25 July 2026, 20:00, Garden of the Albrecht House
Gracias a la Vida
Ana-Carmen Balestra, Hadewych van Gent & Vitor Noah
A trio consisting of soprano Ana-Carmen Balestra, cellist and singer Hadewych van Gent, and classical guitarist Vitor Noah brings to life captivating musical worlds from South America, France, and Spain in their concerts. Inspired by Ana-Carmen’s Argentine roots, they have created a vibrant yet intimate program that brings immediacy and a fresh perspective to well-known songs as well as chamber classical works, arranged for the unusual combination of voice, cello, and guitar. The arrangements are by Brazilian guitarist Victor Santana.
The program was created in collaboration with and commissioned by four international summer festivals – WonderFeel (NL), Istanbul Music Festival (TR), Valley of Arts (HU), and Viva Musica! festival (SK) – and is part of the EFFEA residency (European Festivals Fund for Emerging Artists), carried out under the auspices of the European Festivals Association.
“Gaining experience at such special music festivals with an engaging program that reflects our lives and passions means a great deal to us. Ana and Vitor are both dear friends, whom I know from very different contexts. In this program, we present our most personal musical expression, and it is therefore a great honour for us to perform at these fantastic festivals,” said Hadewych van Gent, who also collaborates with British saxophone star Jess Gillam and has performed with Coldplay as well as with Grammy-winning singer Laufey.
Hadewych and Ana-Carmen Balestra both studied at the prestigious Guildhall School in London. They are versatile musicians who move with ease between classical music and other genres. Both are finalists of the Dutch Classical Talent competition and have also been nominated for one of the most important music awards in the Netherlands, the Grachtenfestival Prize. Completing the trio is Brazilian guitarist based in Berlin, Vitor Noah, who, in addition to classical guitar, is also dedicated to Brazilian traditional music and the exploration of performance practice in both historical and contemporary contexts. He is the recipient of several major awards, including the David Russell Guitar Prize (UK), the Concurso Villa-Lobos, and the MASP Guitar Competition (Brazil), as well as top prizes at international competitions in Spain and Germany.
The concert will take place on Saturday, 25 July 2026 at 8:00 PM in the picturesque Garden of the Albrecht House on Kapitulská Street.
Program
Carrillo, Fauré, Piazzolla, de Falla, Velázquez, Villa-Lobos and others
Performers
Ana-Carmen Balestra / soprano
Hadewych van Gent / cello, voice
Vitor Noah / guitar
Victor Santana / arrangements
Music
Hadewych van Gent & Paul van Utrecht / Villa-Lobos: Melodia Sentimental (Podium Klassiek)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ur-atw6zW9U&list=RDur-atw6zW9U&start_radio=1
Ana-Carmen Balestra & Aya Robertson / Massenet: Je suis encore (Manon)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fB1De6Ccppc
Vitor Noah & Victor Santana / Villa-Lobos: Bachianas brasileiras – Preludio
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rZbajelEhw&list=RD3rZbajelEhw&start_radio=1
Programme and performers subject to change.
Photo © archive
wwwv.vivamusica.sk
