Isabel Vaz and Vasco Dantas: Portuguese excellence on international stages
- Joana Marques
- 1 de jul. de 2024
- 3 min de leitura
Cellist Isabel Vaz and pianist Vasco Dantas are taking Portuguese music to international stages and consolidating their prestige as performers of excellence
Vasco Dantas opens season of concerts on historic pianos in Croatia
On June 24, Vasco Dantas performed a piano recital at the Liszt Institute in Zagreb, Croatia, which marked the start of the 9th season of the Cristoforium Concerts cycle on historic pianos. The Portuguese pianist played on a C. Bechstein piano from 1869, belonging to the Gašparović Collection. The program included works by Chopin and Portuguese composers such as Rey Colaço, Óscar da Silva and Burnay, which evoke fado. Vasco Dantas added to the repertoire the piece Mort d'Isolde, a piano transcription by Franz Liszt based on a section from Richard Wagner's opera Tristan und Isolde, originally known as Isoldes Liebestod (Isolde's Death of Love), once again demonstrating his mastery and versatility.
"A Postcard from Portugal": "Duo Isabel Vaz'Co Dantas" presents Portuguese sounds in Serbia
Two days later, on June 26, the "Duo Isabel Vaz'Co Dantas" presented the concert "A Postcard from Portugal" at the National Museum of Serbia, as part of the ArtLink Festival. The show featured works by Portuguese composers, evoking the culture and landscapes of Portugal, with special emphasis on pieces inspired by Luís Vaz de Camões. The two musicians also gave the international premiere of the piece Esboços Camonianos (2024) for cello and piano by Daniel Bernardes (b. 1986). The event was supported by the Camões Institute and the Portuguese Embassy in Belgrade, reinforcing the dissemination of Portuguese culture across borders.
Isabel Vaz takes part in concerts in Serbia and the Netherlands
Then, on June 29, Isabel Vaz took part in a special concert at the 12th edition of the ArtLink Festival, at the Residence of Princess Ljubica in Belgrade, celebrating International Danube Day. The cellist joined a string ensemble led by Croatian violinist and conductor Andrea Nikolitć, currently living in Vienna, and Serbian violinist Nataša Grujić, in a program entitled "On the Beautiful Blue Danube".
Isabel Vaz's next engagement will be on July 6, in a Summer Evening Concert at the Pauluskerk Church in Baarn, the Netherlands. The cellist will perform Franz Schubert's Octet in F major, D. 803, a masterpiece of the chamber repertoire that is rarely performed live due to its unusual instrumentation. Isabel Vaz performs alongside renowned musicians such as Coraline Groen (violin), Ernst Jan Vos (violin), Ásdís Valdimarsdóttir (viola), Lucia Mateo Calvo (double bass), Marieke Vos (clarinet), José Sogorb (horn) and Remko Edelaar (bassoon). Tickets can be purchased here.
These international concerts highlight the talent and versatility of Portuguese musicians Isabel Vaz and Vasco Dantas, who continue to promote the richness of Portuguese music around the world and consolidate their international prestige as performers of excellence.
About the musicians
Vasco Dantas is an award-winning pianist who has performed at prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall in New York and the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow. He studied at the Royal College of Music in London and at the University of Münster. He is the artistic director of the Algarve Music Series, the Sezim Music Series and the Piano Concerto Festival.
Isabel Vaz began her musical studies at the age of four. She graduated from the Lisbon School of Music and obtained her master's degree from the Amsterdam Conservatory. She regularly performs solo with European orchestras and is tutticellist with the Noord Nederlands Orkest. He co-runs the Algarve Music Series with Vasco Dantas.
Read also the SMART interview with Isabel Vaz.
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