Viseu Spring Festival kicks off this Tuesday with the Portuguese Guitar and Mandolin Orchestra

Daily

Orquestra Portuguesa de Guitarras e Mandolins, under the direction of main conductor Hélder Magalhães and with the artistic direction of António Vieira, opens the festival program at Teatro Viriato, in a debut for the group in Viseu

Photographer: Krystallenia Batziou

It’s this Tuesday (April 2) that another edition of the Viseu Spring International Music Festival begins. The Orquestra Portuguesa de Guitarras e Mandolins, under the direction of main conductor Hélder Magalhães and with the artistic direction of António Vieira, opens the program at Teatro Viriato, in the group’s debut in Viseu.

In a diverse program that highlights the versatility of the guitar and mandolin, the repertoire covers works such as “Canções do Outro Lado da Rua” by Fernando C. Lapa to “La Légende de Ulysses” by Francesco Civitareale, including “Tanz Suite nº 2 ” by Takashi Kubota and “Il Sogno del Pesciolino” by Eduardo Angulo, offering the public a rich sound tapestry that explores different styles and eras.

This event is a celebration of musical innovation, marked by collaboration between renowned musicians and the presentation of works that reflect contemporaneity and tradition in composition for guitar and mandolin.

“The soloist is Pedro Rodrigues, professor at the University of Aveiro and one of the great guitarists of today”, stated José Carlos Sousa, the festival’s artistic director, when presenting the initiative.

This year’s program will feature two dozen concerts taking place in different spaces around the city and a competition that attracted some of the best guitarists of the new generation, according to the organizers.

On April 3rd, the second day of the festival, Margarita Escarpa, one of today’s most acclaimed classical guitarists, will present a concert at the Grão Vasco National Museum, at 7pm. The repertoire ranges from the Renaissance with “Honze Diferencias de folías” by the little-known Mendoza to the contemporary era of Fernando N. Lobo, including emblematic pieces by Dionisio Aguado, Federico Moreno-Torroba, and Antonio Lauro.

On Wednesday there is also the presentation of Opus Duo, at 9 pm, also at the Grão Vasco National Museum. The duo is composed of Francisco Berény Domingues (guitar) and Tiago Azevedo and Silvia (cello). Formed in 2019, the group has already performed concerts in Paris, Trani (Italy), Florence (Italy), Lucerne (Switzerland), and at several festivals in Portugal.

Another of the highlights of the first week of the festival will be the final of the 6th Viseu International Guitar Competition, which had 27 entries from 14 countries: Belgium, Croatia, France, Greece, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Mexico, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, South Korea, Spain and Ukraine.

According to José Carlos Sousa, after a first selection phase through video recordings, 17 guitarists will perform in Viseu. Portugal has never had a competitor in the final of the competition, and the artistic director is convinced that this could happen this year, on the 6th.

“Our conviction is that there are very good Portuguese competitors, who are studying abroad and can reach the final”, said the person in charge, remembering that the winner will win six thousand euros, a guitar with an estimated value of eight thousand euros and the opportunity to play at four international festivals (Bratislava, Seville, Fundão and Viseu).

Until the 20th, the concerts will take place in places such as the Grão Vasco National Museum, the Viriato Theater, the Aula Magna of the Polytechnic of Viseu, the Misericórdia Church, the Emídio Navarro Secondary School Auditorium and the Multipurpose Pavilion.