Filipe Quaresma
Filipe Quaresma, described as “one of the most interesting Portuguese musicians” (Público) and praised for his “precise and superbly articulated way of playing, full of passion and quite contemplative” (The Strad Magazine), balances his intense solo and chamber music activity with teaching at the Escola Superior de Música e Artes do Espetáculo in Porto. He is a member of the Orquestra Barroca Casa da Música, the Darcos Ensemble, the Sond’Ar-te Electric Ensemble and the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique, as well as being principal guest cello of the Remix Ensemble Casa da Música. In 2023 he created the BEYRA Laboratório Artístico — Ensemble Orquestral da Beira Interior, of which he is artistic director.
Filipe studied with Rogério Peixinho at EPABI, David Strange and Mats Lidström at the Royal Academy of Music, as well as with Natalia Gutman at the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole (Italy). Holder of the prestigious ARAM (Associate Royal Academy of Music) title, he has been distinguished with several prestigious national and international awards and scholarships.
He has performed in some of the most important venues and festivals in Portugal, Europe and the United States, where he regularly collaborates with prestigious musicians.
As a soloist, he has played with several national and international orchestras, including the premiere, in 2017, of Luís Tinoco’s Concerto for cello and orchestra, a work dedicated to him, with the Orquestra Sinfónica Portuguesa under the conductor Pedro Neves. This performance was later released live by Odradek Records on the album The Blue Voice of the Water. He also premiered Circumnavigare (2019) by António Chagas Rosa with the Orquestra Metropolitana de Lisboa and Pedro Amaral, Miguel Azguime’s Triple Concerto (2020) at the CCB, with the Sond’Ar-Te Electric Ensemble and the Camerata Alma Mater under Pedro Neves.
Filipe’s career is marked by the premiere of numerous works by national and international composers, in the most varied contexts and formations. His album Portuguese Music for Solo Cello includes the first recording of solo cello works by Carlos Azevedo, Miguel Azguime, Nuno Côrte-Real and Ricardo Ribeiro. His collaboration with Luís Tinoco extended to the album Aleppo and Other Silences (Artway Next, 2022), where he performs Prolonging for solo cello, in addition to other chamber works by the same composer. As artistic director of BEYRA Laboratório Artístico, he plays an active role in supporting young emerging musicians as well as supporting the creation and dissemination of contemporary repertoire. As part of this project, he premiered the work dedicated to him Short Term Memory by Carlos Azevedo and Concerto for cello n.º 2 by Luís Tinoco, reinforcing BEYRA’s commitment to musical innovation and the future of classical music in Portugal.
His discography, among many others, includes Sonatas para violoncelo e piano (Artway Records, 2017) and Beethoven Cello Sonatas & Variations (Artway Records, 2021) with pianist António Rosado, and Bach Cello Suites (Artway Next, 2023). Beethoven and Bach’s albums were recorded with the Montagnana “Suggia” cello, kindly provided by the Porto City Council.
Future engagements include concerts with Sir John Elliot Gardiner’s Constellation Orchestra, the Portuguese premiere of John Tavener’s The Protecting Veil at the À Corda Festival and the premiere of a new work by Vasco Mendonça with accordionist João Barradas and the Ensemble Orquestral da Beira Interior, under Peter Rundel. In 2025, Filipe will begin a new series of concerts under his own curatorship, the Suggia Cycle, where distinguished cellists will perform recitals in Porto on the Montagnana “Suggia” cello with the support of the Directorate General of the Arts and the Porto City Council.
Filipe Quaresma plays a cello by Christian Bayon, a cello by John Betts (late 18th century) and a cello by António Capela.
2025
