Amigos de Música are organising four concerts this month in the auditorium of Os Agostos country estate near Santa Bárbara de Nêxe.
On Wednesday, December 9, Anne Kaasa will play pieces by Haydn and Beethoven in the morning and compositions by Haydn, Beethoven and Chopin in the evening.
On Thursday, December 10, Anne will be joined by cellist Maria José Falcão. In the morning they will play compositions by Brahms and Chopin and in the evening music by Beethoven, Brahms and Chopin.
Anne Kaasa is a Norwegian pianist who studied at the conservatory in Trondheim and then in Paris. In 1990, Anne won the Teresa Vieira prize in Portugal and has since been living in Lisbon. She teaches at the National Conservatory of Lisbon and has played at many prestigious venues including the Wigmore Hall in London, St Petersburg’s Sheremetev Palace, Oslo’s Gamle Logen and the Liszt Museum in Budapest.
Anne has performed with many leading orchestras including the Gulbenkian, Baden-Baden Philharmonic and Lisbon Sinfonietta. As a chamber musician, Anne has partnered with celebrated Norwegian cellist Truls Mørk and violinist Arve Tellefsen.
With an extensive repertoire from Bach to contemporary music, Anne has collaborated with a number of composers who have dedicated their compositions to her.
In 2002, with the Gulbenkian Orchestra, she gave the world premiere of Philippe Fénelon’s Concerto No. 2 that was dedicated to her. Anne has recorded for radio and television throughout Europe and her CD recordings have been enthusiastically reviewed.
Maria José Falcão is the principal cellist of the Gulbenkian Orchestra as well as the Orquestra Sinfónica da Emissora Nacional. She began her music studies when she was six and later graduated with the highest honours from the National Conservatory of Lisbon.
She continued her studies in Paris with Paul Tortelier, the famed cellist who briefly taught Jacqueline du Pré.
From 1976 until 1990, Maria José lived in Lausanne where she was the cello soloist in the Chamber Orchestra as well as being a professor at the local music conservatory.
She has twice received England’s Guilhermina Suggia Award named after the Porto-born cellist who became one of the first women to make a professional career of playing the cello.
These Amigos de Música concerts at Os Agostos will take place in the auditorium.
For the matinée, doors will open at 10am and the concert will begin at 11am. Coffee and biscuits will be available for self-service.
For the evening performance, doors will open at 6pm and the concert will begin at 7pm. There will be wine, fruit juices and canapés available for self-service.
Entry donation is €25 per person for guests and non-members payable in advance by bank transfer (see website).
The Amigos de Música is an international group of around 90 members who stage musical activities by internationally renowned musicians and sponsor young Portuguese musicians.
For concert bookings, email [email protected]
For more information about the Amigos de Música including concert programmes, bookings, safety measures for Covid-19 and driving instructions to Os Agostos visit www.amigos-de-musica.org
