João Costa Ferreira

Portuguese pianist João Costa Ferreira (b. 1986) has performed in several concert halls in Europe. He performs frequently for the Portuguese state classical music radio station RDP-Antena 2. He holds the prestigious Diplôme Supérieur d’Exécution of the École Normale de Musique de Paris-Alfred Cortot. João Costa Ferreira is also a researcher; he graduated with a master in music and musicology from the Paris-Sorbonne University and has started a doctoral programme there with a scholarship from the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia to study the composition, technique and interpretation of José Viana da Mota’s piano works.

Ferreira has won several prizes, notably the 2nd prize in the XVth Maria Campina International Piano Competition (a 1st prize was not awarded), and the first ‘Musicology’ prize at the 8th Jeunes solistes de la Sorbonne Competition. In 2015, he was awarded Best Artistic Revelation by Cap Magellan during a celebration of the Portuguese Republic held at the Hôtel de Ville in Paris.

He often gives masterclasses in the music conservatories of Portugal, and was invited by French pianist Jean Martin (Yves Nat’s pupil) to be assistant professor on summer music courses in France. Since 2014, João Costa Ferreira is an AvA Musical Editions Artist, collaborating on the publication of José Viana da Mota’s piano works. He has performed as soloist many times with orchestras under the direction of conductors Alberto Roque and Ernst Schelle.