Festival Internacional de Guitarra de Santo Tirso
Oscar Flecha founded and has directed the Santo Tirso International Festival since 1994 and continues to lead it to this day. Since then, the festival has maintained a permanent presence on the national and international guitar scene.
The Santo Tirso International Guitar Festival is one of the most significant events dedicated to the guitar in Portugal, establishing itself as a platform of artistic, educational, and cultural excellence. Held in the city of Santo Tirso, the festival annually brings together renowned national and international performers, fostering dialogue between different schools, aesthetics, and generations of guitarists.
Throughout its editions, the festival has presented solo concerts, chamber music recitals, world premieres, and multidisciplinary projects, contributing to the promotion of both traditional and contemporary guitar repertoire. Alongside its artistic programming, it maintains a strong educational component through masterclasses, lectures, and workshops led by distinguished guest artists.
The event also plays an important role in the cultural life of the region, bringing audiences closer to musical creation and encouraging emerging talent. Owing to the quality of its programming and the spirit of artistic exchange it promotes, the Santo Tirso International Guitar Festival has established itself as a reference point in both the national and international guitar scene.
FIGST Past Editions
FIGST I 1994
Leo Brouwer, Pedro Caldeira Cabral, David Russell, Eduardo Isaac,
Roberto Aussel, Duo Assad, António Mallo, Duo Lusiada, Orquestra do Norte, José
Lopes e Silva.
FIGST II 1995
Duo Assad com a Orquestra do Norte, Manuel Barrueco, Hopkinson Smith,
Roberto Aussel, Pedro Caldeira Cabral e o Concerto Atlântico, Júlio Pereira,
Eduardo Isaac e Kazuhito Yamashita, Horácio Tomé Marques, António Mallo, Manuel
Morais.
FIGST III 1996
Paulo Vaz de Carvalho, Victor Monge "Serranito" e grupo, David
Russell, Manuel Barrueco, David Starobin, Eduardo Isaac, Duo Sonare, Pierre
Bensusan, Pedro Caldeira Cabral e grupo, Roberto Aussel, Trio de Guitarras de
Lisboa, Roland Dyens, Los Angeles Guitar Quartet.
FIGST IV 1997
Kazuhito Yamashita, Leo Brouwer, Orquestra de Córdoba, David Starobin,
Hopkinson Smith, Eduardo Isaac, Cecilia Fontes, Manuel Barrueco, Quarteto
Atlântico, Roland Dyens, Roberto Aussel, Cesar Stroscio, Carlos do Carmo, Elena
Papandreou, Gerardo Ribeiro, Costas Cotsiolis, Paulo Vaz de Carvalho, Paulo
Gaio Lima, Fulvio Liviabella, David Russell, Trio Concentus.
FIGST V 1998
Artur Caldeira, Maria Ester Guzman, Orquestra do Norte, Costas
Cotsiolis, Roberto Aussel, Paulo Amorim, Eduardo Isaac, Pierre Bensusan &
Didier Malherbe, Serranito, Abel Carlevaro, David Russell, Carlos Bonell,
António Gonçalves.
FIGST VI 1999
David Russell, Stelios & Vassilis, António Ferreirinho, Alexis &
Fotis*, Eduardo Isaac, José Pina & Artur Caldeira, Trio de guitarra de
Colónia, Serranito, Costas Cotsiolis.
FIGST VII 2000
Egberto Gismonti, Kazuhito Yamashita, Fábio Zanon, Trio Chitarristico S.
Cecilia, Dusan Bogdanovic, Ensamble Panebianco-Del Mónaco, Paulo Soares, David
Starobin & George Crumb, Al Di Meola World, Sinfonia 2000, Paulo Vaz de
Carvalho.
FIGST VIII 2001
John Williams & Friends, Paulo Peres e Maria Paula Marques, Paul
Galbraith, Pedro Caldeira Cabral & Fernando Alvim, Ralph Towner, Franz
& Débora Halász, Benjamin Verdery & William Coulter, Manolo Sanlúcar
Quarteto & Carmen Linares, Badi Assad.
FIGST IX 2002
Anoushka Shankar, Franz Halász, Manuel Barrueco & Franco Platino,
Béla Fleck & The Flecktones, Quarteto Brasileiro de Violões, Paul
Galbraith, Paulo Galvão, Ricardo Moyano & Juan Falú, Celso Machado &
Carlinhos Machado.
FIGST X 2003
Birélli Lagrène & the Gipsy Project, Cavatina Duo; Javier Conde
Quarteto, Paulo Amorim, Cecília Fontes & João Coutinho, Juan Francisco
Padilla* & Orquestra ARTAVE, Uwe Kropinski & Michael Heupel, Allan
Holdsworth, Realejo.
FIGST XI 2004
Frank Gambale Fusion Trio, Trio Madeira Brasil; PortoTango Ensemble,
Jorge Oraison & Ricardo Barceló, Gonçalo Pereira, Artur Caldeira & Jed
Barahal, Guitart Quartet & Orquestra ARTAVE.
FIGST XII 2005
Kora Jazz Trio, Doppelmoppel, Mete Aslan Quarteto, Manuel d'Oliveira
Quarteto, Carlo Domeniconi & Ricardo Moyano, Pedro Rodrigues, Carlos Pérez
& Orquestra ARTAVE.
FIGST XIII 2006
Sylvain Luc Trio, Artur Caldeira e Som Ibérico, Duo Jascalevich /
Blanke, Ken Murray / Ensemble de Guitarras, Ana Vidovic, Peter Finger, Marcos
Díaz & Orquestra ARTAVE.
FIGST XIV 2007
Stanley Jordan, Martin Taylor, Rilegato Ensemble *, Le Je-ne-scay-quoy,
Uwe Kropinski, Victor Villadangos & Quarteto Solistas ARTAVE, Kazuhito
Yamashita Quarteto.
FIGST XV 2008
Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, Marco Meloni, Christine Bayle & Hubert
Hazebroucq *, Concentus Duo, Xue Fei Yang *, Ricardo Moyano, Zagreb Guitar
Trio, Yamandú Costa Trio.
FIGST XV 2009
Tommy Emmanuel, Duo Pourquoi Pas, Aniello
Desiderio, Bob Zabek, Alvaro Pierri, Adam Fulara, Sérgio & Odair Assad.
FIGST XVII 2010
Aniello Desiderio Quarteto Furioso, Jorge Caballero, Alexey Arkhipovsky,
Júlio Guerreiro, Denis Azabagic, Hopkinson Smith.
FIGST XVIII 2011
Uwe Kropinski & Joe Sachse, Paulo Peres & Maria Paula Marques,
Johannes Möller, Andrew York, Pavel Steidl, Pierre Bensusan.
FIGST XIX 2012
Dimitris Kotronakis & Orquestra ARTAVE, Pedro Jóia e Ricardo Ribeiro
Quinteto, Anna Likhacheva, Roberto Aussel, Microtonal Guitar Duo, Martin
Taylor, Wolfgang Lendle & Quarteto Solistas ARTAVE.
FIGST XX 2013
Andreas Varady, Pedro Rodrigues e Monika Streitová & Orquestra ARTAVE,
Joseph Tawadros, Peter Finger, Johannes Möller, Wolfgang Lendle & Quarteto
Solistas ARTAVE.
FIGST
XXI 2014
Massimo Delle Cese &
Orquestra Artave, Celso Machado, Ruben Bettencourt, Aslan Moyano Duo, Steve
Rothery Band, Beijing Guitar Duo.
FIGST XXII 2015
Joscho Stephan Trio, Mike Dawes, Pablo Márquez, Joaquim Pavão, Amadeus
Guitar Duo, Judicael Perroy & Orquestra ARTAVE, SoloDuo.
FIGST XXIII 2016
Xuefei Yang & Orquesta ARTAVE, Alfredo Penebianco Trio, Zoran Dukic,
Sandro Norton Quarteto, Gnomon, Grisha Goryachev, Kazuhito & Kanahi
Yamashita.
FIGST XXIV 2017
Rovshan Mamedkuliev & Orquestra ARTAVE, Möller-Fraticelli Duo, Uwe
Kropinski Trio, Tomás Gubitsch Trio, Lisboa String Trio,Manuel Barrueco &
Beijing Guitar Duo, Ricardo Gallén.
FIGST XXV 2018
Panebianco & Del Mónaco Orquestra ARTAVE, Lorenzo Micheli, José
Carlos Gómez, Trevor Gordon Hall, Meng Su, Diego Jascalevich Trio, Ricardo
Ribeiro, Ensemble de Guitarras do Festival
Pandemiae Interregnum
2022
Tuck & Patti Concert
FIGST XXVI 2023
Johannes Möller, Tom Ibarra Group, Dublin Guitar Quartet, La Chimera,
Indigo Quintet, Quico Cadaval, Duo Arsis, Guida Fonseca. Filme, Cidade da
Guitarra by Joaquim Pavão.
FIGST XXVII 2024
Orquestra Portuguesa de Guitarras e Bandolins, Jorge Caballero, Cologne
Guitar Quartet, Maria Portela Larisch, Tachuri Trio, IN.DIA, Rui Fernandes,
André Gago, João Diogo Leitão, Paulo Coelho de Castro, Agostinho Tico
Rodrigues, Enzo Guido, Rui Sousa.
FIGST XXVIII 2025
O Gajo, Tiago Matias, Duosfera, Marcos Díaz, Joaquin, Clerch, Exposição de guitarras Esteve, Manuel Adalid, Ken Murray, Pedro Rodrigues, Antoine Boyer & Yeore Kim, Olivia Marques da Silva - Exposição de Fotografias
FIGST Portfólio
