It's a debut, but also a reunion. THE Portuguese Philharmonic Orchestra (OFP) will perform, for the first time, at Teatro das Figuras, in Faro, on the 9th of February, and will be directed by conductor Osvaldo Ferreira, who was once director of the Faro cultural space and has a strong connection to the Algarve.
O Sul Informação spoke with Osvaldo Ferreira about his return to Faro, where he will present a project he co-founded in 2016. According to the conductor, this performance has everything to become memorable.
In this first performance in the Algarve capital, the OFP will be accompanied by Raúl da Costa, "one of the most talented pianists of today and, who knows, the one who will become almost a second Maria João Pires, in terms of international projection."
The pianist invited to accompany the Portuguese Philharmonic Orchestra in this concert «is making a brilliant career in Germany, he has won international competitions and competitions», so «in a way, he was lucky to have accepted to come and play with us».
“We are going to play very popular works that people like. We have Tchaikovsky's piano concerto, which breaks box office records and which people love a lot, especially when it is played by a virtuoso. And then we have what is one of the most beautiful works of the romantic period, the 3rd Symphony by Johannes Brahms, which also has well-known pieces», said Osvaldo Ferreira.
"I think we have a very interesting poster and that it will be a great night of concert music from the romantic period," he stressed.
The conductor confesses that it will be "a pleasure" to play in Faro, since Teatro das Figuras «is a beautiful auditorium». “And I don't say it for the sake of saying. I am, in a way, silver of the house. It's been another decade that I've worked here and I know it has the best acoustic conditions around the world. Teatro das Figuras has this particularity of being a room where you can hear music at the highest level», he said.
«From the affective point of view, this is also a special night for me. I would love to have a full house, because I worked here for a decade and left many friends in the Algarve», he confessed to Sul Informação.
The history of the Portuguese Philharmonic Orchestra, which Osvaldo Ferreira helped found in 2016, is linked to the Algarve. «Our first program was made in partnership with a festival in the North and with the Auditório de Lagoa. Since then, we have been to the region several times. Now, finally, let's go to Faro, which is a city that has a very loyal audience to classical music», he said.
And the relationship with the region couldn't be going better: «All the concerts we gave in the region are sold out», revealed the former director of Teatro das Figuras, director of Orquestra do Algarve and programmer of “Allgarve”.
As such, it is no wonder that in March, Osvaldo Ferreira will come to Loulé for a “very intense” week and bring the OFP with him. «Paulo Pires, the programmer of Cine-Teatro Louletano, and Dália Paulo [Municipal Director CM Loulé] decided to invite a group of personalities, some of them to do artistic residencies, including myself. The idea is to go to schools, motivate children, talk about education and the world of music», he explained.
“On the other hand, at night I will speak to the general public about art and music. On one of the nights, the pianist who will be the soloist at the weekend concert will give a small recital, with comments. On Friday, I will bring a group of musicians to make a “White Letter with Osvaldo Ferreira”, in which we will play a game with music from the baroque to our days», he added.
On Saturday, the conductor will give a teaching masterclass for ropes, «based on the new methodologies, especially the Suzuki method, which I brought to Portugal 20 years ago».
This visit to Loulé ends with a concert by the Portuguese Philharmonic Orchestra at the Cine-Teatro Louletano, but conducted by conductor Tobias Volkman.
OFP is a young formation, not only because of its little more than two years of existence, but also because it invests a lot in youth.
“Many of our musicians are in their early 20s. Of course we also have some more experienced musicians, namely the heads of the suit. This generation that has now been formed is the best ever of Portuguese musicians», he said.
“Many of our employees are out there working, studying and completing PhDs. Come on purpose to play with us. Here we have musicians with individual projects of great quality», assured the conductor, to the Sul Informação.
At the moment, the OFP «has about 180 collaborators», some of whom take turns in concerts. "In Faro, we are going to perform with about 60 musicians. But we already did a Rite of Spring, last year, with a hundred musicians».
This youth helps Osvaldo Ferreira's vision of a classical music concert, which should be fun and interactive and not something too formal. “At the concert we gave in Olhão [last week], people ended up standing, singing with the soloist. I warned right away, in a small intervention I made, that what would be most difficult for whoever was watching was to stay quiet and not sing and dance (laughs)», said the conductor.
Photos: Hugo Rodrigues|Sul Informação
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