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Valldemossa is a beautiful town in the west of Mallorca, 10 miles north of Palma. It is also where the composer and pianist Frederic Chopin lived for a short period in 1838 with his partner Baroness Dudevant - better known as George Sand. His stay on the island was only 3 months long and not particularly enjoyable for the composer. His beloved French piano was delayed by the Mallorcan customs and Chopin was forced to play on a rented piano. He was not in particularly good health at the time and Mallorcan doctors feared for his life. Also, because he was not married, the deeply religious people of Mallorca made it difficult to find accommodation, which is why he found his way to Valldemossa, where he stayed in a former Monastery. Eventually, worries over his health forced Chopin to leave Mallorca, leaving behind his piano which remains in a museum in the town.

Chopin has been celebrated with a series of concerts in Valldemossa every year since 1930. This year, there are five concerts which will be held in Cloister of the Monastery, Valldemossa on the 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th of August 2010. All concerts will start at 10pm and tickets are available in advance but are very limited. Reservations can only be made via www.festivalchopin.com, starting from the 14th of July. The first performance will be held by the Orquestra Simfonica de Balears 'Ciutat de Palma'. Ivan Martin will play the piano solo and Antoni Wit will conduct the concert. The following four concerts will be solo piano recitals by Elisso Virsaladze, Alain Planes, Wojcieh Switala and Rafal Blechacz respectively.

Valldemossa is an amazingly picturesque place at any time of year, with narrow cobbled streets, alleyways and quiet squares. Even if you're not visiting any of the Chopin concerts, it's worth booking flights to Mallorca just to see the village of Valldemossa. The views across the hillsides from the town are breathtaking and the monastery is a perfect setting to hear and appreciate the music of one of the world's most famous composers.