In this year of 2024, marking the 50th anniversary of April 25th, the Bragança ClassicFest International Music Festival continues its mission of democratic access to artistic excellence. Since 2021, it has brought to Bragança renowned orchestras and musicians – such as the Vienna and St. Petersburg Chamber Orchestras, the Asturias Symphony Orchestra, violinists Esther Hoppe, Mario Hossen, and Diana Tischenko, singers Lena Belkina and Julia Muzychenko, violist Gérard Caussé, clarinetist Pascal Moraguès, among many other distinguished artists – for memorable concerts sold out by an enthusiastic and multigenerational audience.

Starting on October 1st, World Music Day, and continuing for two weeks, the 4th CLASSICFEST transforms Bragança into the epicenter of classical music in Portugal, with an eclectic and captivating program that promotes the celebration of community life through the universal language of Music.

Among the artists and ensembles featured in this 4th edition, two exceptional performers stand out right from the Opening Concert: the Samuil sisters – soprano Anna and violinist Tatiana – both highly awarded soloists in the world’s leading international competitions, who come to Bragança to present, in its Portuguese premiere, their latest recording project, “Il Mondo Felice.”

Other highlights of the 4th BRAGANÇA CLASSICFEST program are the concerts by two internationally renowned orchestras:

The Paris Symphony Orchestra “Consuelo”, one of the most audacious orchestral projects of recent years, will perform Ludwig van Beethoven’s extraordinary Symphonies No. 6 and 8 on October 5th, thus continuing the Complete Beethoven Symphonies at BRAGANÇA CLASSICFEST, which began in 2023 with the 5th Symphony by the Asturias Symphony Orchestra.

At the Closing Concert on October 12th, the Venice Baroque Orchestra “I Solisti Veneti”, founded in 1959 and regarded as one of the most prestigious baroque orchestras of recent decades – with an extraordinary career of over 6,000 concerts in around 90 countries, and approximately 350 albums recorded for leading labels – will present a concert entirely devoted to the music of the famous Venetian composer Antonio Vivaldi.

This 4th edition will also be marked by the celebration of the 500th anniversary of the birth of Luís Vaz de Camões, with a diptych of concerts dedicated to the greatest poet of the Portuguese language, performed by leading ensembles, namely the Concerto Atlântico, conducted by its founder Pedro Caldeira Cabral, and Sete Lágrimas, under the direction of Filipe Faria and Sérgio Peixoto.

It is also worth highlighting the staging of tribute concerts honoring two major figures of Portuguese culture in recent decades:

António Victorino d’Almeida, whose 70-year career we celebrate in the presence of the composer and pianist himself, in a Carte Blanche concert featuring several guest artists.

António Mega Ferreira, whose literary work will be evoked through the performance of music he favored, notably the famous cycle Pictures at an Exhibition, accompanied by readings by Pedro Lamares and Filipa Leal from an anthology of texts specially selected for this tribute by Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, Graça Morais, Simonetta Luz Afonso, Guilherme d’Oliveira Martins, Margarida Pinto Correia, among others.

And, last but not least, special mention goes to the concerts by the Schostakovich and Juventus Ensembles, featuring both renowned musicians and young talents, performing works by great composers: from Mendelssohn to Dvořák, from Beethoven to Shostakovich.

Alongside the nine concerts of this 4th edition, the BRAGANÇA CLASSICFEST continues its important educational and cultural awareness mission, offering masterclasses and meetings with participating artists, specially aimed at musicians and students from the city and the surrounding region.

An important hallmark of the BRAGANÇA CLASSICFEST, since its first edition, is the presentation of concerts in venues of great heritage value. In 2024, this takes place in the Churches of São Francisco and Santa Maria, creating a meaningful intersection between Music and the Historical, Cultural, and Architectural Heritage of the Bragança region.

This 4th edition thus continues the path of consolidating BRAGANÇA CLASSICFEST as a cultural event of excellence, both nationally and internationally, contributing to the dynamism and prosperity of the region.

Our heartfelt thanks go to all those who make the BRAGANÇA CLASSICFEST International Music Festival possible, starting with the essential 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 patron, BPI/Fundação “la Caixa”. We also extend our gratitude to the Directorate-General for the Arts, the Diocese of Miranda-Bragança, media partner RTP Antena 2, and, especially, His Excellency the President of the Republic, for the High Patronage graciously granted once again.