Ultimamente, ando a ouvir música clássica para me acalmar.

Ultimamente means lately, recently, or in recent times. It is a false friend: it does not mean ultimately.

So in this sentence, it sets the time frame as these days / recently.

In European Portuguese, andar a + infinitive often means someone has been doing something around this period of time, often as a temporary ongoing habit.

So:

• ando a ouvir música clássica = I’ve been listening to classical music lately
• estou a ouvir música clássica = I am listening to classical music right now

Here, ando a ouvir fits well because ultimamente already suggests a recent, repeated pattern, not just one moment.

Usually, no.

Ando a ouvir often describes something that has been happening these days or for a while now, not necessarily at the exact second the speaker is talking.

It gives a sense like:

• I’ve been listening to...
• I’ve been into... lately
• I’ve been spending time listening to...

That a is part of a very common European Portuguese structure:

verb + a + infinitive

In this case:

• ando = from andar
• a ouvir = listening / hearing

So ando a ouvir is a verbal expression meaning something like I’ve been listening.

This is one of the main ways European Portuguese expresses ongoing actions. English uses -ing, but Portuguese from Portugal often uses a + infinitive instead.

Yes, it is very characteristic of Portuguese from Portugal.

In Brazilian Portuguese, you are more likely to hear forms with the gerund, such as:

• ando ouvindo
• estou ouvindo

So ando a ouvir is a very useful pattern to recognise and use if you are learning European Portuguese.

Because Portuguese often leaves out the article when talking about something in general, especially after certain verbs.

So:

• ouvir música clássica = to listen to classical music
• comer fruta = to eat fruit
• ler poesia = to read poetry

Using no article here sounds natural and general. The speaker is talking about the type of music they have been listening to, not a specific piece or a specific set of music.

Here, para introduces a purpose:

• para me acalmar = to calm myself down / in order to calm myself down

So the structure is:

• main action: ando a ouvir música clássica
• purpose: para me acalmar

In other words, the speaker is saying why they have been listening to classical music.

Me means myself here.

The verb acalmar means to calm. With me, it becomes:

• acalmar-me / me acalmar = to calm myself down

So the speaker is not calming someone else; they are doing it to themselves.

That is why me is needed.

Yes, that is also possible.

Both of these can be found:

• para me acalmar
• para acalmar-me

But para me acalmar is very natural and common in everyday European Portuguese. After a preposition like para, putting the clitic pronoun before the infinitive is very common.

So for a learner of Portuguese from Portugal, para me acalmar is an excellent model to follow.

Because ultimamente is placed at the beginning of the sentence as a time expression, and the comma marks a small pause.

This is very common in writing:

• Ultimamente, ando a ouvir...

The comma helps separate the introductory adverb from the rest of the sentence. In some short sentences, people may omit it, but using it here is completely natural and standard.

Yes, but the nuance changes.

• ando a ouvir música clássica = I’ve been listening to classical music lately; it feels current and somewhat temporary
• tenho ouvido música clássica = I have been listening to classical music; also natural, slightly more neutral
• costumo ouvir música clássica = I usually listen to classical music; this sounds more like a regular habit in general, not specifically something recent

So ando a ouvir is a very good choice because it matches ultimamente especially well.