The moment that marks the opening ceremony of this Porto/Post/Doc 2021 was already announced. The film-concert Maria do Mar, which will present, for the first time in Porto, the restored print of the remarkable film directed by by José Leitão de Barros, in a concert permformed by the Lisbon Sinfonietta Orchestra from an original score by Bernardo Sassetti. A moment that now gains a new and special confirmation: the pianist Pedro Burmester will integrate the collective of musicians to be conducted by Vasco Pearce de Azevedo.

Born in Porto, Pedro Burmester was a student of Helena Costa, and concluded the Piano Degree at Conservatório do Porto with the highest possible classification. In the US he worked with Sequeira Costa, Leon Fleisher and Dmitry Paperno and attended master classes with many renowned pianists.

He began his concert activity when he was 10 years old and won awards in competitions like Moreira de Sá, Vianna da Motta and Van Cliburn (this one in the US) when he was still very young. He has performed more than 1000 solo concerts with orchestra and in various chamber music formations in Portugal and abroad. He has participated in every music festival in Portugal. The pianist’s most noteworthy presentations abroad include performances at La Roque d'Anthéron, Salle Gaveau, the Festival of Flanders, the Frick Collection in New York, the Philharmonie in Cologne, the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, the Beethoven House in Bonn and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. In 1997-98 he toured eight countries with the prestigious Australian Chamber Orchestra.

He collaborated with several conductors (Ivo Cruz, Alvaro Cassuto, George Solti, Nuhai Tang, among others) and performed with Portuguese and foreign violinists, cellists and clarinetists.

His discography includes three solo albums with works by Bach, Schumann and Schubert, one in a duet with Mário Laginha, with whom he frequently collaborates, and three recordings with Orquestra Metropolitana de Lisboa. In 1998 he released a solo album featuring works by Chopin. In 1999 he recorded the Beethoven’s ten sonatas for piano and violin with violinist Gerardo Ribeiro. In 2007, he released the CD and DVD “3 Pianos” with Bernardo Sassetti and Mário Laginha. In 2010, he recorded and released Franz Schubert’s Sonata in A major, D.959 and Robert Schumann’s Symphonic Studies Op.13.

He was Director Artístico e de Educação (Art and Education Director) at Casa da Música, a project he helped create.

In addition to his artistic activity, Pedro Burmester is a professor at Escola Superior de Música e Artes do Espectáculo (ESMAE) in Porto.