Over the past two decades, Casa da Música has hosted more than six thousand concerts, welcoming 3.8 million spectators and participants, and has commissioned over 300 musical works.
Key dates in the construction and development process of Casa da Música:
1997
November 7 — The official candidacy of Porto for the European Capital of Culture in 2001 is presented.
1998
May 28 — European Union Culture Ministers designate Porto and Rotterdam as the European Capitals of Culture for 2001.
September 1 — Culture Minister Manuel Maria Carrilho announces the construction of Casa da Música, as part of Porto 2001.
December 31 — Porto 2001, S.A., a company with exclusively public capital, is established.
1999
January 30 — Artur Santos Silva is appointed to chair Porto 2001.
March 8 — The location is set on a municipal land at Mouzinho de Albuquerque square, initiating the building process.
July 1 — Porto 2001’s Executive Committee selects the proposal led by architect Rem Koolhaas for the project.
November 23 — Teresa Lago succeeds Artur Santos Silva at Porto 2001, with pianist Pedro Burmester on the team.
2002
June 27 — Rui Amaral replaces Teresa Lago at Porto 2001, which is renamed Casa da Música / Porto 2001.
2003
June 18 — In an interview with Jornal de Notícias (JN), Porto 2001 administrator Pedro Burmester claims the City Council is more concerned with issues that “reduce Porto to a village”, sparking responses.
June 20 — Casa da Música / Porto 2001’s board disavows Pedro Burmester following the JN interview.
June 24 — Pedro Burmester states that the conflict with the remaining administration is irreparable.
June 25 — The Ministry of Culture dismisses Casa da Música’s administration for a “break in solidarity and trust” among members, appointing Manuel Alves Monteiro as president.
July 5 — The Ministry of Culture announces Pedro Burmester will remain involved with Casa da Música as a permanent consultant.
2004
February 12 — Casa da Música’s administration announces construction will complete by November 30.
February 20 — Englishman Anthony Whitworth-Jones is named artistic director of the institution.
March 15 — Pedro Burmester steps down from his consultant role.
March 29 — Manuel Alves Monteiro announces Casa da Música’s opening will occur in the first quarter of 2005.
July 20 — The Tribunal de Contas attributes financial overruns of the Casa da Música / Porto 2001 project, from an estimated 182.3 million to 300.9 million euros, to poor planning and budgeting.
September 16 — Manuel Alves Monteiro resigns from the administration.
September 17 — António Fernando Couto dos Santos is elected the new chairman of Casa da Música’s board, with Agostinho Branquinho and Óscar Liberal remaining on the board.
2005
January 20 — The government approves the creation of the Casa da Música Foundation, to be chaired by businessman José António Barros.
April 14 — Casa da Música officially begins activities with concerts by Lou Reed and Clã, with tickets selling out within hours weeks before.
April 15 — At the official inauguration, President Jorge Sampaio criticizes the process leading to Casa da Música’s birth as “not always exemplary”, “rigorous” or “transparent”. The program opens with works by António Pinho Vargas, performed by Remix Ensemble, and works by José Júlio Lopes, Nuno Côrte-Real, and Tomás Henriques, performed by OrquestrUtopica. The Commemorative Concert, in the then Grande Auditório (now Sala Suggia), features overtures and arias by António Victorino d’Almeida, Richard Strauss, Carl Maria von Weber, Donizetti, Gounod, Rossini, Mozart, Massenet, Verdi, and Tchaikovsky, performed by soprano Elisabete Matos, mezzo-soprano Joyce Didonato, tenor Charles Castronovo, bass Alastair Miles, the Orquestra Nacional do Porto (now Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto Casa da Música), and conductor Marc Tardue.
November 7 — Prime Minister José Sócrates announces the foundation model for Casa da Música, with a board consisting of seven members: four representing private interests appointed by the Founders’ Council and three public appointees, including José Manuel Dias da Fonseca as president.
2006
January 28 — Nuno Azevedo is appointed CEO of Casa da Música.
February 7 — Pianist Pedro Burmester is invited to become the institution’s artistic director.
2008
February 21 — The Casa da Música / Porto 2001 company is dissolved.
June 23 — António Jorge Pacheco, previously the program coordinator, is announced as Pedro Burmester’s successor in the role of artistic director.
2010
September 4 — The Orquestra Nacional do Porto changes its name to Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto Casa da Música and debuts in Vienna, Austria.
2012
March 30 — Former minister Valente de Oliveira replaces Artur Santos Silva as chairman of the Founders’ Council.
December 18 — Casa da Música’s board of directors resigns in response to government-announced funding cuts for the institution.
2013
March 22 — The Casa da Música Founders’ Council selects a new board, retaining two members from the resigning board, Teresa Cupertino de Miranda and Dias da Fonseca.
2015
March 27 — The replacement of Dias da Fonseca, after three terms, on Casa da Música’s board by lawyer António Lobo Xavier is announced.
April 15 — Economist and former journalist José Pena do Amaral, previously vice-president, is elected chairman of the board for the Casa da Música Foundation.
2017
May 5 — The government confirms the start of funding restoration to foundations, including Casa da Música.
2018
April 21 — José Pena do Amaral is re-elected chairman of the foundation’s board for the 2018-2020 term.
2020
March 15 — Casa da Música closes its doors as a precautionary measure due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
April 28 — Workers sign a petition demanding the fulfillment of commitments and opposing what they describe as “unworthy solutions” proposed by the foundation.
May 13 — Minister Graça Fonseca announces an inquiry into the institution by the Authority for Working Conditions (ACT).
June 1 — Programming resumes with a free concert by the Baroque Orchestra, with limited capacity to ensure social distancing.
June 18 — Conductor José Luís Borges Coelho resigns from the board in “solidarity disagreement” concerning the handling of ‘precarious’ workers.
June 30 — Minister Graça Fonseca threatens to intervene in Casa da Música if allegations of ‘false green receipts’ are confirmed.
July 24 — ACT refers the case of nine ‘precarious’ workers to the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
August 21 — The Public Prosecutor’s Office files six lawsuits requesting the recognition of employment contracts.
August 21 — Casa da Música announces that seven of the ten technical service providers identified by ACT will be offered employment contracts.
September 4 — Casa da Música states it has offered contracts to 36 workers identified by ACT.
2021
January 29 — The Porto Labor Court denies the integration of five Casa da Música service providers into the institution’s staff. ACT confirms most ‘false green receipts’ identified were regularized.
February 11 — The Porto Labor Court rejects the integration of another seven Casa da Música service providers into the staff.
June 29 — Manager Rui Amorim de Sousa is elected the new president of Casa da Música’s board, replacing Pena do Amaral, with Maria Antónia Portocarrero as CEO.
2022
June 7 — Maria Antónia Portocarrero resigns, citing “strictly personal reasons”.
June 18 — Jornal Público publishes an interview with Pedro Burmester, expressing concerns that “Casa da Música’s mission is in danger”, criticizing the underappreciation of non-classical music.
July 21 — The Founders’ Council approves Carla Castro Chousal as the new CEO.
October 20 — An anonymous complaint accuses Casa da Música of granting commercial benefits to patrons, a claim the foundation refutes, emphasizing “absolute transparency” regarding patrons.
2023
February 1 — Board member Rui Amorim de Sousa asserts in parliament that Casa da Música fulfills “the mission of being a home for all music”.
March 8 — Minister Pedro Adão e Silva states that a new institutional model for Casa da Música should be implemented by the next board in 2024.
2024
May 29 — An international competition is launched to select a new artistic director.
June 27 — The government appoints former Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Luís Campos Ferreira as chairman of the Founders’ Council.
September 18 — Manager Isabel Furtado is chosen as the new chairperson of the board.
October 3 — Rui Sá Morais replaces Carla Chousal as CEO.
November 11 — The Tribunal de Contas confirms illegalities in public contracting between 2017 and 2022 but does not impose fines on responsible parties due to recent procedural improvements. The institution maintains its commitment to public and economic interest.
November 12 — Casa da Música announces Frenchman François Bou as the new artistic director.
