Information
CAPUCHOS MUSIC FESTIVAL 2024
Artistic Director: Filipe Pinto-Ribeiro
29 MAY to 21 JUNE 2024
Almada - Portugal
All information at: FESTIVALCAPUCHOS.COM
Capuchos Festival 2025
Between Worlds
Welcome to the Capuchos Festival 2025!
Now in its fifth consecutive edition since its revival in 2021, the Capuchos Festival presents the theme “Between Worlds”, offering an artistic reflection on interculturality, diversity, fascination, and dialogue between multiple dimensions — civilizational, temporal, and spiritual — that intertwine and reveal themselves through Music, the universal language present in all societies.
From May 30 to June 27, Almada once again becomes the stage for this major cultural event, bringing together renowned national and international artists. Concerts will be held at the Capuchos Convent, the Festival’s spiritual core, as well as in other venues across the city, including the Joaquim Benite Municipal Theatre, the Fernando Lopes-Graça Auditorium, and, for the first time, Parque da Paz, which will host an open-air symphonic concert.
Among the highlights of this edition is the Portuguese debut of the Swedish chamber orchestra Musica Vitae, which will open the Festival with two concerts led by the brilliant Austrian violinist Benjamin Schmid. The opening program features works by Mozart and Tchaikovsky, bridging musical traditions and geographies. In the second concert, Schmid presents his Jazz Violin Concertos project, exploring the fusion between classical composition and jazz improvisation - an absolute first on Portuguese soil.
The “between worlds” spirit continues with The Naghash Ensemble of Armenia, presenting a program that blends medieval Armenian sacred music with contemporary influences, jazz, and post-minimalism. Another standout moment will be “The History of Tango” concert, led by bandoneonist Marcelo Nisinman, a direct disciple of Astor Piazzolla, in a tribute to the roots and evolution of Argentine tango.
In the field of early music, the Festival offers two concerts rich in historical and poetic resonance. “The Music of Camões’ Lyric Poetry”, performed by Concerto Atlântico under the direction of Pedro Caldeira Cabral, marks the 500th anniversary of the birth of Luís de Camões, reviving Renaissance musical practices. Meanwhile, the Baroque Ensemble Tra Noi presents “Telemann goes East”, exploring the dialogue between German Baroque and Eastern European folk traditions.
In the realm of contemporary music and musical thought, the centenary of Pierre Boulez will be commemorated with a recital by clarinetist Jérôme Comte, soloist of the Ensemble Intercontemporain de Paris, founded by Boulez in 1976. The “Boulez 100” program includes works by Boulez, Berio, Donatoni, Grisey, and Stravinsky, showcasing diverse voices of European musical modernity. In turn, the concert “Transfigured Night” pays homage to Daniel Barenboim, bringing together soloists from the Barenboim-Said Academy and the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, featuring works by Brahms and Schönberg, symbols of a transfigured, visionary romanticism.
Portugal’s presence will be strongly felt with prominent names such as the Lisbon Metropolitan Orchestra, conducted by Pedro Neves, performing Dvořák’s iconic New World Symphony at Parque da Paz, alongside works by Rossini and Brahms; the DSCH – Shostakovich Ensemble, performing works by Dvořák, Schubert, and a world premiere by Portuguese composer Sérgio Azevedo; and the 100 Caminhos Quintet, leading an original “walking concert” through the Capuchos Convent. Also, the João Barradas Trio will present Aperture, a contemporary jazz project with a strong authorial identity.
The piano will take center stage with two recitals: Dang Thai Son, the legendary winner of the Chopin Competition in Warsaw, will present a program focused on Chopin and Debussy; and I myself will pay tribute to the poetic and transcendental genius of Franz Liszt, in a journey through dreams, love, and virtuosity.
The Capuchos Festival is also a space for thought and sharing. The Capuchos Talks, curated by Carlos Vaz Marques, will precede the Festival with three sessions: celebrating the centenary of José Cardoso Pires, the 100th anniversary of the publication of The Trial by Franz Kafka, and a reflection on the Festival's own theme - Between Worlds.
Additional parallel activities enrich the Festival: the Capuchos Preludes - pre-concert talks moderated by João Almeida; the Capuchos Walk in the Protected Landscape of the Costa da Caparica Fossil Cliff; the Guided Visit to the Capuchos Convent; and the Capuchos Masterclasses, with distinguished professors from the Universities of Salzburg, Oslo, and Lucerne.
With great joy, we also present, for the first time, the Opera for Children initiative, with performances of Mozart’s Bastien et Bastienne, in a production directed by António Wagner Diniz, specially designed for preschool and primary school audiences.
The Capuchos Festival 2025 is made possible thanks to the support, first and foremost, of the Almada City Council, the patronage of BPI/la Caixa Foundation, and the Portuguese Directorate-General for the Arts. Our thanks also go to our partners: the Almada Theatre Company, El Corte Inglés Cultural Programme, and RTP Antena 2. A special word of appreciation to His Excellency the President of the Republic, for granting the Festival his High Patronage.
We invite you to journey with us through these symbolic and sonic “worlds.”
May Music guide us, inspire us, and unite us - between worlds and beyond them.
Filipe Pinto-Ribeiro
Artistic Director of the Capuchos Festival
PROGRAM
CONCERTS
MAY 30 | Friday
9:00 PM | Joaquim Benite Municipal Theater
Between Worlds: Mozart & Tchaikovsky
Opening Concert
Swedish Chamber Orchestra “Musica Vitae”
Benjamin Schmid – Violin and Musical Direction
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Violin Concerto No. 5 KV 219 “Turkish”
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky – Souvenir de Florence, Opus 70
MAY 31 | Saturday
9:00 PM | Joaquim Benite Municipal Theater
Jazz Violin Concertos
Swedish Chamber Orchestra “Musica Vitae”
Benjamin Schmid – Violin and Musical Direction
Herbert Berger – “Metropoles Suite,” Concerto for Violin and Orchestra
Friedrich Gulda – “Wings,” Concerto for Violin, Orchestra and Rhythm Section
Works by Kroll, Provost, Ponce, Drigo, Vale, Tchaikovsky, Khachaturian
JUNE 1 | Sunday
6:00 PM | Chapel of the Capuchos Convent
The Music of Camonian Lyricism
500 Years of Camões
Concerto Atlântico
Pedro Caldeira Cabral – Musical Direction
Works by Luís de Camões, António de Macedo, António Carreira, Heliodoro de Paiva
JUNE 4 | Wednesday
9:00 PM | Capuchos Convent
Chopin & Debussy
Piano Recital
Dang Thai Son – Piano
Claude Debussy – Rêverie, Images, Masques, Children’s Corner
Frédéric Chopin – Nocturnes, Barcarolle, Waltzes, Scherzo
JUNE 7 | Saturday
9:00 PM | Joaquim Benite Municipal Theater
Songs of Exile
The Naghash Ensemble of Armenia
Hasmik Baghdasaryan – Soprano
Tatevik Movsesyan – Soprano
Shahane Zalyan – Contralto
Harutyun Chkolyan – Duduk
Aram Nikoghosyan – Oud
Tigran Hovhannisyan – Dhol, Dumbek, Daf
John Hodian – Piano
JUNE 8 | Sunday
6:00 PM | Capuchos Convent
The History of Tango
Piazzolla & Nisinman
Marcelo Nisinman – Bandoneón
Chen Halevi – Clarinet
Tiago Pinto-Ribeiro – Double Bass
Rosa Maria Barrantes – Piano
Works by Astor Piazzolla, Pedro Datta, Carlos Gardel, Rosendo Mendizábal, Marcelo Nisinman
JUNE 13 | Friday
9:00 PM | Fernando Lopes-Graça Auditorium
Aperture
João Barradas Trio
João Barradas – Accordion
Bruno Pedroso – Drums
André Rosinha – Double Bass
JUNE 14 | Saturday
6:00 PM | Capuchos Convent
Promenade of the Capuchos
100 Caminhos
Carolina Alves – Trumpet
João Moreira – Trumpet
Luís Vieira – Horn
Hugo Assunção – Trombone
Joaquim Rocha – Trombone
Works by Tomaso Albinoni, Rose Roberts, George Dousis, Anthony DiLorenzo, Telmo Marques
JUNE 14 | Saturday
9:00 PM | Capuchos Convent
Liszt: The Poet of the Piano
Filipe Pinto-Ribeiro – Piano
Franz Liszt – Hungarian Rhapsody No. 12, Petrarch Sonnet 123, Liebestraum No. 3,
Valse Oubliée No. 1, Consolation No. 3, “Dante” Sonata
JUNE 15 | Sunday
6:00 PM | Chapel of the Capuchos Convent
Telemann goes East
Baroque Ensemble Tra Noi
Rafaela Salgado – Harpsichord
Daria Spiridonova – Violin
Silvia Berchtold – Flute
Bianca Cucini – Viola da gamba
Works by Georg Philipp Telemann
JUNE 19 | Thursday
7:00 PM | Capuchos Convent
Boulez 100
Tribute to Pierre Boulez
Jérôme Comte – Clarinet
Works by Pierre Boulez, Luciano Berio, Franco Donatoni, Gérard Grisey, Igor Stravinsky
JUNE 20 | Friday
9:00 PM | Capuchos Convent
Transfigured Night
Tribute to Daniel Barenboim
Soloists from the Barenboim-Said Academy & West-Eastern Divan Orchestra
Mihaela Martin – Violin
Yulia Deyneka – Viola
Frans Helmerson – Cello
Semaan Wehbe – Violin
Sara Umanskaya – Viola
Parya Moulaei – Cello
Johannes Brahms – Sextet No. 1 Op. 18
Arnold Schoenberg – Transfigured Night, Op. 4
JUNE 21 | Saturday
9:00 PM | Peace Park
New World Symphony
Closing Concert
Lisbon Metropolitan Orchestra
Pedro Neves – Musical Direction
Gioachino Rossini – Overture to “William Tell”
Johannes Brahms – Hungarian Dances No. 5 and No. 6
Antonín Dvořák – Symphony No. 9 Op. 95 “From the New World”
JUNE 27 | Friday
9:00 PM | Capuchos Convent
Capuchos Postlude
DSCH – Shostakovich Ensemble
Filipe Pinto-Ribeiro – Piano
Esther Hoppe – Violin
Lars Anders Tomter – Viola
Christian Poltéra – Cello
Tiago Pinto-Ribeiro – Double Bass
Antonín Dvořák – Piano Quartet No. 1, Op. 23
Sérgio Azevedo – Piece for Solo Double Bass (world premiere)
Franz Schubert – Piano Quintet D 667 “The Trout”
ACTIVITIES
CAPUCHOS TALKS
Curated by Carlos Vaz Marques
May 7 | Wednesday | 6:30 PM || El Corte Inglés Cultural Space – Lisbon
CAPUCHOS TALK 1
“Centenary of José Cardoso Pires”
With Bruno Vieira Amaral, Marco Neves, and Carlos Vaz Marques
May 14 | Wednesday | 6:30 PM || El Corte Inglés Cultural Space – Lisbon
CAPUCHOS TALK 2
“Centenary of the publication of “The Trial”, by Franz Kafka”
With Álvaro Laborinho Lúcio, Julieta Monginho, and Carlos Vaz Marques
May 21 | Wednesday | 6:30 PM || El Corte Inglés Cultural Space – Lisbon
CAPUCHOS TALK 3
“Between Worlds: Diversity, Identity, Dialogue and Influence”
With Djaimilia Pereira de Almeida, Richard Zimler, and Carlos Vaz Marques
OPERA FOR CHILDREN
Musical Direction: António Wagner Diniz
May 29 | Thursday | 2:30 PM || Capuchos Convent
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Bastien and Bastienne KV 50
António Geraldo – Bastien
Laura Matadinho Martins – Bastienne
Diogo Chaves – Colas
Pedro Vieira de Almeida – Pianist
Afonso Cardoso – Presenter
CAPUCHOS PRELUDES
May 31 | Saturday | 6:00 PM || Joaquim Benite Municipal Theater
CAPUCHOS PRELUDE 1
“Between Worlds: About the Capuchos Festival 2025”
Pre-concert talk with João Almeida and Filipe Pinto-Ribeiro
June 7 | Saturday | 6:00 PM || Joaquim Benite Municipal Theater
CAPUCHOS PRELUDE 2
“About The Naghash Ensemble of Armenia”
Pre-concert talk with João Almeida and John Hodian
June 19 | Thursday | 5:00 PM || Capuchos Convent
CAPUCHOS PRELUDE 3
“About Pierre Boulez, on the centenary of his birth”
Pre-concert talk with João Almeida and Sérgio Azevedo
CAPUCHOS WALK
June 7 | Saturday || 10:00 AM
Protected Landscape of the Fossil Cliff of Costa da Caparica
CAPUCHOS VISIT
June 19 | Thursday | 3:00 PM | Capuchos Convent
Guided tour of the historical heritage of the Capuchos Convent
CAPUCHOS MASTERCLASSES
June 28 | Saturday | 10:00 AM || Capuchos Convent
Violin: with Esther Hoppe, Professor at the University of Salzburg
Viola: with Lars Anders Tomter, Professor at the University of Oslo
Cello: with Christian Poltéra, Professor at the University of Lucerne
All information at: FESTIVALCAPUCHOS.COM