Echos. Places and Music — Smetana Trio (concert in Masio)

Echos in Masio: The Smetana Trio in the heart of Monferrato

Echos. Places and Music is one of Piedmont's longest-running and most appreciated music festivals. Born in 1999 as a labor of love for a region outside the main classical music circuits, it has presented hundreds of concerts over nearly three decades, showcasing dozens of historic sites across the municipalities of the Alessandria province. The festival is organized by the Associazione Musicale Ondasonora APS under the artistic direction of pianist Sergio Marchegiani.

The stop in the Municipality of Masio

The small town of Masio, nestled in the hills of the Monferrato in the Province of Alessandria, welcomes the festival into the intimate Church of Santa Maria and San Dalmazzo. This is the hallmark of Echos: bringing internationally renowned performers to highly evocative settings—churches, abbeys, castles, and historic palaces—to restore centrality to the region's smaller towns. For those visiting this part of Piedmont, the concert is a precious opportunity to combine musical listening with the discovery of local heritage.

The Smetana Trio, European excellence

The star of the evening is the Smetana Trio, a Czech ensemble considered among the most highly regarded piano trios in Europe. The concert, dedicated to the great chamber music repertoire, features works by Joseph Haydn, Bohuslav Martinů, and Felix Mendelssohn: a journey that weaves together Viennese classicism, 20th-century Bohemian music, and German romanticism, perfectly in line with the festival's international vocation.

A festival spread across the territory

The 28th edition features approximately 24 concerts distributed across 19 municipalities in the Alessandria and Monferrato areas, from the urban center of Alessandria to the valley villages. The Masio concert is also part of the «Strada Franca del Monferrato» route, which links several festival stops in an itinerary of music and landscape. Alongside big names on the concert scene, Echos provides space for young talents and complements the main program with special projects such as concerts in local wineries.

Why it's worth it

• A chamber music concert featuring an internationally acclaimed ensemble like the Smetana Trio.
• Free admission until all available seats are taken.
• The chance to discover a small Monferrato town like Masio, far from the usual tourist trails.
• An experience that blends music, architectural heritage, and the Piedmontese hilly landscape.