FESTIVAL AND ACADEMY VERÃO CLÁSSICO 2020

Festival and Academy VERÃO CLÁSSICO 2020

General Program: 

26.07.2020, Teatro Thalia: Concert MasterFest I, Opening Fest

28.07.2020, Centro Cultural de Belém: Concert TalentFest I

30.07.2020, Centro Cultural de Belém: Concert TalentFest II

31.07.2020 Teatro Thalia: Concert MasterFest II, Contrasts Fest

01.08.2020, Centro Cultural de Belém: Concert TalentFest III

03.08.2020, Centro Cultural de Belém: Concert TalentFest IV

04.08.2020, Teatro Thalia: Concert MasterFest III, Closing Fest

Introduction by Filipe Pinto-Ribeiro, artistic and pedagogical director:

"Welcome to VERÃO CLÁSSICO 2020!

2020 was expected to be a special year.

First, due to the extraordinary teachers and musicians coming to this sixth edition of VERÃO CLÁSSICO, a Festival and Academy that, year after year, has been established as a cultural initiative of reference, in Portugal and abroad.

2020 is also special because of the 250th anniversary of birth of one of the great composers in the history of music, Ludwig van Beethoven, born in Bonn in 1770.

Another jubilee in 2020 is that of the Italian composer Vincenzo Galilei, father of Galileo Galilei, who was a pivotal character, joining, in music, the practical knowledge to the theoretical, and whose work, within the scope of the Camerata Fiorentina, ended up having as a consequence the invention of opera.

But 2020 is a year that will be indelibly marked in our lives by the very difficult and tragic moments related to the Covid-19 pandemic, moments of uncertainty and fears that we will surely overcome.Due to the difficulties of the past few months, the mobilization of many people and institutions to carry out VERÃO CLÁSSICO was extraordinary, and it is with pride and sense of responsibility that we come to this 6th edition. 

In 2020, for the first time, VERÃO CLÁSSICO takes place in several new locations in the city of Lisbon - Teatro Thalia, Conservatório Nacional, Palácio das Laranjeiras, Palácio Fronteira - and, has it happens since the first edition, at Centro Cultural de Belém and Metropolitana. 

VERÃO CLÁSSICO 2020 Festival presents 7 concerts with repertoire from the 18th to the 21st centuries: 3 concerts MasterFest, with the presence of internationally acclaimed musicians, as well as 4 concerts TalentFest, with the Academy VERÃO CLÁSSICO participants, already awarded nationally and internationally. 

Simultaneously a Festival and an Academy, VERÃO CLÁSSICO 2020 has more than 500 masterclasses/open lessons on technique and musical interpretation, guided by 15 musicians and professors of great international reputation, coming from some of the best orchestras and universities in the world.

For these masterclasses, we receive 200 young musicians in Lisbon, of which 100 are Portuguese and 100 are foreigners from more than 20 countries. 

This edition is highlighted by VERÃO CLÁSSICO debut of Finnish pianist Henri Sigfridsson, winner of the International Beethoven Piano Competition, in 2005, of  Albanian violinist Tedi Papavrami, one of the greatest virtuosos of nowadays, of British flutist Emily Beynon, 1st Orchestra Solo Flute of the Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam, of violist Miguel da Silva, Master in Residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Belgium, and of famous Swedish cellist Frans Helmerson, one of the most respected musicians and Professors of today. 

As usual there are returns of extraordinary musicians who embody the musical family spirit that inspires the entire Festival and Academy: violinists Mihaela Martin and Jack Liebeck, bass player Janne Saksala, oboist Ramón Ortega Quero, pianist Eldar Nebolsin, cellists Gary Hoffman and Kyril Zlotnikov, singer Anna Samuil and clarinetist Pascal Moraguès. 

In 2020, VERÃO CLÁSSICO concerts include a very broad and appealing repertoire, highlighted by Beethoven piano works, played by Henri Sigfridsson and Eldar Nebolsin, and a set of songs from the genius of Bonn, in several languages, such as “Seus lindos olhos”, the only song in Portuguese, sang by Anna Samuil. Several masterpieces will be part of the programs, such as Quartets by Schumann and Dvořák, Trios by Haydn and Bartók, and the humorous Carnival of Animals, by Saint-Saëns, which will close the Festival, on a note of optimism. 

Many thanks to everyone who makes VERÃO CLASSICO possible and to the institutional partners and sponsors of this extraordinary music celebration.

I wish you all an excellent VERÃO CLÁSSICO!"

All information: www.veraoclassico.com