One of the oldest classical music competitions in the country will once again bring different artistic styles to various halls and public spaces in this city in the district of Aveiro and the Porto Metropolitan Area, presenting them in concerts with free admission or at prices between five and 15 euros. Alexandre Santos is one of the programmers of the festival organized by the Espinho Music Academy and admits that the event has faced several difficulties throughout its half-century of history, but argues that what stands out from this journey is a constant effort of innovation. "Throughout these five decades, many of the editions of FIME [Espinho International Music Festival] have been marked by uncertainty and insufficient funding, by difficulties related to spaces for holding concerts and by numerous production setbacks that could only be overcome with great commitment and effort, but the festival has established itself through the pioneering spirit that has marked its history", the programmer tells the Lusa agency. This consolidation was contributed by "the commitment to careful programming, ensured by performers of great national and international stature", and this spirit continues in 2024, with "proposals of high artistic value, performed by top-notch artists", gathered in a "diversified and comprehensive program, in which classical music and jazz are fundamental programmatic anchors", but there are also "own productions and projects developed specifically for Espinho". The first show of FIME 2024 is on June 14 and brings the Cuban pianist Omar Sosa and the Espinho Jazz Orchestra to the City Council square, for what Alexandre Santos announces as "an electrifying concert". The following day, in the same place, the keyboards of Mário Laginha and Pedro Burmester follow, "with the unique chemistry that results from decades of complicity", and on the 21st, at the Academy Auditorium, the British violinist Daniel Rowland, with a repertoire focused on works by Osvaldo Golijov and Vivaldi's "Four Seasons", arranged by Max Richter "adapted to new forms of expression". On June 22, the same stage belongs to the harpsichord of the French Pierre Hantaï, who debuts in Portugal new "fresh, original and historically informed interpretations" of baroque compositions such as Bach's, and on the 28th the focus falls on the American pianist Uri Caine, who, with the FIME Ensemble, brings a "very special project" to Espinho around the composer Gustav Mahler, with space for "improvisation and transgression of limits". The proposals for the following day are aimed at the instrumental, bringing the harpist Angelina Salvi and the accordionist João Frade to the Chapel of Senhora da Ajuda, and on the 30th the FIME Ensemble returns to the Auditorium with a playful program for families, exploring "The Carnival of the Animals", by Camille Saint-Saëns, and also Ravel's works "Bolero" and "My Mother Goose". As for the month of July, the first concert is on the 5th with the collective Sissoko Segal Parisien Peirani, which, bringing together the instrumentalists with these four surnames on the kora, cello, saxophone and accordion, will present "music from various erudite and popular traditions in a fusion with improvisation". The following protagonists of the 50th edition of FIME are: on the 6th, the Cuban saxophonist and clarinetist Paquito D'Rivera, whom Alexandre Santos highlights for his "great virtuosity and boldness in improvisations"; on the 7th, the Israelis Avi Avital and Omer Klein, respectively on the mandolin and piano, with "innovative and free reinterpretations of Bach"; on the 8th, the Japanese violinist and composer Hiromi, who will explore the jazz-rock sound of her album "Sonicwonder"; and, on the 12th, the Gulbenkian Choir, which, under the direction of Inês Tavares Lopes, will perform at the Espinho Parish Church themes by Bach, Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Josef Gabriel Rheinberger, Max Reger and Knut Nystedt. After the performance on July 19 of the pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard, with the soprano Anna Prohaska, around works by Charles Ives, Stravinsky and Debussy, the festival presents, the following day, a show in which the conductor Joana Carneiro directs the Espinho Classical Orchestra, the Inês de Castro Symphonic Choir and the Viana Vocale Choir. In the City Council square, these four collectives will star in a joint interpretation of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, a work that in 2024 celebrates the 200 years of its public debut. On July 22, the closing of the event takes place at the Espinho Auditorium with Dee Dee Bridgewater, who, with her "warm timbre, impeccable diction and impeccable swing", is pointed out by Alexandre Santos as "one of the most outstanding voices in the great American songbook". Also Read: Last 10 finalists of the Eurovision Song Contest are chosen today (Portuguese version)