public. We musicians have known it, I know that my colleagues here in Albania know what gypsy jazz is and when it started, but I don't remember anyone having attempted to play it. And I often play this style in Europe at various festivals, mainly with Xavier, the double bassist, who will probably talk to you later, and with some other colleagues who are great masters of this style of manouche jazz, as it is called in French. Korça gives you that feeling of an old city that offers you a lot. It offers you high civilization, it offers you special hospitality, education and courtesy. The connection is there because like serenades, jazz "Manouche is a very old genre that was born in the early 1900s, at the beginning of the last century. If I am not mistaken, serenades also appeared in Italy at that time and from Italy, if I am not mistaken, serenades also migrated to Korça, and in our beautiful Albanian language."

The festival's loyal audience considers MIK a rare opportunity to discover not only good music, but also the cultural and touristic heritage of the Korça region.

The 9th edition of MIK Festival starts/ Korça welcomes four days of art,

"So, I came from Tirana today, but I've actually been living in Paris for 36 years. And I've known about the MIK festival since the beginning, actually. I haven't had the opportunity to come every year, but it might be the fourth or fifth time I've come. It's an extraordinary event. The programming that Inva and her team do each year is very interesting. Not only in terms of the composition of the program, but also the places that are discovered. For example, it's an opportunity for people to discover the villages around Korça, as well as cultural places, churches, other famous places that we don't actually know. We've discovered Albania more through these events in recent years, to be honest. So, the program is always diverse and I like that there's a mix of styles, whether it's classical music, lyrical singers, and these memorials that are being held. For example, last year there was a memorial for the singer, the famous tenor Gaqo Çako. This year, from what I saw, it's for Viktor "Gjikën, who is also originally from Korça, and for Teodor Laço. And I really like the fact that musical genres are mixed, but also the discovery of personalities who are related to the Korça area."

With a program that extends to some of the most special spaces of Korça and the surrounding areas, MIK Festival returns this year as a celebration of art and culture, bringing together Albanian and international artists, various musical genres and an invitation for the public to experience not only concerts, but also the history, tradition and cultural identity of the city./ CNA





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