ADAR Festival returns for its sixth edition, from 4 to 16 August 2026 across rural Asturias

Eleven concerts, seven heritage venues, six municipalities and thirteen international performers. The Association for the Development of the Arts in Rural Areas (ADAR) presents the VI edition of ADAR Festival, with free admission to all concerts via RSVP on Eventbrite.

LEIGUARDA (Belmonte de Miranda, Asturias). — ADAR Festival celebrates its sixth edition from 4 to 16 August 2026, with a programme that travels across churches, monasteries, a parador, a municipal auditorium, two heritage hórreos and the streets of the village of Leiguarda. The lineup weaves contemporary chamber music, site-specific sound interventions, an artist residency showcase and a closing concert followed by an open espicha.

The edition opens on Tuesday 4 August with a harpsichord recital by Ignacio Prego at the winning hórreo of the 2026 Hórreos & Paneras Competition — the venue is announced on 25 July. The programme «Of Dances and Sonatas» traces dance forms in keyboard music from the 16th to the 18th century, from Antonio de Cabezón and the Folías de España to J. S. Bach's Chaconne from the Partita in D minor for solo violin, in the transcription by Johannes Brahms.

The «ADAR on tour» series brings together four itinerant chamber concerts. «The Shape of Memory», by the trio María Martínez (cello), Frederieke Saeijs (violin) and Josefina Urraca (piano), plays on 5 and 6 August at the library of the Parador de Corias and in Llanes, with works by Shostakovich, Lili Boulanger, Ernest Bloch, Rachmaninoff and Brittney Benton. On Tuesday 11 August, the trio Maria Florea, Lara Fernández and Daniel Claret presents «The Rest is Silence» at the As Quintas Auditorium in El Franco, a mosaic on silence with works by Ligeti, Gubaidulina, Kurtág, Webern, Penderecki, Stravinsky, Cage and Bach. On Thursday 13 August, that trio expands to a quintet at the Monastery of Santa María in Villanueva de Oscos, with works by Devin Cholodenko, Brahms and Dvořák.

The Menhir collective (Coco Moya and Iván Cebrián) presents a site-specific intervention over two days —8 and 9 August— through the streets of Leiguarda: a geolocated sound trail combining musical fragments, sonic elements and words that surface according to the walker's position. The route can be undertaken alone or in groups at any time during both days.

The programme also includes the «UMBRAL ZERO» minimalist concert with Guillermo Laporta (flute) and Josefina Urraca (piano) at the Aula del Oro in Belmonte de Miranda on 7 August, a micro concert during the 12 August solar eclipse in Leiguarda, and a residency showcase by The Rest is Silence trio at the second winning hórreo on 14 August. The sound walk of 15 August through Leiguarda and the closing concert of 16 August at the parish church wrap up the edition. The closing brings together a quintet (Natania Hoffman, Žilvinas Brazauskas, Frederieke Saeijs, Guillermo Laporta and Josefina Urraca) with works by Ravel, Ligeti, Beethoven and Stravinsky, followed by an open espicha for all audience members.

Key facts

About ADAR

The Association for the Development of the Arts in Rural Areas (ADAR) is a non-profit cultural organisation based in Leiguarda (Belmonte de Miranda, Asturias), founded in 2020 by musicians Guillermo Laporta and Josefina Urraca. Since its first edition in 2021, the festival has produced contemporary classical music, visual art and activated heritage in villages, churches, hórreos, monasteries and landscapes across rural Asturias.

The project runs a decentralised model combining artist residencies, cultural mediation with host municipalities, audiovisual documentation and international circulation. All programming is free and is supported by the Principality of Asturias, the European Commission, the Goethe-Institut and a network of cultural partners.

Press materials

High-resolution photography of venues and performers, complete biographies, technical dossier and accreditations are available on request. Please state outlet, journalist name and intended angle.

— end —