Marcos Magalhães

Born in Lisbon, Marcos Magalhães is the principal conductor of Os Músicos do Tejo, and has conducted several other ensembles like the modern orchestras Orquestra Metropolitana and Orquestra Sinfónica Portuguesa and the historical instruments ensemble Helsinki Baroque Orchestra.

Os Músicos do Tejo, which Marcos Magalhães co-founded and directs with Marta Araújo, is one of the main ensembles in the Portuguese music scene. Since 2006 they’ve presented many projects centered in baroque music, but always aiming to combine demanding musicianship, profound research and innovative perspectives designed to communicate with audiences on an intense emotional level. Under his direction, Os Músicos do Tejo have already published six cd’s, four of them issued by Naxos, that have gathered enthusiastic reviews. Also, Il Trionfo d’Amore was shortlisted in the Bestenliste of the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik and Il Mondo della Luna by P.A. Avondano was nominated for the best classical album in the Play/GDA awards.

Marcos Magalhães began harpsichord lessons at the age of eleven. After obtaining the diploma of the Higher School of Music of Lisbon, he was admitted to the Conservatoire National Supérieur in Paris, where he studied with Kenneth Gilbert, Christophe Rousset and Kenneth Weiss, graduating in 1999.

He has given many concerts in Portugal and in other european and asian venues (Paris, Prague, Helsinki, Madrid, Goa, New Dehli, Metz, Herne, among others), as a conductor, soloist and in opera productions. His research into Portuguese baroque repertoire and Neapolitan operas found in Portuguese libraries led him to found the Músicos do Tejo, an ensemble devoted to the performance of this material. He has a Phd in musicology and has recently co-authored, with Marta Araújo, a radio broadcast for Antena 2.

In the field of opera, Marcos Magalhães has directed “La Spinalba” (F. A. de Almeida), “Lo Frate Nanmorato” (G.B. Pergolesi), “Le Carnaval et la Folie” (A.C. Destouches), Fairy Queen (Purcell), Dido and Aeneas (Purcell), “Il Trionfo d’Amore” (Almeida), “Guerras de Alecrim e Mangerona” (Teixeira), “Il Mondo della Luna” (Avondano) and “Paride ed Elena” (Gluck).

Future engagements include the recording of two more operas, the performance of a program mixing indian carnatic music and french baroque repertoire with master Shashank Subramanian, playing the bansuri, in Almada and Helsinki, duet recital with harpsichordist Aapo Hakinen in Prague and an all Bach program in Lisbon to be broadcast by the portuguese television.