The festival, which runs from the 8th to the 31st of July in the coastal city of the Porto district, is again this year subject to restrictions due to the covid-19 pandemic, namely in the capacity of the venues for the shows.
The official highlighted the fusion of the two styles at the inaugural concert, on July 9, with the renowned Portuguese pianist Maria João Pires and the young Júlio Resende, also at the piano, promoting a show called “Diálogos”.
Also highlighted in the program are the performances of the Coro Gulbenkian, of the Helsinki Chamber Orchestra, for the opera show “O Elixir do Amor”, by Donizetti, with Portuguese interpreters, for the jazz group Tigran Hamasyan Trio, the string quartet David Oistrakh, who will be accompanied by the Portuguese quartet Tejo, and also for a concert for families, based on the short story “A Menina do Mar”, by Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen.
For the last two days of the festival, there is a recital by violinist Tobias Feldmann and pianist Boris Kusnezow, making their debut in Portugal, and a final concert by the period orchestra Akademie Fur Alte Musik Berlin, in its baroque dimension, which will perform works by Johann Sebastian Bach.
The harpsichordist Pierre Hantaï and the viola da gamba virtuoso Paolo Pandolfo, also a composer, teacher and musicologist, are two other names on the festival’s poster.
In addition to the concerts, which will be distributed by the Cine-Teatro Garrett, Municipal Auditorium, Igreja Matriz, and Romanesque Church of S. Pedro de Rates, exhibitions and masterclasses with some of the artists participating in the festival are also planned.
Tickets have a unit price of 5 euros per show, they will be on sale from the 27th of June at bol.pt, but all the festival’s performances will be broadcast, free of charge, through RTP’s digital and television platforms.
