Bernardo Santos
"A very talented pianist with undeniable qualities" (Bachtrack)
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"A pianist whose animated playing brings vibrancy and clarity to the duo, ably supporting as needed and shining out in soloistic moments" (Piano Journal)
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"Virtuoso prodigy" (The Guardian)
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Portuguese pianist Bernardo Santos has been performing widely in recital, with orchestra and as a chamber musician, with performances ranging over 20 countries in venues such the Royal Albert Hall, Tonhalle Düsseldorf, Palau de la Musica Catalana and Teatro Liceo, National Concert Hall, Sala São Paulo, Teatro Degollado, Casa da Música, Convento São Francisco, among many others, being regularly invited to festivals all over Europe, South America, and Asia.
In 2026, Bernardo will be collaborating with Portuguese conductor Rui Miguel Marques in an international tour featuring the complete concerti by João Domingos Bomtempo in Bulgaria, Brazil, Egypt, Hungary and Spain, concluding with a recording of his music in Portugal.
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As an invited soloist with orchestra, Bernardo had the opportunity to play with the Portuguese Philharmonic Orchestra, Brazilian Symphony Orchestra, Barcelona Metropolitan Orchestra, North Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Filharmonia Podkarpacka Orchestra, Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra, Vidin State Philarmonic Orchestra, Espinho Classical Orchestra, among others. He has played under the baton of conductors such as Carlos Vieu, Ernst Schelle, Gregor Böttcher, Guilherme Mannis, Jean-Marc Burfin, Kira Omelchenko, Ligia Amadio, Roberto Tibiriçá, Rui Miguel Marques, Silvio Viegas, among others.
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Bernardo recorded, for Japanese label Da Vinci Publishing, works for piano and orchestra (Nights in the Gardens of Spain by Manuel de Falla and Nights in the Streets of Mouraria by Ruy Coelho), the violin and piano sonatas by Edvard Grieg, piano quintets by Saint-Saëns and Dvorak and works for two pianos by Piazzolla, Infante and Ravel. For MPMP label, Bernardo recorded piano works by Portuguese composer Ruy Coelho.
As a chamber musician, Bernardo frequently collaborates with other artists such as Artur Pizarro, Pascal Rogé, Deniz Arman Gelenbe, Martim Almeida, Jaroslaw Nadrzycki, Nora Romanoff-Schwarzberg and Attila Pasztor. He also has a long-time partnership with cellist Burak Özkan, with whom Santos actively plays as a duo and other ensemble formations.
Bernardo complements his artistic career with research on Portuguese composers Berta Alves de Sousa and Frederico de Freitas, being responsible for the critical edition and publishing of works by both composers. The main object of research now incides on the music for piano by Portuguese composer Ruy Coelho. Bernardo gave masterclasses in several festivals, universities and music schools in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Malaysia, Mexico, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, and Vietnam.
A graduate of Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, Ljubljana Academy of Music, Conservatori del Liceu and the University of Aveiro, Bernardo Santos studied with Dubravka Tomsic, Deniz Gelenbe, Josep Colom, Álvaro Teixeira Lopes and Klara Dolynay. Bernardo is also currently taking part of the Doctoral Programme in Music Performance (PhD) at the University of Aveiro, being a research fellow at INET-md.
Bernardo Santos is the president of the World Piano Teachers Association (WPTA) Portugal, co-founder and co-director of Festival Internacional de Piano y Orquesta de Guadalajara (FIPOG) in Mexico and Artistic Director of the “Ciclos Lua Nova” concert series, hosted by Fundação Dionísio Pinheiro e Alice Cardoso Pinheiro, in Águeda, Portugal.