João Diogo Leitão

"this is viola braguesa as we never heard it before. A brave record that unfolds new frontiers for a discreet but charming instrument.” – Songlines (UK) “The instrument is a tool to expose its own universe that instead of playing with tradition, frees itself from all contexts and prejudices to create its own sound.” – Jornal de Letras (PT) João Diogo Leitão is the recipient of some of the most important classical guitar awards from Portugal. A Master’s Degree in Classical Guitar Performance from the prestigious The Hague Royal Conservatory (The Netherlands), several prizes, concerts as soloist with the most important Portuguese orchestras, and presentations in all the major Portuguese concert halls have confirmed João as one of the most preeminent young musicians and guitarists of his generation. His discovery of ‘viola braguesa’ – a traditional acoustic guitar from northern Portugal, usually associated with traditional/folk music – his fascination for its timbre and the untapped potential of this instrument, triggered a poetic urgency that led him to investigate and compose music for it. These compositions arose from the natural encounter between the worlds of classical and traditional music, innovating in technical and aesthetic approaches to create an unprecedented repertoire for this instrument. João Diogo Leitão’s debut album “por onde fica a primavera” for solo ‘viola braguesa’ is a pioneering and original creation that brings together, through a contemporary approach and a natural virtuosity, his memories of classical and traditional music, creating his own unique imaginary sound world. ‘por onde fica a primavera’ (2020) was created and recorded in Serpa, at Musibéria, and was published by ‘Respirar de Ouvido’. Plays a Viola Braguesa by luthier Diogo Valente