Sardoal International Piano Festival wraps up with concerts and heritage walk

The XI International Piano Meeting in Sardoal, Portugal, concluded on 12 July with a series of concerts at the Centro Cultural Gil Vicente. Highlights included a performance of Igor Stravinsky’s “The Soldier’s Tale” on 11 July and a closing orchestral concert by the Filarmonia das Beiras, conducted by Jan Wierzba, featuring senior competition winner Aihn Kim playing Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A‑minor.

On 10 July, the festival’s “Música pelo Património” walk‑concert took audiences through Sardoal’s historic churches and chapels, offering free performances by young local musicians and invited artists. The event, organized by the Municipality of Sardoal and the International Music Academy Aquiles Delle Vigne with support from Portugal’s Direção‑Geral das Artes, also awarded €10 000 in prizes to participants from 13 countries.