Reading of Os Lusíadas, Canto IV, stanzas 94–104 by Luiz Vaz de Camões, read by Miguel Azguime
György Ligeti: Ramifications (1969)
Alban Berg – 3 pieces for string orchestra from the Lyric Suite (1925–26 / arr. Theo Verbey, 1993)
Toru Takemitsu: Requiem for string orchestra (1957)
Bruno Gabirro: Rebel (Chaos) (2008)
Carlos Brito Dias: “was birgst du so bang dein Gesicht?” (2022)
The concert by the Braga Sinfonietta, conducted by Rita Castro Blanco, offers an intense journey through the most striking styles of string orchestra composition from the 20th and 21st centuries, exploring the expressive and timbral limits of this ensemble. By bringing together works from different geographical regions and generations, the concert builds a continuous dialogue between the legacy of modernism and the creativity of our time, revealing how music can become a space for confrontation, introspection and transformation.
The programme opens with three movements from Alban Berg’s Lyric Suite, in a version for string orchestra that heightens the expressive intensity and restless lyricism of this seminal work of the Second Viennese School. Berg’s music, deeply human and charged with emotional tension, already echoes the fractures of a changing world.
This is followed by György Ligeti’s Ramifications, an emblematic piece in which the subtle pitch division between two string sections creates an unstable and vibrant soundscape. Its micro-polyphonic textures give rise to a musical fabric in constant flux, where the sound seems to oscillate between density and dissolution.
With Tōru Takemitsu’s Requiem for String Orchestra, the concert enters a realm of profound contemplation. Written in memory of one of the composer’s mentors, this work has become one of the most intense pieces of 20th-century Japanese music, in which silence, resonance and timbre create an atmosphere of contemplation and poetic solemnity.
The vitality of contemporary Portuguese creativity is evident in two works which, in different ways, engage with the idea of resistance implicit in the festival’s theme. In Rebel (Chaos), Bruno Gabirro explores an incisive and energetic style of composition, where the musical gesture asserts itself with vigour and contrast. Meanwhile, was birgst du so bang dein Gesicht? by Carlos Brito Dias, whose title echoes a verse from the Germanic tradition, evokes an interrogative and introspective dimension, as if the music sought to reveal what remains hidden beneath the surface of human experience.
In this context, the concert by the Sinfonietta de Braga offers a listening experience that goes beyond the mere aesthetic gesture to assert itself as a sensitive reflection on our times. Between lyricism, tension and contemplation, these works remind us that music remains a privileged space for imagining, questioning and reinventing the world.
Founded in 2006 and restructured in 2016, the Braga Sinfonietta is dedicated to the mission of fostering musical careers, educating audiences and revitalising the cultural scene, with a particular focus on the Braga region. Cultivating an artistic portfolio centred on quality and musical diversity, Sinfonietta has established itself today as one of the main pillars of culture in the region, with the support of the municipalities of Braga, Esposende, Monção and Bragança, as well as sustained support from DGArtes since 2023.
In addition to its own programme, centred on the projects Falando de Música, Festival Arcada and Re:Opera, Sinfonietta de Braga has collaborated with various initiatives and institutions, participating in festivals and cultural cycles such as the Ciclo Contraponto, at the Theatro Circo, Braga’s Holy Week, Viagem de Inverno/Braga é Natal and Braga Barroca. In 2025, it released its first album, entitled Arco da Corda Nova, in which it joins forces with guitarist Artur Caldeira to explore traditional Portuguese music with a string orchestra.
Rita Castro Blanco is one of the leading Portuguese female conductors of her generation, having made her debut with the Gulbenkian Orchestra, the Lisbon Metropolitan Orchestra, the Orquestra das Beiras, the Orquestra do Norte, the Espinho Classical Orchestra and the MPMP. From September 2019 to January 2022, she held the post of Principal Conductor of the Huddersfield Philharmonic Orchestra.
In addition to her numerous debuts, the young conductor has worked professionally as an assistant to Nuno Coelho (Gulbenkian Orchestra, JONDE), Joana Carneiro (Portuguese Symphony Orchestra) and Clark Rundell (Gulbenkian Orchestra). During her studies at the Royal Northern College of Music, she also served as an assistant with the BBC Philharmonic, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Manchester Camerata and the Halle Orchestra, working with conductors such as Sir Mark Elder, Vasily Petrenko, Elim Chan, John Storgards, Joana Carneiro, Ed Gardner and Simone Young.
Since the beginning of her studies, she has taken part in masterclasses with the orchestras of the Royal Opera House, the London Sinfonietta, the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra and the Balthasar Neumann Ensemble. Last summer she was a Conducting Fellow at the renowned Tanglewood Festival, and also took part in the Mentorship for Women Conductors at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence and the Conducting Fellowship at the Lucerne Festival, both in 2021. Her most recent engagements include debuts with the Staatstheater Darmstadt and the Casa da Música Symphony Orchestra.
