Information
6th BRAGANÇA CLASSIC FEST
Artistic Director: Filipe Pinto-Ribeiro
SEPTEMBER > DECEMBER 2026
Bragança - Portugal
All information in: CLASSICFEST.PT
The 6th Bragança ClassicFest expands to Spain, launches the Bragança ClassicLab and welcomes Milan’s Virtuosi del Teatro alla Scala Orchestra for its Portuguese debut
Budapest Chamber Orchestra, Milan’s Virtuosi del Teatro alla Scala Orchestra, O Bando de Surunyo, Schostakovich Ensemble, Mario Hossen, Philippe Graffin, Claudio Bohórquez, Filipe Pinto-Ribeiro and Maria Rueff are among the highlights of the 2026 edition.
From 12 September to 15 December 2026, Bragança once again establishes itself as a leading destination for classical music with the 6th edition of the Bragança ClassicFest – International Music Festival. Under the artistic direction of Filipe Pinto-Ribeiro, the Festival presents an international programme bringing together prestigious performers, ensembles and European orchestras, fostering encounters between established artists and young talents while bringing music to ever broader and more diverse audiences.
Following five editions marked by artistic excellence and growing recognition, in 2026 ClassicFest takes a further step in its internationalisation with the expansion of its programme to Spain, while simultaneously strengthening its educational dimension through the creation of Bragança ClassicLab, a new platform dedicated to artistic creation, training, research and cultural mediation.
The 2026 edition begins on 12 September at 6:00 pm, at the Church of São Francisco, with a presentation concert by the Juventus Ensemble. The following day, 13 September at 8:00 pm, the same programme will be presented at the Teatro Principal de Zamora, marking a new cross-border partnership and further strengthening cultural cooperation between Portugal and Spain.
The quintet brings together the young musicians Telmo Costa (clarinet), Arieta Liatsi and Alfonso Pinto-Ribeiro (violins), Gustavo Rebelo (viola) and Sofía Torres Durán (cello), representing Portuguese, Greek and Spanish nationalities, in a programme dedicated to Haydn and Mozart.
The main programme opens at the Teatro Municipal de Bragança, the Festival’s alma mater, with one of the major highlights of this edition: the Portuguese debut of Milan’s Virtuosi del Teatro alla Scala Orchestra, an ensemble comprising distinguished musicians from the Teatro alla Scala and the Filarmonica della Scala in Milan.
On 26 September at 9:00 pm and 27 September at 5:00 pm, the orchestra, led by Austro-Bulgarian violinist Mario Hossen, presents two programmes dedicated to Italian music, juxtaposing Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons with virtuosic works by Paganini.
On World Music Day, 1 October at 9:00 pm, the Church of São Francisco welcomes O Bando de Surunyo with a programme dedicated to Music and Poetry of the Iberian Golden Age.
On 3 October at 9:00 pm, at the Teatro Municipal de Bragança, one of the most distinctive projects of the edition brings together Maria Rueff and the DSCH Schostakovich Ensemble, comprising internationally renowned musicians — including Philippe Graffin, Claudio Bohórquez and Thorsten Johanns, among others — in a new version of Camille Saint-Saëns’s The Carnival of the Animals, with texts by António Mega Ferreira. Music, humour and theatre come together in a performance conceived for audiences of all generations.
Music then moves beyond the concert hall: on 4 October at 5:00 pm, at the Anfiteatro do Polis, the brass quintet 100 Caminhos presents The Art of Brass in an open-air concert.
On 9 October at 9:00 pm, at the Church of Santa Maria, Filipe Pinto-Ribeiro presents Liszt, the Virtuoso, a piano recital entirely dedicated to the music of Franz Liszt.
The main programme concludes on 10 October at 9:00 pm, at the Teatro Municipal de Bragança, with Hungarian Splendour, performed by the Budapest Chamber Orchestra, in a celebration of Hungary’s rich musical heritage.
The 2026 edition also marks the launch of Bragança ClassicLab, a new platform that extends the Festival’s activities through artistic creation, training, research and cultural mediation, encompassing artistic residencies, masterclasses, open rehearsals, educational projects and interdisciplinary encounters.
The first edition takes place in December. On 14 December, the Conservatório de Música e Dança de Bragança and the Teatro Municipal host masterclasses and an artistic residency with Esther Hoppe (violin), Lars Anders Tomter (viola), Christian Poltéra (cello), Tiago Pinto-Ribeiro (double bass) and Filipe Pinto-Ribeiro (piano), professors at institutions including the Mozarteum University Salzburg, Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, and University of Aveiro.
The 6th edition concludes on 15 December at 9:00 pm, at the Teatro Municipal de Bragança, with A Christmas Concert, a Music and Literature project bringing works by Franz Schubert and Antonín Dvořák into dialogue with Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol. The concert is preceded by an open rehearsal.
Founded in 2021, Bragança ClassicFest has developed a distinctive identity combining artistic excellence, internationalisation, the promotion of cultural heritage, and a strong commitment to education and audience development. In 2026, the cooperation with Zamora and the launch of Bragança ClassicLab further develop this mission, strengthening the Festival’s international, educational and regional dimensions.
Under the artistic direction of Filipe Pinto-Ribeiro, Bragança ClassicFest is organised by the Municipality of Bragança, Teatro Municipal de Bragança and DSCH – Associação Musical, with the patronage support of the “la Caixa” Foundation.
The full programme, schedules and ticket information are available on the Festival’s official website: https://classicfest.pt/