Violin and Piano Recital | The American Project
Violinist Bruno Monteiro and pianist Joรฃo Paulo Santos present the recital entitled The American Project. The concert aims to introduce Portugal to four works that illustrate the production of American music for violin and piano from the nation's beginnings (late 19th century) to the present day. The program begins with Scott Joplin, one of the first African-American composers who composed the famous Ragtimes that were played on the piano in the halls and bars of the Midwest, and whose piece The Ragtime Dance will be performed, in an arrangement for violin and piano by Itzhak Perlman. They then move on to Aaron Copland and his Sonata for Violin and Piano, where the author constantly alludes to Nature, the prairies and mountains of the Southern United States. After a short intermission, Bruno Monteiro and Joรฃo Paulo Santos proceed to Leonard Bernstein's Suite and his Broadway success, the musical The West Side Story, adapted here in 3 pieces for this ensemble.
The concert concludes with the Sonata for Violin and Piano by John Corigliano, a composer still alive and author of a wide range of works in various styles, the aforementioned work being neoclassical in character and influenced by New York modernism.
Free admission, subject to room capacity, reservations required by calling 214 815 904 or emailing mmp@cm-cascais.pt
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More information and registration: 214 815 904 or mmp@cm-cascais.pt
Organized by: Cascais Municipal Council, with support from DGARTES
Scott Joplin
The Ragtime Dance (arranged for violin and piano by Itzhak Perlman)
Aaron Copland
Sonata for Violin and Piano
Andante semplice
Slow
Allegretto giusto
Leonard Bernstein
West Side Story Suite for Violin and Piano
America
I feel pretty
Somewhere
John Corigliano
Sonata for Violin and Piano
Allegro
Andantino
Slow
Allegro
Bruno Monteiro | Violin
Joรฃo Paulo Santos | Piano
Bruno Monteiro | Violin
One of the most prominent Portuguese classical musicians of today, Bruno Monteiro is internationally recognized as a "top violinist" (Opus Klassiek) and an "admirable artist" (Musical Opinion).
For over 25 years, he has led an intense concert activity in recitals, as a soloist with orchestras, and in chamber music. He has performed in the most important concert halls and music festivals in Portugal. Abroad, he has performed throughout Europe, the United States, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, playing in leading venues such as the Cibeles Palace and the Casa de America in Madrid, the Musikverein in Vienna, the Bucharest Cultural Center, the Bulgaria Hall and the Pancho Vladigerov Grand Auditorium in Sofia, the Vatican in Rome, the Kyiv Philharmonic, the Felicja Blumenthal International Music Festival in Tel Aviv, the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., and Carnegie Hall in New York, among many others. In the field of recitals, he has been performing for over 20 years with Joรฃo Paulo Santos. He has been a soloist with numerous orchestras such as the English Chamber Orchestra, the Palma de Mallorca Symphony Orchestra, the Portuguese Symphony Orchestra, the Madeira Classical Orchestra, the Northern Orchestra, and the Beiras Philharmonic Orchestra.
His discography currently includes 21 albums, praised and awarded by the specialized international press. His album 20th Century and Forward (2024) was nominated for Best CD of the Year by the International Classical Music Awards (ICMA) 2025. He was again nominated for the same awards in 2026 for his recording of Sergei Prokofiev's 2 Sonatas and 5 Melodies for Violin and Piano.
Bruno Monteiro made his public recital debut at age 13 at the Teatro S. Luรญs and the Teatro Rivoli, and at age 14 as a soloist with orchestra at the Teatro Nacional de Sรฃo Carlos. He later attended the Manhattan School of Music in New York as a scholarship recipient from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and the National Cultural Center, and subsequently furthered his studies in Chicago with the renowned Israeli violinist Shmuel Ashkenasi, with scholarships from the Ministry of Culture and the Foundation for Science and Technology.
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Joรฃo Paulo Santos | Piano
Born in Lisbon in 1959, Joรฃo Paulo Santos graduated from the National Conservatory of Lisbon. As a scholarship recipient from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, he completed his studies in Paris with Aldo Ciccolini (1979-1984).
For the past four decades, he has worked at the Teatro Nacional de Sรฃo Carlos, Lisbon's opera house, first as principal choir conductor, and now as Director of Musical Studies and Stage Musical Director.
Artistically, he has distinguished himself as an opera conductor, pianist, and researcher of lesser-known, if not forgotten, repertoire by Portuguese composers. He has conducted various operas, from Menotti to Sondheim, and has conducted Portuguese premieres of works by Henze, Hindemith, Hosokawa, Martin, and Stravinsky, being awarded the Acarte Prize in 2000 for his direction of Henze's The English Cat.
He has been invited to conduct premieres of orchestral or operatic works by Eurico Carrapatoso, Antรณnio Chagas Rosa, Clotilde Rosa, and Antรณnio Pinho Vargas. He discovered and revised the scores for practical performance of the operas Serrana and Dona Branca by Alfredo Keil, as well as Lauriane and O Espadachim do Outeiro by Augusto Machado.
In 2018, in a joint production between Sรฃo Carlos and Imprensa Nacional โ Casa da Moeda, he began publishing a collection of scores of Portuguese vocal music, from the 18th to the 20th century, under the title "Portuguese Lyric Heritage". In 2019, he conducted L'รtoile de Chabrier at Sรฃo Carlos.
As a pianist, he has performed as a soloist or as an accompanist for the most prominent singers, as well as in chamber groups, notably in duets with violinist Bruno Monteiro and cellist Irene Lima.
His discography includes a diverse repertoire, from songs from "Le Chat Noir" to classical works by Liszt, Martinลฏ, Poulenc, Saint-Saรซns, Satie, Schulhoff and Szymanowski, including, among others, the Portuguese composers Antรณnio Fragoso, Luiz de Freitas Branco and Jorge Peixinho.
