«With open arms», with concerts throughout the region and «redoubled enthusiasm, week after week». This is how Orquestra do Algarve views the 2023-2024 program, presented, for the first time, in full. One of the highlights will take place in May, with a concert celebrating the 200th anniversary of Beethoven's 9th Symphony.
The presentation of the program took place in the late afternoon of this Wednesday, September 13th, at rooftop (terrace) of Hotel EVA, in Faro.
In statements to the Sul Informação, Martim Sousa Tavares, conductor of Orquestra do Algarve, considered that this concert of Beethoven's 9th Symphony, which will feature more than 90 artists on stage, including musicians, soloists and choristers, is the highlight of the program.
«Beethoven's 9th Symphony is an unavoidable milestone and also an affirmation of this orchestra's ambition, because it is a difficult project to put together, but very rewarding. So it’s one of those unmissable things,” he said.
«I think everyone should see a Beethoven 9th once in their life. And I think everyone has that curiosity, so this concert will, without a doubt, be one of the most sought after», he added.
The concert will take place Faro (the 10th) and two other locations, the 11th and 12th, which are not yet confirmed.
But the program has much more to offer, such as the Christmas concerts, in which you can listen to the work “Magnificat” by JS Bach, with the presence of the Community Choir of the Orquestra do Algarve and solo singers.
Conductor Jan Wierzba will be directed and there will be concerts on December 21st (location yet to be defined), 22nd (Lagos) and 23rd (Tavira).
Another highlight is the concert by conductor and pianist Dinis Sousa, director of the Royal Northern Sinfonia and Orchestra XXI. There will be two sessions: on January 26th, in a location yet to be confirmed and, the following day, in Lagoa.
Before that, the traditional New Year's concert will have already taken place, a habituee of the Orquestra do Algarve: day 1 in Loulé, 5 in Portimão and 6 in Faro.
In May, there will be a concert with the maestro Nuno Coelho, who will make his debut in the Algarve, and pianist Pedro Costa (17, location yet to be defined, and 18, in Lagos).
For Martim Sousa Tavares, there is, in this program, a «richness of conductors, soloists, repertoires and new things».
«I think there are few, if any, concerts that are not guided by this diversity. And therefore, any page that opens of this document [programming] will bring something that stimulates the curiosity of those who like music», he considered, speaking to our newspaper.
Furthermore, this is a program “with open arms” towards the region. «We have initiatives in schools, family programming, even chamber music in less obvious places», reinforced the maestro.
Conceiving this lineup of concerts was not “difficult”, according to Martim Sousa Tavares, because it was done with “a lot of enthusiasm”.
«Sometimes, the difficult part was almost leaving some things out. The following 2024/2025 season is also almost completely designed. So sometimes it's a bit of a hassle to do a tetris of what look good with what, combine availability. Of course, certain things we wanted won't be available this year, they will be available next year,” he said.
The fact that, for the first time, Orquestra do Algarve presents the complete program is also an «affirmation of the strength» of this entity.
«It is also an affirmation of the artistic relevance of this institution. He has been in the Algarve for more than 20 years doing public service and now he is taking a leap to capture the attention of other people because, whoever is interested in certain repertoires, will only find them here », he concluded.
The complete schedule can be consulted here
Comments