07:00 pm
Pedro Carneiro Conductor
Cláudia Ribas Mezzo-Soprano
César Rafael Composer
Frederik Hanssen Introduction
„SAUDADE“
HECTOR BERLIOZ · Ouverture „Le Corsaire“ op. 21 (1844, rev. 1852)
HECTOR BERLIOZ · Aria „Ah, je vais mourir … Adieu fière cite” from the opera „Les Troyens“ H 133 (1890)
HECTOR BERLIOZ · „Sur les lagunes“ from „Les nuites d’été“ op. 7 (1856)
CÉSAR RAFAEL · "Saudades, só portugueses" (World Premiere)
PIOTR I. TCHAIKOVSKY · Symphony No. 6 „Pathétique“ (1893)
For its sixth appearance at Young Euro Classic, the Jovem Orquestra Portuguesa (JOP) embarks upon a musical journey inspired by saudade, an untranslatable Portuguese emotion. “Saudade is the bittersweet echo of longing, a persistent yearning for what is absent – an unreachable dream, a cherished past moment, a lost soul, or, most powerfully, love itself,” explains conductor Pedro Carneiro. This sense of saudade is deeply intertwined with the nation's history, particularly the epic age of Portuguese maritime discoveries. Accordingly, JOP opens its programme with the overture to Hector Berlioz’ opera Le Corsaire, followed by Dido’s heart-wrenching farewell scene from his opera Les Troyens, which recounts the voyages of the Greek hero Aeneas. A world premiere will also be performed: the 25-year-old César Rafael was inspired by the poetry of Fernando Pessoa, the most important 20th-century Portuguese writer. After the interval, Piotr Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony, the “Pathétique”, an intensely passionate work, might come at the feeling of saudade from a Russian perspective, but is no less moving for this.
Introduction and Q&A at 6:00 PM with Frederik Hanssen in the Werner-Otto Saal. Entry with a concert ticket.
Language: German.
The Portuguese national youth orchestra, Jovem Orquestra Portuguesa – JOP – now returns to Berlin’s Konzerthaus for a sixth time. Founded by Orquestra de Câmara Portuguesa (OCP) artistic director Pedro Carneiro, JOP has developed since its founding in 2010 from a chamber orchestra with 20 strings into a full symphony orchestra with over 80 musicians. They are between 14 and 28 years old and come together regularly to work with OCP musicians and international guest artists. The orchestra often focuses on contemporary works; it also engages in social projects in many ways, for example the integrational work Alcance (Reach) by João Godinho, which won the European Composers Award at Young Euro Classic in 2019 (as did the Portuguese work by Mariana Vieira in 2017). JOP musicians meet five times a year for baroque, contemporary, chamber and symphonic sessions, which include side-by-side performances with professional musicians, a groundbreaking body-awareness program as well as workshops with leading artists, philosophers, politicians and athletes. The young musicians often perform entirely from memory and standing, as well as staged performances which include choir, movement and spoken work. The most recent JOP adventure is the establishment of a professional youth chamber orchestra, made up entirely of JOP alumni.
The Portuguese conductor Pedro Carneiro, born in Lisbon in 1975, is the co-founder and artistic director of the Orquestra de Câmara Portuguesa (OCP), the inclusive ensemble Notas de Contacto, the Jovem Orquestra Portuguesa (JOP) and various social projects. Still maintaining an active schedule as a leading international solo percussionist, Pedro Carneiro has performed extensively in the last decade as a conductor, equally comfortable in the realm of opera, ballet, contemporary and symphonic music. He received various distinctions throughout his varied performing career, including the prestigious Gulbenkian Art Prize. Carneiro has performed and conducted the world premiere of over a hundred new works and collaborates with prestigious musicians all over the world. He has appeared with various orchestras worldwide such as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic, SWR Symphonieorchester, English Chamber Orchestra, São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra, Gulbenkian Orchestra, Orquestra Sinfónica Portuguesa, among many others. His extensive discography (which includes solo recordings, chamber music, concertante works, and improvisation) is available on various record labels, such as ECM Records, Clean Feed, and Rattle Records.
The Portuguese mezzo-soprano Cláudia Ribas began studying in her homeland before moving on to the Amsterdam Conservatory and the Royal Danish Music Academy in Copenhagen. In 2024, she won the renowned International Vocal Competition in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, where she also received the Wagner Prize, the Audience Prize and the Junior Jury Prize. Previously, she had been successful at several Portuguese vocal competitions. From 2022 to 2025, the singer was a member of the Opera Studio at the Frankfurt Opera; in the current season, she made her debut there in the title role of Rossini’s Tancredi. At the Malmö Opera, she was invited to sing the role of Bizet’s Carmen. With a repertoire ranging from Handel and Mozart to Britten and contemporary opera, Cláudia Ribas has proven herself one of the most promising Portuguese mezzo-sopranos of her generation.
The 25-year-old Portuguese composer César Rafael began his musical career with trumpet lessons in his hometown of Vila Real. Later, he discovered his special interest for composition, and after initial private lessons, he began to study at the University of Évora. There, he studied with Christopher Bochmann, Hugo Ribeiro and Pedro Amaral for three years, and had the opportunity to have his works performed by local ensembles. In 2025, he received his master’s degree after studies with Pedro Amaral. In addition, Rafael took part in master classes and workshops with Luís Naon, Michal Rataj and Cláudio de Pino. In 2023, his work Auto Ritrato earned him the composition award of SPA/Antena 2; afterwards, it was performed by the Gulbenkian Orchestra in Lisbon as the finale of the festival “Jovens Musicos”. Most recently, César Rafael won the Composer’s Prize of the Jovem Orquestra Portuguesa for the 2025/26 season and is writing a new work which will have its world premiere at Young Euro Classic.
Frederik Hanssen, born in 1969 in Berlin, studied musicology and French philology in his hometown as well as in Clermont-Ferrand and Milan. From 1998 until the end of 2025, he worked as an editor for classical music at the Berlin newspaper Tagesspiegel. In addition to his journalistic work, he is active in music education serving as the author of programme booklets, concert moderations, and speaker for introductory lectures. Frederik Hanssen lives with his family in Berlin and Rome.