The Bragança ClassicFest- International Music Festival was launched last year and returns from 30 September to the 9 October with a total of seven concerts, four of which will take place at the Bragança Municipal Theatre, with three concerts taking place at the churches of Sé, Santa Maria and São Francisco in the city.


The concerts in the churches are free of charge and those in the municipal theatre will have a price of seven euros, which in the opinion of the Mayor of Bragança, Hernâni Dias sets this event apart by "allowing people to enjoy this music in the most affordable way".


The municipality is one of the partners of the festival, whose program was presented and whose artistic director is the Portuguese musician Filipe Pinto-Ribeiro, who will also perform in the event which starts on September 30 with the Vienna Chamber Orchestra (Austria).


The famous orchestra has a second concert scheduled for the 1 October, on World Music Day, with soloists Mário Hossen and Gerad Caussé.


The festival also has the presence of other genres of music which includes tango and Portuguese music with the Juventus Ensemble, a new musical project aimed at young musicians.


On 6 October, the Ukrainian violinist Diana Tishchenko presents a recital that will include the world premiere of "The Last Lullaby" by her compatriot Bohdan Sehin, a moment that refers to “the war in Ukraine." The artistic director expressed that "We cannot ignore what we are going through in terms of international reality, of course artists also feel in their activity conditioned and inspired by this reality."


ClassicFest closes on 9 October with another Ukrainian presence and the debut of mezzo-soprano Lena Belkina in Portugal, whose usual presence are the main opera theatres worldwide.


Artistic director, Filipe Pinto-Ribeiro, assured that the program for the second edition of the Bragança ClassicFest is "world-class", highlighting that "it is a pleasure to know that we can bring to Bragança the best in classical music".


For the local mayor, Hernâni Dias, this event will show that "high quality things are also happening in the interior of the country, which could happen anywhere in the world".


The festival, which involves several partners with the sponsorship of the President of the Republic, has an investment of 50 thousand euros from the City Hall, the only amount that has been quantified in relation to the budget of this event.


Although the tickets are free in the three concerts scheduled in churches of Bragança, the public will have to pick up a ticket at the municipal theatre for capacity management, the organisation stated.