Casa da Música, in Porto, today kicks off the year dedicated to Portugal with the “À Nossa!” cycle, which begins with a concert by pianist António Areal.
The concert is also the first of the year in the piano cycle and will include pieces by Haydn, Robert Schumann, Liszt’s “The Death of Isolde” and Chopin’s Ballade No. 4.
“A season guided by Portuguese music and musicians, be they composers, soloists or conductors, or even by the works of those inspired by Portugal. This is the motto for 2024 at Casa da Música,” can be read on the institution’s website.
Casa da Música recalls that pianist Pedro Emanuel Pereira will begin the full Prokofieff piano concerts on the 12th, also marking the return to Porto of conductor Paul Hillier, on the 14th, to conduct the choir performing “Tres Líricas Castelhanas de Camões” and “Tres Canções Regionais Portuguesas” by Fernando Lopes-Graça, as well as works by Duarte Lobo and Carlos Caires.
The institution also highlights the Remix Ensemble concert on the 21st, which will feature “Three speeches and a technique” by the season’s composer-in-residence, Vasco Mendonça, and “Duktus” by Emmanuel Nunes.
On January 26, the Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto, with baritone André Baleiro as soloist and under the direction of Nuno Coelho, will bring Lopes-Graça’s “História Trágico-Marítima” to the stage of the Suggia hall, in what is the first time it has been played in Porto, and Debussy’s “La Mer”.
Throughout the year, Casa da Música will host Maria João Pires, Artur Pizarro and Mário Laginha, the works of Jorge Peixinho and Constança Capdeville, the music of the Baroque and Portuguese Classicism, a tribute to José Afonso and expressions ranging from Manuel Cruz to Paolo Novaes.
“We thought it was time to close the cycle of country themes [which began in 2007] and it made sense to focus on Portuguese music and musicians, especially this year when we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of April 25, the country’s greatest historical event in the 20th century,” explained the artistic director of Casa da Música, António Jorge Pacheco, at the press conference to present the program for 2024.
