The Algarve’s FIMA music festival has been cancelled after being left out of the next “365 Algarve” cultural programme backed by the regional tourism board. The news was revealed by Rui Pinheiro, chief conductor of the Orquestra Clássica do Sul (OCS), organiser of the event.
“We have organised FIMA for three years and have always brought big classical music names to the Algarve, and this will be the first year that we won’t do so,” he told Lusa news agency at the presentation of the orchestra’s 2019/2020 events.
Pinheiro added that he was feeling a “mixture of sadness, surprise and shock” after the orchestra’s bid for support from the “365 Algarve” programme was not approved.
He also refuted the idea that the Algarve’s audience is not interested in the event or that the music is “elitist”, explaining that FIMA’s concerts always pulled large crowds.
Pinheiro also said that the 2020 event was going to feature “big artists” and “two world premieres by composers linked to jazz and classical music”.
Meantime, the commissioner of the ‘365 Algarve’ programme has explained that the decision was not personal.
Anabela Afonso told Lusa that FIMA was one of 16 bids that were not approved and not included in the programme.
As she explained, “our resources are not unlimited, and it is always hard to choose. Over the years, there have always been proposals that have been left out, some have been repeated for several years and others were included one year and not the next.”
Afonso also said there is always space for new events in the ‘365 Algarve’ agenda and added that she understands why the OCS is upset, explaining however that the orchestra is already a solid entity in the Algarve and that it organises its own events.
This year’s FIMA (held in March, April and May) featured several prestigious musicians and groups, including Jordi Savall and Hespèrion XII, violinists Daniel Stabrawa and Christoph Koncz, cellist Jed Barahal, soprano singer Dora Rodrigues, vocal group Olisipo and the Orquestra do Norte with maestro Jan Wierzba.
