The 3rd BRAGANÇA CLASSICFEST International Music Festival presents a program of artistic excellence, consolidating the path set in the 2021 and 2022 editions, which brought to Bragança the brilliance of renowned orchestras and musicians – such as the Vienna and St. Petersburg Chamber Orchestras, Gérard Caussé, Diana Tischenko, Héctor del Curto, Mario Hossen, Lena Belkina, Marcelo Nisinman, among others – for memorable concerts sold out by an enthusiastic audience.

In 2023, Bragança once again becomes the epicenter of classical music in Portugal for about two weeks, as is customary around World Music Day, October 1st, with an engaging program and the presence of nationally and internationally renowned musicians.

Highlighting right from the start are the opening concerts of the BRAGANÇA CLASSICFEST with one of Spain’s leading orchestras, the Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias (OSPA). Under the direction of its Principal Conductor since 2022, the Portuguese Nuno Coelho, OSPA will present two concerts in the magnificent hall of the Teatro Municipal de Bragança, performing masterpieces of the musical heritage: Beethoven’s 5th Symphony and Dvořák’s 9th Symphony, “From the New World.”

An extraordinary opportunity to also hear two landmark concert works by Mozart and Tchaikovsky, featuring two outstanding soloists – violinist Esther Hoppe and cellist Christian Poltéra – performing on magnificent instruments made by Antonio Stradivari (Stradivarius), born in Cremona in 1644 and considered by many the greatest maker/luthier of all time.

Also noteworthy in this edition of BRAGANÇA CLASSICFEST is the presence of two renowned musicians, particularly in the world of wind instruments: the celebrated French clarinetist Pascal Moraguès, Principal Soloist of the Orchestre de Paris and part of the global elite for four decades, and Portuguese flutist Adriana Ferreira, Principal Soloist of the Orchestra Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome and prizewinner in major international competitions.

Another highlight of the 3rd BRAGANÇA CLASSICFEST is the Portuguese debut of soprano Julia Muzychenko, a rising star on the global opera scene, laureate of major international singing competitions, including the Clermont Ferrand Opera Competition (1st Prize), the Montserrat Caballé Competition (2nd Prize), and the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Belgium (3rd Prize).

In 2023, BRAGANÇA CLASSICFEST also continues to serve as a stage for young and talented Portuguese musicians at the beginning of their careers, some of whom are based abroad and thus return and maintain a strong connection with Portugal.

The musical repertoire of this 3rd edition spans four centuries, from the Baroque of Johann Sebastian Bach to 21st-century music by the Argentine composer Osvaldo Golijov, encompassing the great composers of Classical and Romantic music, as well as 20th-century music, notably Spanish music by Joaquín Turina and Portuguese music by Fernando Lopes-Graça.

The Closing Concert of the 3rd BRAGANÇA CLASSICFEST is an excellent example of the stylistic and international variety of this edition's repertoire, culminating in the famous and festive "Carnival of the Animals, Grand Zoological Fantasy", a humorous work composed by the French composer Camille Saint-Saëns in 1886, which on this special occasion will feature narration by Jorge Vaz de Carvalho of humorous texts written by António Mega Ferreira.

Alongside the concerts, the 3rd BRAGANÇA CLASSICFEST continues its important educational and cultural awareness axis, inaugurated in the 2022 edition, with the organization of masterclasses and meetings, featuring the participation of the artists present at the festival and specially aimed at musicians and students from the city and the region.

An important hallmark of BRAGANÇA CLASSICFEST, since its 1st edition, is the staging of concerts in spaces of great heritage value, as happens in 2023 at the Churches of São Francisco, Sé Velha, and Santa Maria, in a salutary crossing between Music and the Historical, Cultural, and Architectural Heritage of the Bragança region.

This 3rd edition of BRAGANÇA CLASSICFEST thus aims to consolidate the festival as a cultural event of excellence, on a national and international scale, contributing to the dynamism and prosperity of the region and promoting universal access to Culture and the celebration of community life, through the extraordinary universal language that is Music.

My heartfelt thanks to all who make possible the realization of the BRAGANÇA CLASSICFEST International Music Festival, beginning with the fundamental support of the Bragança City Council, the Bragança Municipal Theatre, and the DSCH Musical Association, promoters and organizers of this commendable initiative, as well as the festival’s principal patron, BPI/Fundação “la Caixa”.

I also extend my thanks to the Directorate-General for the Arts, the Diocese of Miranda-Bragança, our media partner RTP Antena 2, and especially to His Excellency the President of the Republic, for once again granting the High Patronage.