Date
3/3/2026

The Symphony Orchestra of the School of Applied Arts (ESART) of the Polytechnic Institute of Castelo Branco (IPCB) returned on 27 February to the city’s Cine-Teatro Avenida auditorium for a concert conducted by Miguel Romea.

After a week of rehearsals with the founder of the Extremadura Youth Orchestra, in what was the second annual training course of the ESART-IPCB, the students presented two pillars of 19th-century Russian music: Ruslan and Loudmila Overture, by Mikhail Glinka, the father of the nationalist school, and Scheherazade, op.35, by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, composed in 1888 and heavily influenced by traditional music.

‘This repertoire is technically very difficult, but there are also moments of brilliance,’ explains the Spanish conductor. ‘The saturation, brilliance and colours of Russian music are a demonstration of tonal and orchestral range.’ In Scandinavian music, on the other hand, ‘the beauty is more organic, less harsh’, impressing with its proportion. ‘With the sound of the grand piano and the orchestra, it’s a wonderful mix.’

Added to this is the participation of António Rosado, renowned for his elegant interpretations and versatile repertoire for solo piano and chamber music, who performed the Concerto for Piano and Orchestra composed in 1868 by Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg, as well as some of the most popular pieces of Romanticism. This is the Portuguese pianist’s debut in one of the ‘best-known concerts in a repertoire that gives prominence to the soloist’ and which, ‘in addition to its melodic beauty, also has important touches of virtuosity’.

As for the musicians of ESART-IPCB, ‘the level is extraordinary,’ admits Miguel Romea. ‘Beyond their serious and profound work, they have the desire to build something special. And this attitude in rehearsals, which are hard and intense, is everything to achieve incredible results’ such as the ‘sound festival,’ he concludes, which the audience was able to enjoy. “The lack of experience compared to a professional orchestra is made up for by the enthusiasm and joy of youth,” adds António Rosado. “It’s always exciting to make music with them.”

The next day, the group headed to the large auditorium of the Portimão Municipal Theatre for a concert as part of the 10th Algarve International Piano Festival.