The 2012 Music Season, an initiative of the Presidency of the Government of the Azores, through the Regional Directorate for Culture, will open this month with various concerts throughout the archipelago, from solo recitals to chamber music and choirs.

The 2012 programme is divided into two parts: the first will take place between March and May, and the second between September and December. In addition to the concerts, several educational activities will continue to be promoted under this initiative, including master classes for music students and teachers as well as other initiatives targeted at children and youth audiences. In addition, the Music Season Pages will be published on Açoriano Oriental newspaper.

The dissemination of contemporary music continues to be one of the goals of the season; this year, alongside the usual concerts, a roundtable under the theme "Trends of Portuguese music in the last 50 years" will be held at the Teatro Micaelense on May 4. This event will be attended by some of the most representative Portuguese composers of today. This year's music season will also celebrate the 150th anniversary of Claude Debussy's birth, an impressionist composer and a great precursor of 20th century music, whose work deserves special recognition.

The opening concert of the Music Season will be marked by the opening of the restored historical organ of Nossa Senhora da Guia Church in Angra do Heroísmo on March 24 at 9:30 PM and will feature organist João Vaz.

The concert by the early music ensemble Segréis de Lisboa, which celebrates 40 years of activity, is scheduled for April 19 at Colégio Church in Ponta Delgada; it is part of an international conference on "Camões and his Contemporaries," hosted by the University of the Azores. The same concert will be held at Horta's Matriz Church on April 21 at 8:30.

Azorean musicians will participate in the Music Season on a regular basis. This year's season features baritone José Corvelo, a native of Flores, who will perform two concerts with accordionist Pedro Santos: one will take place on April 27 at Matriz Church of Calheta on São Jorge and the other is scheduled for April 28 at the Povoação Municipal Auditorium on São Miguel.

The programme for May opens with two concerts by the Musical Workshop, one of the leading Portuguese contemporary music groups.

The theme "From Liszt to Messiaen" will be presented by composer Alexandre Delgado, who will address the evolution of languages that have led to the music composed in the second half of the 20th century. These concerts will take place at the Angra do Heroísmo Cultural and Conference Centre on May 3 and at the Teatro Micaelense on May 4.

In the second half of May, Spanish clarinet player Christ Barrios will perform three concerts with English pianist Andrew West. The first concert will be held at the Lajes do Pico Municipal Auditorium on May 17, the second at the Ramo Grande Auditorium on May 18 and the last at Velas Municipal Auditorium on São Jorge on May 19.

The second part of the 2012 Music Season is scheduled to start on September with chamber music recitals by the trio composed by Aníbal Lima (violin), Paulo Gaio Lima (cello) and António Rosado (piano) as well as guitar and singing recitals by soprano Ana Paula Russo and guitarist Carlos Gutkin.

This musical season also features the concerts by Capella Duriensis concerts, under the artistic direction of Jonathan Ayerst. Among other works, this ensemble will present an emblematic 20th century work, Lux Aeterna by G. Ligeti. Composed in 1966, this work became famous in the film "2001 Space Odyssey" by S. Kubrick. Moreover, two recitals by pianist Jingge Yan, who won the first prize at the International Beethoven Telekom in 2011, are also one of the highlights of the current season.

The closing concert of the 2012 season will feature Russian pianist Pavel Gililov and the Berlin Philharmonic Quartet and will take place at the Teatro Micaelense on December 1.

Emanuel Frazão is the artistic director of the 2012 Music Season which is produced by the Azorean Cultural Cooperative MALA Crl, based in Ponta Delgada.