July  |  August

                                             

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ESTORIL  FESTIVAL

The Estoril Music Festival was created in 1975 within the Estoril International Music Summer Courses, founded in 1962. 

As an essential complement to the courses; the Festival has favoured the presence of artists, who from their activities or teaching experience, serve as a reference to all that attend the access to the Festival; therefore acting as a strong incentive to younger ones. 

On the other hand, the present criteria adopted on programming, not diverging from what was established since the Festival’s foundation; has tried through a wide thematic variety, to enrich the Portuguese cultural life, with particular emphasis on young students. Following this schedule, it provides a range of fields including performances of chamber, symphonic, choral music; as well as traditional, jazz and dance; ancient music and solo recitals, combining artists and ensembles of worldwide reputation; well- established or beginning a career. 

The Festival’s contribution to the divulging of premières, shows a spread of over more than three hundred presented for the first time in Portugal such as pieces by Messiaen, Berenguel, Mayuzumi, Brouwer, Ligeti, Webern, Eisler, Ohana, Luis de Pablo, Cage, Donatoni, Malipiero, Copland, Tomasi, Poulenc, Lopes-Graça, Dessau, Olavide, Braga Santos, Feldman, Peixinho, Bernaola and so on; and many as world premières. With this dynamic the Festival reaches annually larger eclectic audience as promoter of the new project Mare Nostrum. 

Outstanding artists and ensembles gave his contribution to Festival’s life, such as Rostropovich, Nureyev, Ricci, Berganza, Marceau, Badura-Skoda, Ludwig, Ciccolini, Kitaenko, Janowitz, Tortelier, Krainev, Fassbaender, Katsaris, Caussé, Baumgartner, Varga, Ponce, Lysy, Gismonti, Istomin, Smith, Moscow Philharmonic, Hungarian National Philharmonic, Virtuosi of Berlin Philharmonic, Mexico National Symphony, EU Chamber Orchestra, EU Baroque Chamber Orchestra, Ferenc Liszt Chamber Orchestra, Lucerne Festival Strings, Hilliard Ensemble, Pro Cantione Antiqua, Camerata Lysy, Opera of Tibet, Spain National Ballet, Nice Opera Ballet, China National Dance, SamulNori (Korea), Calcutá Dance Ensemble. Orfeón Donostiarra, Gulbenkian Choir, Michael Nyman Band, The Stars of Faith, Kodaly Quartet, Bulgarian Quartet, among many others; as well as master-classes, with Boulanger, Lefebure, Eisenberg, Schipa, Végh, Schilawsky, Engel, Gendron, Koster, Rodrigo, Ciccolini, Françaix, Streicher, Costa, de Pablo, Janowitz, Tortelier, Varga, Smith, Badura-Skoda and many others. 

Benefiting of many spaces located along the Atlantic coast, between Estoril and Lisbon; including national historic buildings such as the Jeronimos Monastery and the Belem Tower; the new Auditório Parque Palmela and the Auditório Europa; churches of Estoril and Cascais; or Lisbon major halls such as the St. Carlos National Opera Theatre; the Festival grants to its public (during the months of July and August) the opportunity of attending to programmes which roughly present artists directly involved, and productions originally conceived by the Festival itself; celebrating important events of the musical heritage.  

Estoril is located 20 km away from Lisbon in one of the most beautiful areas of Portuguese Atlantic Coast. Among several items of interest, it includes Cabo da Roca, the most western point of continental Europe. Owing to its mild climatic conditions it is sometimes known as “Portuguese Riviera, the land of the two springs”.  

Since 1983 Estoril Festival is the Portuguese representative in the European Festivals Association, www.estorilfestival.net.