Miguel Graça Moura

Born at Oporto (Portugal), conductor Miguel Graça Moura graduated in Piano and Composition at the Oporto National Conservatory of Music (both diplomas with the highest grade), where he became later teacher of Composition. At the same time, he graduated in Architecture. As a composer, he received international acclaim (some of his works have been played in various countries), had some pieces commissioned by international festivals like Strasburg and won first prize at Naples Festival 1986. He also worked as assistant of Portuguese minister of Education, leading the national commission that reformed the artistic education in Portugal. With the help of scholarships from Portuguese Government, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and French Government, he studied, in Strasbourg (France), Conducting with Jean-Sébastien Béreau and Musical Analysis with René Schmidt (graduating with “Premier Prix” in both courses). After he taught Orchestra, Orchestral Conducting and Chamber Music at Reims National Conservatory (France) and became assistant of his ex-teacher J.-S. Béreau. He was Musical Director of “Música Viva” Ensemble (1975 to 1980), Strasbourg University Orchestra (1982 to 1984), Grenoble University Symphony Orchestra (1984 to 1986), Portuguese Youth Orchestra (1986 to 1994), Chamber Orchestra “La Folia” (1987 to 1992) and Lisbon Metropolitan Orchestra (1992 to 2003). He also founded and directed in Lisbon the four music schools related to LMO. He conducted almost all Portuguese professional orchestras and many others in the 34 countries (in Europe, America and Asia). He conducted famous soloists like Maria João Pires, Augustin Dumay and Tatiana Nikolaeva, among many others. He is member, since 2003, of the jury of “Prokofiev” International Competition for Conductors (S. Petersburg, Russia). Miguel Graça Moura has recorded over twenty CDs, published by Philips Classics, RCA Classics and EMI Classics, as conductor of various orchestras from Portugal and abroad. (from text by Miguel Graça Moura)

Fausto Neves

Pianist Fausto Neves initiated his studies with his parents and from a very early age with Helena Costa, in Oporto. Through her, Robert Weisz (Canada - Quebec) and Harry Datyner (Switzerland - Geneve) he contacted the great pianistic tradition of Vianna da Motta, Edwin Fischer, Alfred Cortot, Marguerite Long and Dinu Lipatti. Graduated by the Oporto Conservatory (1977), he was awarded with the Virtuosity Prize of the Geneva Conservatory (1982) and invited to teach in this school. Fausto Neves began performing to a widespread audience very early, being frequently invited to play at most important musical events in Portugal, Switzerland, Italy, Brazil, Canada and France. He was soloist with several orchestras under conductors like Arpad Gerezs, Gunther Arglebe, Graça Moura, Álvaro Salazar, Kamen Goleminov, Fernando Eldoro, Marc Tardue, Ferreira Lobo, Philippo Zigante, Cesário Costa, António Lourenço or Pearce de Azevedo. He has often recorded for RDP or RTP (Portugal) and TV Cultura (Brazil). His large repertoire, embracing from baroque to contemporary periods, gives a special attention to Portuguese Music. He has performed first auditions by Lopes-Graça, Eduardo Patriarca, Amílcar Vasques Dias and Cândido Lima and has divulged in Portugal composers like Ramon Barce, Charles Griffes, Frank Martin or Karol Szymanowsky. He has collaborated with other soloists on various occasions namely violoncellist Gisela Neves (CD ”Alla Danza”) and pianist Pedro Burmester together with percussionists Miquel Bernat and Manuel Campos integrating a piano and percussion quartet. His pedagogic activity included teaching at the Geneva and Sion Music Conservatories (Switzerland), Oporto Conservatory and Superior School of Music. At present he is invited Professor in Aveiro University. Fausto Neves holds the first prize in the “Cidade da Covilhã” contest among others. He is regularly invited to integrate juries in national and international contests as well as masterclasses. (from text by Fausto Neves)

Nuno Dario

Nuno Dario is an explorative composer; his aesthetical concerns are focused on blurring the boundaries between musical genres. He began his musical studies privately with Dulce Nagy. He then studied classical guitar with Piñeiro Nagy at Academia de Amadores de Musica, composition with Christopher Bochmann, piano with Alexei Eremine and conducting with Roberto Perez. From 1999 to 2003 and 2005/06 he got his first degree in Composition with distinction from Lisbon College of Music, where he worked with composers Sérgio Azevedo, Christopher Bochmann and Luís Tinoco. His professional activity spreads over several musical genres, writing music for film and television as well as for the Web. Many of his works have been performed in Portugal and abroad by MikroDuo (in Switzerland), Trio GrandOpus or Epabi Symphony Orchestra to name just a few. A special highlight to his most appreciated theatre works such as ‘Dracula’ or ‘Hamlet’ (music and sound design) for the Lisbon Players. Nuno also kept furthering his conducting studies with Ernst Schelle and Neil Thomson leading to a freelance conducting career. He was principal conductor at Gymnasium Opera Classical Orchestra, co-musical director of Ensemble JER and he performed at prestigious venues with orchestras such as Epabi and Esproarte Symphony, Tejo National and other contemporary music chamber ensembles. He taught Analysis and Techniques of Composition, Choir and Orchestra at several music conservatories and professional school of music in Portugal from 2001 to 2007. In 2008 he enrolled on his composition PhD program at Royal Holloway College in London under the supervision of British film composer Brian Lock; his thesis being focused on film music. Nuno was granted the PhD scholarship by the Foundation for Science and Technology, a department of the Portuguese Ministry of Science and High Education. (text by Nuno Dario)

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Paulo Ferreira Lopes

Composer Paulo Ferreira Lopes studied composition with Constança Capdeville in Lisbon between 1988 and 1991. In 1994 he moved to Paris. Between 1995 and 1997 studied Composition in Paris with Emmanuel Nunes, Antoine Bonnet and Computer Music with Curtis Roads. In 1996 he received a Master in Composition at the University of Paris VIII under the advice of Horacio Vaggione. In 1996 further studies in composition with Karlheinz Stockhausen at the "Internationale Ferienkurse für Neue Musik", Darmstadt. Also in 1996, distinguished as Researcher with a scholarship of the French Government by the "Ministere de la Recherche" at the "Departement d’Esthétique et Technologies des Arts" of University of Paris VIII. In 1997, composition-prize at the exhibition "Documenta X" in Kassel, Germany. Founder and Director (between 1992/95) of the Electronic Music Studio C.C.I.M. Founder and Director (2000) of the Summer Workshops - olhAres de Outono at Univesity Catholic Porto. Since 1998, artist in residence and researcher at ZKM - Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie - Karlsruhe Germany. Since 2002, member from the European Parlament of Culture. In 2004 he received the Doctor degree from the University of Paris VIII. Since June 2004, Director from the Research Centre for Science and Technology in Art CITAR and Professor at Portuguese Catholic University. Since 2007 invited Professor at Karlsruhe Music University - Music Informatic Departement. In 2004 his work was selected by the International Society for Contemporary Music to represent Portugal in the World Music Days 2004. Paulo Ferreira-Lopes works has been produced in international festivals - Musica Strasbourg, Música Viva, Estoril Summer Festival, documenta X - Essen, Biennal S. Paulo, ZKM-Karlsruhe, World Music Day’s, Gulbenkian Foundation, Expo 98 Portugal , through important ensembles of the contemporary artistic scnene as AccrocheNote, OrchestrUtopica , Ensemble Modern Frankfurt, etc..

(text by Paulo Ferreira Lopes)

Works:

http://ima.zkm.de/~pfl/ceT_5_8.mp4
http://ima.zkm.de/~pfl/tal.mp4

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Ana Irene Rodrigues

Saxophonist Ana Irene Vasconcelos Rodrigues was born in 1986 in Puerto-Cabello, Venezuela. At the age of five years old, she went to live in Madeira island, Portugal. When she was eight years old she started to have piano lessons at the School of music and arts of Madeira (Conservatório-Escola Profissional das Artes da Madeira. Two years later she started also to play the saxophone, with Duarte Basílio at the same school, and later on she also started to play in the village fanfare (Banda Municipal de Machico). In 2000 Ana Irene entered the Professional Course of Music in the School of music of Madeira, where at 17 she finished her high school specialized in music. During this three years of education she had the chance to participate and play with several groups like wind orchestras, saxophone quartet, choir, big band, contemporary group. She also did several master-classes and courses with Jean-Ives Formeu and his saxophone quartet, Demetrio Mendez, The Coimbra Saxophone Quartet, João Figueiredo, Manuel Silva and Henk van Twillert, etc. During her studies besides many concerts in Madeira, Irene went to perform in Finland, Spain, England, Açores, etc. Since 2004, she studies at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, as a student of the class from Henk van Twillert. During these years, Irene has performed in many cities of Europe with saxophone ensemble, saxophone quartet, trio, duo and many other chamber music groups. After one year an a half of non-playing due to an injury on the left arm, she re-started playing and performing again in the summer of 2009. During the 1st Semester of the school year 2009/2010, she went to study at the conservatorio "Giuseppi Verdi" in Milano, Italia for four months in the saxophone class of Mario Marzi. Now, back to Amsterdam, Irene is at the 3rd year of her bachelour studies, in the saxophone class of Arno Bornkamp.


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Pedro Rodrigues

Winner of Artist's International Auditions (New York), Sor Competition (Rome), Young Musicians Award (Lisbon) and prizewinner at Paris, Verona, Valencia, Montelimar, Sernancelhe among other competitions, guitarist Pedro Rodrigues started his musical studies at the age of 5 and the study of classical guitar at 9 with José Mesquita Lopes with whom he completed his course of study with highest honours and as recipient of the Gulbenkian Scholarship. Later, he continued his studies with Alberto Ponce at the École Normale de Musique de Paris, receiving the Diplome Supérieur de Concertiste de Guitare "a l'unanimité avec felicitations" and he has also taken master classes with Leo Brouwer, David Russell, Joaquin Clerch e Darko Petrinjiak. Pedro Rodrigues performed either as soloist, chamber music ensembles or orchestras (Gulbenkian, Filarmonia das Beiras, Algarve's among others) in Europe, America and Africa in prestigious halls like Carnegie's Weill Hall - New York, Salle Cortot - Paris, Ateneo - Madrid, Endler Hall - Cape Town, Centro Cultural de Belém - Lisbon, Gulbenkian Foundation - Lisbon, Casa da Música - Oporto and he is regularly invited to teach masterclasses in Europe and USA. Mr. Rodrigues recorded for RTP, RDP, RTM, SABC, WIPR Broadcasting Companies and for NUMÉRICA, JNS Music and Nuova Venezia recording labels.

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José Luís Ferreira

Composer José Luís Ferreira (b. 1973, Lisbon) made his First Degree in composition at the Escola Superior de Música de Lisboa, in 2001, where he studied with Christopher Bochmann, António de Sousa Dias and António Pinho Vargas. He attended several composition courses, workshops and seminars in Portugal with Emmanuel Nunes, Salvatore Sciarrino, Jean-Claude Risset, John Chowning, Per Anders Nilsson, Trevor Wishart e André Bartetski. Presently, he's doing a PhD Music research on Computer Music at Universidade Católica Portuguesa (UCP) in Oporto/ CITAR (Research Center For Science and Technology in Art). His music, for different kinds of instrumentation with or without electronics, has been performed by several portuguese musical ensembles (Remix Ensemble / Orchestrutópica / Sinfonietta de Lisboa / Ricercare / Saxofínia/ Machina Mundi). In 2001, he won the Festival Musica Viva's acusmatic composition contest with the piece “Le bruit d`une tête qui frappe contre les murs d`une très petite cellule”. He also works as a musical assistant (computer music) with several composers performers/ ensembles, namely: Francisco Monteiro, João Madureira, Luís Tinoco, José Júlio Lopes, Orchestrutópica, Orquestra Metropolitana and Machina Mundi. Since 2002, José Luís Ferreira has lectured several courses at the Escola Superior de Música de Lisboa, Faculdade de Belas Artes and Escola Técnica de Imagem e Comunicação (ETIC).

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Cesário Costa

Cesário Costa (b. 1970) is one of the most active conductors of his generation in Portugal. He studied in Paris, where he finished his Piano Graduation, and in Germany, where he completed his Degree with the highest grade and Master’s Degree in Orchestral Conducting at Würzburg Music Academy. In 1997, he won the first prize of 3rd International Competition for Young Conductors organised by Fundação do Oriente. That same year, he received a scholarship from Bayreuth Music Festival. He has been invited to conduct many orchestras in Portugal and others such as the Royal Philharmony Orchestra, Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble für Neue Musik (Germany), Arhus Sinfonietta (Denmark), Macedonia Philharmony Orchestra, Rome Philharmony Orchestra, Sudecka Philharmony and Rzeszów Philharmony (Poland), Orquesta de Extremadura (Spain). He has performed in many countries such as Spain, France, Germany, Belgium, England, Italy, Denmark, Macedonia, Malaysia and Brazil, and appeared in several Music Festivals. His repertoire ranges from baroque to contemporary, including the world première of more than seventy pieces. He collaborates on a regular bases with some of the most important concerts halls in Portugal. He was Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of Espinho Classical Orchestra and Algarve Orchestra. He was awarded the medal of cultural merit by Vila Nova de Gaia’s City Hall. He is the Vice-President of the jury of the Young Musicians Prize organised by the RDP-Antena 2. Currently, he’s the President of the Board of Metropolitana/ Lisbon Metropolitan Orchestra. He’s also Principal Guest-Conductor of the Algarve Orchestra, Artistic Director of the Promenade Concerts organised by Coliseu do Porto and Principal Conductor of OrchestrUtopica. (adapted from text by Cesário Costa).

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Teresa Valente Pereira

Cellist Teresa Valente Pereira (b. 1982, in Lisbon) started studying cello at 6 with Maria José Falcão and completed with honours undergraduate studies with Paulo Gaio Lima. She got her post graduate diploma at the Reina Sofia School (Madrid) in the class of Natalia Shakovskaya and finished her studies doing a Konzertexam Diploma with Christoph Richter. Participated in various cello masterclasses with Xavier Gagnepain, Steve Doane, Miklós Peréyni, Natalia Gutman and others, and chamber music masterclasses with Walter Levin, Veronica Hagen and Erich Höbarth, among others. She was awarded several prizes and distinctions, among which the 1st prize of the Young Musicians Radio Award and the Estoril's International Competition. She played as a soloist and chamber musician in some of the most important music halls in Portugal, Spain, Italy, France and Venezuela. Her performances with Hansjorg Schellenberger, Antoni Ros-Marbá, Ronald Zollman conducting the Gulbenkian, Portuguese Symphony, Oporto National and “Freixenet” Reina Sofia orchestras, were highly acclaimed. She participated in various national and international festivals. She was a member of Grupo Albéniz, performing regularly in Portugal and Spain. First solo recording was released in 2002 with pianist Bruno Belthoise, including the first recording ever of Armando José Fernandes’ Sonata for cello and piano. She also recorded for the Portuguese and the Spanish Classical Radios. She was a member of the EUYO Orchestra, working with Sir Colin Davis and playing at the Royal Albert Hall and the Philharmonie Berlin. She was Principal cello of the Lisbon Metropolitan and the Asturias Symphony and collaborates regularly with the Gulbenkian Orchestra. Currently she’s involved in a new chamber music project, Trio Pangea, with Bruno Belthoise and violinist Adolfo Carbajal. (adapted from text by Teresa Valente Pereira)

Fábio Machado

Fábio Machado (b. 1985, in Funchal, Madeira) started studying mandolin at the age of 9 and later on joined the Madeira Mandolin Orchestra (Recreio Musical União da Mocidade) and advanced to Concertmaster. He played on radio and national television and recorded two CDs with the Orchestra, named “A Bem da Arte II” and “Bandolins” (“Mandolins”). Machado toured Portugal in 1998 with stops in Águeda, Vila do Conde, Benavente, Santarém and Expo 98. In 2002 he joins the Orchestra on a tournée through the United Kingdom, playing 9 concerts in various locations such as St. George’s Bristol, and in the St. George’s Windsor Chapel. The last concert was officially inserted in the celebrations of the Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II of England. In 2002 Machado played some N. Paganini Caprices (Solo) at Teatro Municipal Baltazar Dias; in 2004 he recorded a DVD with the MMO at the same theatre, performing as a soloist. Machado is particularly fond of contemporary music and a mandolin work has been especially written for him by the Norwegian composer Oddvar Kvam, “A Special Day” for Mandolin and Piano. In September 2006 performed in "Romeo and Juliet" of S. Prokofiev, at "La Fenice" Theatre in Venice, under the direction of Myron Romanul, Orchestra del Teatro La Fenice together with the Bayerisches Staatsballett. He has appeared in England, Italy, Germany and USA. In November 2004 he joins the Superior Course of Mandolin at the Conservatory of Music "Alfredo Casella” in L’Aquila and currently studies at the Conservatory “Cesare Pollini” in Padua, always under the instruction of well renowned instructor and artist Dorina Frati. (adapted from text by Fábio Machado)

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Fábio Machado and the Madeira Mandolin Orchestra play Tomaso Vitali's "Chaconne in G minor":

Carlos Marecos

Composer Carlos Marecos (b. 1963, Lisbon) graduated in Composition, in 1999, at the Lisbon Superior School of Music, where he studied with Eurico Carrapatoso, António Pinho Vargas and Christopher Bochmann. He won the composition prize Prémio Lopes-Graça in 1999 and 2000. He has received commissions from numerous important cultural entities including Culturgest, the Gulbenkian Foundation Centre for Modern Art (ACART), the World Exhibition - Lisbon 1998, OrchestrUtópica, the Estoril International Music Festival and Cistermúsica - Alcobaça Music Festival. He directs the chamber ensemble “Ensemble Portátil”, which is dedicated to contemporary repertoire and modern settings of Portuguese folk music. In the areas of theatre and dance, he has worked with the stage directors João Brites, Raul Atalaia, Luís Miguel Cintra, as well as the choreographers Madalena Victorino and Vera Mantero. Since 2002, Marecos has been developing staged works regularly with a team of artists including soprano Margarida Marecos, stage director Paulo Lages, actor Guilherme Filipe, set designer Acácio de Carvalho and costume designer Manuela Bronze. Together, they staged productions such as “La Serva Padrona/A Criada Patroa” (a modern version of Pergolesi’s intermezzo musicalle, with orchestration by Marecos – 2002), “Caminho ao Céu” (musical theatre, staged by Paulo Lages - 2003) and “O Fim – Ópera Íntima” (a chamber opera with libretto by Paulo Lages, based on the play by António Patrício - 2004). Outside Portugal, his music has been performed in Spain, France, England, Denmark, Colombia and the USA. He is currently earning a doctorate in musical research at the University of Aveiro, with the composers João Pedro Oliveira and Christopher Bochmann. He teaches composition and analysis at the Lisbon Superior School of Music and at the Dom Dinis Conservatory in Odivelas.

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List of works

Discography

Press reviews

Carlos Marecos' opera "Outro Fim", by Margarida Marecos (soprano), Guilherme Filipe (actor), cond. Humberto Castanheira (2nd Renaissance of Portuguese Composition project on You Tube):

Diogo Alvim

Portuguese composer Diogo Alvim (b. in Lisbon in 1979) finished his Diploma in Architecture in Lisbon in 2004. He had also been studying Harpsichord at the Lisbon National Conservatoire wih teacher Cândida Matos, and Analysis and Composition Techniques with teachers Carlos Gomes and Eurico Carrapatoso. He attended several harpsichord workshops and sang in several choirs. From 2004 to 2006 he lived and worked in London as an architect. During that period, he attended a course on Computer Music at the London School of Contemporary Music and the course “Compose and Perform” at the Goldsmiths University with composer Fumiko Miyachi. In the meantime, he collaborated with dancer/choreographer Tânia Carvalho on the soundtrack of her show “Explodir em Silêncio Nunca Chega a Ser Perturbador”. He returned to Lisbon to study Composition at the Lisbon Superior School of Music, and to continue his Harpsichord studies. Currently in his last year of the Composition Course, he has studied with composers Sérgio Azevedo, João Madureira, Carlos Caires and Luis Tinoco. He has also been attending the Gulbenkian Composition Seminars with Emmanuel Nunes. Diogo Alvim has had several pieces premiered at the event Peças Frescas since 2007. He participated in the 6th and 7th editions of the Gulbenkian Orchestra's Workshop, with the pieces “Pequeno Concerto para Clarinete e Paisagem” (Esther Georgie, cl.), and “Concatenação”, both conducted by Joana Carneiro. In July 2008, his piece “Topografia” was played at a “first reading” concert by Orchestrutopica with conductor Cesário Costa, held at the Portuguese Music Festival, in CCB, Lisbon. In October 2008 he premiered “Distância (Ocupação_3)”, for electronics, at a concert held at the Instituto Franco-Português, programmed by Miso Music Portugal.

Diogo Alvim's "Pequeno Concerto para Clarinete e Paisagem", by Esther Georgie (cl), Gubenkian Orchestra, cond. Joana Carneiro (2nd Renaissance of Portuguese Composition project on You Tube):

Constança Capdeville

Composer, pianist and percussionist, Constança Capdeville's musical theatre is a combination of music with scenical elements, which she put into practice with the various music groups she founded. She started her musical studies in Barcelona before permanently establishing herself in Portugal after 1951 due to the social and political circumstances that emerged from the Spanish Civil War. She carried on her higher studies at Lisbon's National Music Conservatory, where she took piano classes with Varela Cid and composition classes with Jorge Croner de Vasconcellos. She graduated in ancient music interpretation (transcription, scoring, clavichord, piano accompaniment) by attending Macário Santiago Kastner's classes. She participated in some musicology projects with Gulbenkian, the National Library and the Ajuda Library. In the summer of 1962 she held a scholarship from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and took composition classes in Galicia with Philip Jarnach. This led to the piece Variações sobre o nome de Stravinski (Variations on Stravinski's name), which earned her the National Conservatory's Composition Prize. Countless seminars and improvement courses led to the presentation of her works in national and international festivals. She followed closely the performance of Lisbon University Orchestra, in which she participated many times as a composer and interpreter. She was also a member of Lisbon's Minstrels, of the chamber group Convivium Musicum and of Lisbon Contemporary Music Group. In 1969, after a request from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, she participated for the first time in Gulbenkian's Music Festival, which allowed her to follow her own style, and became a regular eversince. She was a forerunner in the writing of musical theatre pieces in Portugal, a genre to which she dedicated herself more and more, especially after 1980 with the group ColecViva, founded and directed by her. She also distinguished herself in the teaching of composition, namely at Santa Cecília's Music Academy, Lisbon's Higher School of Music and the Musical Sciences Department of Lisbon's Universidade Nova. In 1992 she was awarded the posthumous honourable state title Grau de Comendador da Ordem de Santiago de Espada. (adapted from text in PMIC)

Jorge Peixinho

Jorge Peixinho was a composer, pianist, teacher, critic, lecturer, international jury member, direction member of several organizations, concert organizer and conductor. His influence was crucial for the promotion of contemporary music in Portugal and Portuguese music abroad. He studied composition and piano at the National Conservatory of Lisbon. He was awarded a scholarship from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation to study with Boris Porena and Goffredo Petrassi at the Accademia de Santa Cecilia in Rome, where he received the diploma of advanced studies in composition in 1961. After working with Luigi Nono in Venice he obtained another scholarship from the Gulbenkian Foundation and the Cultural Institute to study with Pierre Boulez and Karlheinz Stockhausen in Darmstadt on various occasions between 1960 and 1970. During this decade he developed a broad range of activities as a composer, pianist, teacher, concert organizer, lecturer and critic. A scholarship from the Belgian government for advanced studies in electro-acoustic music enabled him to work at the IPEM studio in Ghent in 1972-73. He later attended a workshop on music and computers at the Ircam, Paris. In 1970 he founded the Grupo de Música Contemporânea de Lisboa (Lisbon Contemporary Music Group) which has since done valuable service in promoting contemporary music (with a particular emphasis on Portuguese music) and no less in theoretical and practical exploration of the problematic of new music and of new instrumental techniques. In 1974 he received the composition prize of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and in 1976 that of the Portuguese performing rights society. In 1977 he was elected member of the Presidential Council of the ISCM (international Society for Contemporary Music). Throughout this period he collaborated regularity with the Gulbenkian Foundation's Contemporary Music Encounters. He taught at the National Conservatory of Lisbon. In recent years, before his untimely death at the age of 55, he was greatly in demand as a jury member and participant for both lectures and concerts. (adapted from text in PMIC)

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Jorge Croner de Vasconcellos

Son of the violinist Alexandre Bettencourt and pianist and teacher Laura Croner, and grandson of clarinettist Rafael José Croner, composer Jorge Croner de Vasconcellos initially attended the Lisbon Faculty of Arts. A student of the National Conservatory since 1927, he eventually decided to exclusively follow a musical career. Alexandre Rey Colaço, António Eduardo da Costa Ferreira and Luís de Freitas Branco were some of his teachers. He also worked with conductor and composer Francisco de Lacerda. With a scholarship granted by the National Education Junta, he attended, in Paris the École Normale de Musique, courses directed by Paul Dukas, Nadia Boulanger, Igor Stravinsky and Alfred Cortot. When he returned to Portugal in 1938, he became responsible for the subject of Music History at the Music Amateurs Academy. A year later he performed at a concert with singer Arminda Correia and achieved recognition for his recitals in Paris, London and Brussels. After 1939, he became a teacher of Composition, Singing and Music History at Lisbon's National Conservatory. Already in the 1960s he also participated as a teacher in the Estoril Summer Courses. Although his work is not all that vast, the composer left a considerable number of singing pieces, many of which composed from texts of classic Portuguese poets. As far as chamber music is concerned, one should particularly mention the piano repertoire and the arrangements for pieces by Carlos Seixas. Croner de Vasconcellos also explored symphonic music, namely by composing pieces for the National Information Secretariat during the 1940s and the 1950s. He died in Lisboa in 1974. (adapted from text in PMIC)

Armando José Fernandes

Armando José Fernandes was born in Lisbon, 1906. He took a degree in Engineering before having decided in 1924 to dedicate himself to music, an art form he had felt attracted to from an early age. He started his studies in 1927 at Lisbon's National Conservatory. Alexandre Rey Colaço and Lourenço Varela Cid (piano), Luís de Freitas Branco (Music Sciences) and António Eduardo da Costa Ferreira (Composition) were among his teachers. He finished the course in 1931 and was awarded the first prize in piano and also the Rodrigo da Fonseca Award. Between 1934 and 1937, with the sponsorship of the National Education Council, he developed his piano and composition studies in Paris with Alfred Cortot, Nadia Boulanger, Paul Dukas and Igor Stravinsky. Between 1940 and 1942, he taught Piano and Composition at the Music Amateurs Academy. From 1942 on he worked exclusively as a composer for the Musical Studies Department of the National Radio Broadcast Company. In 1953 he joined Lisbon's National Conservatory as a Composition teacher. He honourably retired from this position on his 70th birthday. Although his lineage, harmonically chromatic in the colours and formally neo-classic in spirit, denounces a cosmopolitan character, permeable both to the sensitivity of someone like Fauré as well as to the constructivism of someone like Hindemith, it also displays a certain kind of Portuguese inspiration, thanks to the likely search for motivation in Portuguese popular themes. He received the composition awards Moreira de Sá (Porto, Orpheon Portuense, 1944) and Círculo de Cultura Musical (Lisbon, 1946). He died in Lisbon in 1983. (photo and text from PMIC - Based on the biography included in the Catálogo Geral da Música Portuguesae, organized by Humberto d'Ávila).

Cláudio Carneyro

Son of the great painter António Carneiro and Rosa Queiroz Costa, Cláudio Carneyro was born in Oporto, 1895. He started studying the violin at 15 with Carlos Dubini. The composition studies began in Oporto with the French professor Lucien Lamber, who encouraged him to continue his work in Paris where, for two years, he joined the class of Charles Widor. In 1921 he became a solfeggio teacher at the Oporto Music Conservatoire. Two years later, the Paris opening of his "Prelúdio, Corale Fuga", by the Colonne Orchestra, led by conductor Gabriel Pierné, would persuade him to dedicate himself totally to composition. In 1926 he won a scholarship of the Portuguese government and left for the United States of America where he remained for two years. In Hartford, Connecticut, he married the American violinist Katherine Hickel, who gave him a daughter, Ana Maria, still living there. Meanwhile, the Orpheon Portuense granted him the Moreira de Sá Prize (1933) and the Portuguese government awards him the medal of "Oficial de Santiago de Espada" (1934). In 1935 he works in Paris with Paul Dukas as a scholarship owner of the Instituto de Alta Cultura. Three years later he starts teaching composition at the Oporto Music Conservatoire. After 1956 he is also the school's principal. In 1941 he is appointed musical counsellor of the radio station Emissor Regional do Norte. He died in 1963 after a cerebral haemorrhage. (text and photo from PMIC)

Joly Braga Santos

Composer Joly Braga Santos was born in Lisbon, 1924. He studied violin and composition at the National Conservatory, where he was a student of Luís and Pedro de Freitas Branco. The latter was the main responsible for promoting his work around the world. During his youth, he took inspiration from Portuguese traditional music, namely folklore and Renaissance polyphony. These influences are clear in the first four symphonies he composed between his 22nd and his 27th years of age, which were almost immediately performed by the national radio broadcast Symphonic Orchestra. In 1948 he was a Higher Culture Institute scholarship holder, having then studied musicology and composition in Venice with Virgílio Mortari, Gioacchino Pasquali and Alceo Galliera. At that time he also attended the International Conduction Course with Hermann Scherchen, where he was a colleague of Luigi Nono, Bruno Maderna and Fernando Corrêa de Oliveira. Again in Portugal, Joly dedicated himself for a long period to orchestra conduction. He only started again to compose more regularly after 1960, having then written his fifth and sixth symphonies. Besides his vast musical legacy, Joly Braga Santos also had an intense activity as a music critic. He was a founding member of the Portuguese Musical Youth, lectured in Composition at Lisbon's National Conservatory, worked at the National Radio Broadcast Company's Musical Studies Cabinet, and was a conductor of the S. Carlos National Theatre Orchestra, of the Oporto Symphonic Orchestra and assistant conductor of the Portuguese radio broadcast Symphony Orchestra. He died in Lisbon in 1988. (adapted from text in PMIC)

Frederico de Freitas

Composer Frederico de Freitas was born in Lisbon in 1902. He initially studied with his mother Cândida de Araújo Guedes de Freitas, having enrolled in the National Conservatory when he was 13 years old. The first compositions from his catalogue are from 1922. Worth of mention is the piece Poema sobre uma Écloga de Virgílio (Poem on a Eclogue by Virgil), for string orchestra. At the same time he was a composer, Frederico de Freitas also developed a career as secondary school teacher. However, it was his eclecticism that earned him the favour of the wider public. This eclecticism allowed him to compose not only pieces like Suite Africana (African Suite) or Quarteto Concertante (Harmonious Quartet), but also a vast gallery of light songs that since then inhabit national popular imagery. In 1935 Frederico de Freitas was admitted in the National Radio Broadcast Company as orchestra conductor, and since then played a leading role in the music events organized by the Estado Novo government. In 1940 he composed Missa Solene (Solemn Mass), for solo voices, choir and orchestra and Auto de D. Afonso Henriques (King Afonso Henriques Act), both pieces premiered on the Double Celebrations of the 800th Anniversary of Portugal's Foundation and the 300th Anniversary of the Independence Restoration. The conductor career, for which he worked very hard, was also internationally recognized, and as a result of that Frederico de Freitas was regularly invited to conduct foreign orchestras. Among his later pieces, one should mention D. João e as Sombras (D. João and the Shadows, 1960), the symphony Os Jerónimos (1962), Fantasia Concertante (Harmonious Phantasy, 1969) and Farsa de Inês Pereira (The Farse of Inês Pereira, 1979), the latter finished by Manuel Faria after Frederico de Freitas' death. (text and photo fom PMIC)

Luís Costa

Composer Luís Costa was born in São Pedro de Farelães in 1879 and died in Oporto in 1960. After completing his studies with Bernardo Moreira de Sá, he left for Germany, where he studied with Viana da Mota, Stavenhagen, Ansorge and Busoni. In parallel with his career as a soloist pianist, he worked with remarkable artists such as the cellists Casals, Hekking, Suggia and violinists Enesco and Aránye as well as the Rosé and Chaumont quartets. He taught at the Oporto Music Conservatory of which he was also director. He was a teacher of rare distinction due to both his natural gifts and his vast culture as well as deep musical knowledge. He taught and influenced whole generations of pianists as far as both aesthetics and professional ethics were concerned. As Artistic Director of the "Orpheon Portuense" he had a noteworthy action. At his invitation, some of the most remarkable artists of his time visited and performed in Oporto. Namely, he was responsible for Maurice Ravel's visit, in 1928. In nature he always found an endless source of inspiration that can be found in the titles and atmospheres of many of his piano compositions. His friendship with his master Moreira de Sá, a celebrated encyclopaedist and a violinist keen on chamber music, left him a taste for ensemble music which later translated into his professional life as a pianist and composer. His chamber music works are proof of the above. He was a cultivated musician interested in all arts and a friend of sculptors, painters, poets and writers. He was captivated by the magic of poetry. Thus were born works for piano and singing that were not irrelevant in the context of his work. (adapted from text by Maria Teresa Macedo, in PMIC)

Paulo Jorge Ferreira

Accordionist Paulo Jorge Ferreira (b. Lisbon, 1966) began his musical studies at the age of five with professor José António Sousa. He participated in national and international contests, achieving distinguished classifications. Along his musical learning he attended seminaries directed by some of the most prestigious contemporary accordionists. He studied at Matono Musical Institute and finished his superior studies in the Castelo Branco Superior School of Applied Arts. He has performed concerts both national and internationally, namely in France, Mexico, Belgium, Austria, Italy, Macau, Spain and Hungary, and chamber music concerts, playing with highly honoured musicians such as the pianist Maria João Pires and António Victorino d’Almeida, among others. He has been invited as a guest musician by symphony and chamber orchestras, for example, Beijin Orchestra, Gulbenkian Orchestra, Portuguese Symphony Orchestra, Oporto National Orchestra, Lisbon Sinfonietta, Remix Ensemble, and as a solist with Esart Ensemble and Remix Ensemble working along with famous international conductors, such as Stefan Asbury, Lawrence Foster, Peter Rundel, Martin André, Emilio Pomarico. He also composes with Pedro Santos an accordion duo (Duo Damian), with Pedro Vasconcelos one of accordion and piano (Ars Duo), with Carlos Alves one of accordion and clarinet (Artclac), and a quintet with a string quartet. Along his musical carrier he has been participating in several discographic recordings, radio and tv programs. He’s also developed the activity of composer, writing works for solo instruments, chamber music and orchestra. Recently one of his compositions for solo accordion was chosen as a compulsory piece in an accordion contest in the Basque Country. He lectures in the Applied Arts Superior School in Castelo Branco and in several conservatoires. He often participates as a jury member in international accordion competitions. In 2004, it was published a solo cd, "Percursos". (adapted from text by Paulo Jorge Ferreira).

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Bruno Belthoise

Photo: Christof Aubrian

Since he was awarded the Prix de la Fondation de France in 1988 and graduated from the Ecole Normale de Musique of Paris, pianist Bruno Belthoise has always liked surprising people with his choice of repertoire. A discoverer of music scores and an authority on 20th century Portuguese music, he has recorded five monographs (Disques Coriolan) that were just as many world premieres. He has delivered lectures and given recitals in Europe and in America and collaborates with Portuguese radio station Antena 2 on a regular basis for live concerts and recordings. His contribution toward making this music known has been encouraged by the most prestigious institutions in Portugal (Ministery of Culture, Gulbenkian Fondation, Camões Institut). Prize-winner of the Fondation Laurent-Vibert in 1991 and 1992 and “Classical Revelation” of ADAMI in 1997, he’s been invited to numerous festivals in France. His repertoire ranges from J.S. Bach to contemporary composers such as Alexandre Delgado, Sérgio Azevedo and Emmanuel Hieaux. He conceived and recorded three albums for La Librairie Sonore. Thanks to the performances he put together for young audiences like Babar et autres histoires, Hänsel and Gretel, Les aventures de Poucette, he gave tour concerts to thousands of children throughout France and in French-speaking countries. His need for diversity in the means of expression at his disposal led him to meet Syrian singer-composer Abed Azrié. Together they set up recitals and conceived an album, Chants d’amour et d’ivresse. He also composed a wind quintet for The Concert Impromptu. Since 2003 he’s been working as a pianist, composer and actor with the Compagnie Alain Rais. Inspired by the theatre and poetry, he ranges from Federico Garcia Lorca to Habib Tengour, lingering over René Char’s dazzling language and Maria Helena Vieira da Silva’s vibrant painting. (adapted from text by Bruno Belthoise)

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Discography

João Rafael

Composer João Rafael was born in 1960 in Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. From 1979 to 1985, he studied composition and piano at the Lisbon Conservatoire, obtaining his composition diploma with Christopher Bochmann in 1985. He continued his composition studies with Emmanuel Nunes, first in Paris (1985-88, with a scholarship from the Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon) and then in Freiburg (Germany) at the "Institut für Neue Musik" (1988-92, with scholarships from the DAAD and the Heinrich-Strobel Foundation) obtaining a composition diploma (Aufbaustudium). In Freiburg he also studied electronic music with Mesias Maiguashca. In October 1990, his piece Transition for clarinet solo won the first prize at the International Composition Competition "Camillo Togni" in Brescia in Italy. Other pieces received further prizes in international composition competitions and were selected to be played in important festivals all over Europe. In December 1994, a "Concert-Portrait" took place in Freiburg with the Ensemble Recherche conducted by Kwamé Ryan. In June 1995, Radio France (France Musique) dedicated to João Rafael one of the programmes "Auto-Portrait". Further Radio-Portraits were realized on the Portuguese Radio in 1991, 1996, 1998 and 2002. Regular analysis seminars and workshops, as well as text and analysis publications, in Portugal, Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, United Kingdom, Russia and USA. João Rafael works regularly in the domain of electronic music both as a composer and as an interpreter. His pieces have been performed by internationally renowned soloists, ensembles and orchestras in important festivals in Portugal, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Hungary, Austria, Italy, Switzerland and Germany. They have also been broadcasted in almost all European countries. (text by João Rafael)

João Rafael's "Occasus", by Ensemble Recherche, cond. Kwamé Ryan (2nd Renaissance of Portuguese Composition project on You Tube):

João Antunes

Composer João Antunes was born in 1975 in Lisboa. He began studying music at the Academia de Amadores de Música de Lisboa, where he studied techniques of composition and musical analysis with Pedro Rocha and Eurico Carrapatoso. He graduated in composition in 2006 at the Escola Superior de Música de Lisboa, having studied with Sérgio Azevedo, Luís Tinoco and Christopher Bochmann. He is currently working on his masters thesis in composition at the Universidade de Évora under the guidance of Professor Christopher Bochmann. In 2005, his work Ecos destorcidos was presented in the Música Viva Festival. He participates in seminars in composition driven by Emmanuel Nunes, in the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, since 2006. Following these seminars, he wrote Sphinx (2006) and Paisagens Reveladas (December 2008) for the Gulbenkian Orchestra. In 2007 he participated in the I Reading Panel of the Algarve Orchestra, presenting his piece Sopro de Inquietação. This piece was selected for the 2007/2008 season of the Orchestra. He was also com,missioned another piece for two sopranos and orchestra (Minha Partilha de Mim), for the same institution. In 2008, his piece for flute solo Hesitante - Confiante was incorporated as a compulsory piece work for Young Musicians Prize in 2008 (antena 2/RDP). He is currently working on a set of four songs for chorus and piano (Elementos Elementares), commissioned by the Academia de Música de St. Cecilia de Lisboa. João Antunes is currently teaching techniques of composition and musical analysis in the Fundação Musical dos Amigos das Crianças and Conservatório Regional Silva Marques. (adapted from text by João Antunes)

João Antunes' "Minha Partilha de Mim", by Sónia Alcobaça, Raquel Camarinha, Patrícia Quinta, Algarve Orchestra, cond. Cesário Costa(2nd Renaissance of Portuguese Composition project on You Tube):

Cândido Lima

Photo: Perseu Mandillo

Composer Cândido Lima was born in Viana do Castelo in 1939. He began his musical studies in Piano and Composition in Braga, where he played for many years as an organist at the Cathedral. He graduated in Piano and Composition in the Lisbon and Oporto Conservatories. After his military service in Bolama Island in Guinea, he studied Philosophy in the University of Braga. Later, Cândido Lima obtained a PhD in Aesthetics in the University of Paris with his dissertation "Identity and Alterity in Musical Composition". Having obtained scholarships from different organizations such as the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, the Culture Secretary of State and the Acantes Centre, he attended international courses with Nadia Boulanger, Stockhausen, Kagel, Ligeti, Pousseur, Boulez and Xenakis, among others. He also studied Analysis and Conducting with Gilbert Amy and Michel Tabachnik and attended several electronic and computer music courses at the University of Paris 8 - Vincennes, the University of Paris I-II - Panthéon-Sorbonne, CEMAMu and IRCAM. His articles are regularly published in the press and he has created television and radio series to promote the work of contemporary composers in Portugal. He was responsible for the visit of Xenakis, Giuseppe Englert, Jean-Baptiste Barrière, Wilfred Jentsch and Stefano Scodanibbio to Portugal. In 1973, Lima founded the "Música Nova Group", which promoted classic and Portuguese composers in festivals, series, radio, television, presenting them in concerts both in Portugal and abroad. As a researcher, he has participated in the Musical Education Reform in Portugal since 1968, especially in the area of Composition. He was the president of the Braga Musical Youth (1968/74). Until 1986 he taught and directed the Oporto and Braga Music Conservatories. In 1988 he joined the Direction and Consultation Council of the Music Department at the Aveiro University. He has written pieces for a diversity of instrumental ensembles, voice and piano, orchestra, some of which with electroacoustics and audiovisual mediums. He was the first Portuguese composer to use the computer. (adapted from text in PMIC)

Discography

Excerpt of Cândido Lima's "Memorabilis", by António Esteireiro (2nd Renaissance of Portuguese Composition project on You Tube):

Martin André

British conductor Martin André went to the Yehudi Menuhin School where he studied the piano. At Cambridge University he combined playing the piano with conducting. Now as a conductor he divides his time equally between the opera house and the concert platform. Concert appearances in the UK have included the Philharmonia, BBC Concert Orchestra, Northern Sinfonia and Royal Scottish National Orchestra, among others. Abroad he works regularly with orchestras in countries such as Holland, Norway, Israel, Australia and, in Portugal, Oporto National Orchestra and Remix Contemporary Ensemble. He made his opera debut conducting for Welsh National Opera, with whom he spent many seasons as a resident conductor. During this time he worked on a wide variety of operas, particularly 19th century Italian repertoire. He continues to work across a broad range of composers, although is particularly recognised for his interpretations of Verdi, Mozart and Janáček. He has the rare distinction of being the only conductor to have performed for all the major British opera companies. Internationally he has made numerous appearances in the opera houses of Canada, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Holland, Israel, New Zealand, Portugal, South Africa and the USA. In Portugal he performed the opening concert of Casa da Música in 2005 and in 2006 he created the Youth Orchestra of Portugal, which proved to be such a success and was renamed Momentum Perpetuum. Every year since then it has played the new year’s concert in Casa da Música and in July 2008 it has toured in Italy. He also conducted the Portuguese National Symphony Orchestra, playing works by Luís Tinoco, António Pinho Vargas and Joly Braga Santos on the opening concert of the “Música Portuguesa Hoje” festival in Centro Cultural de Belém, Lisbon. (adapted from text in Martin André’s website)

Discography

Edson Zampronha

Edson Zampronha (Rio de Janeiro, 1963) is a Brazilian-Italian composer. He has received two awards from the São Paulo Association of Art Criticism, Brazil. In 2005 he won, together with SCIArts Group, the 6th Sergio Motta Award, the most outstanding prize on Art and Technology in Brazil, for the installation Poetic Attractor. He has received commissions from different groups and institutions, as from the Museum für Angewandte Kunst, in Köln (Germany) for the cultural activities during the Soccer World Cup 2006; from the designer María Lafuente for her catwalk show at the Pasarela Cibeles 2006 (Madrid, Spain), and from the São Paulo State Symphonic Band for the 100th Anniversary of Sao Paulo State Gallery in 2005 (São Paulo, Brazil). He has worked as a guest composer in different institutions as LIEM-CDMC (Madrid, Spain), Phonos Foundation (Barcelona, Spain), and the University of Birmingham (England). His compositions are included in two CDs fully dedicated to his works (CD Sensibile and CD Modelagens) and in other thirteen CDs released by different record labels and institutions. As a performer, he has presented himself as a pianist an electroacoustic performer, and has included works by Portuguese composers in his repertoire (as by João Pedro Oliveira). He is Researcher at the Valladolid University, Spain. He has a Ph.D. in Communication and Semiotics – Arts – by the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo, and he has developed a Post-Doctorate research on Music at the University of Helsinki (Finland). He has a Master in Musical Composition by the Rio de Janeiro Federal University. He is the author of the book Notação, Representação e Composição (São Paulo: Annablume) and he is the editor, with Maria de Lourdes Sekeff, of the book series Arte e Cultura – Estudos Interdisciplinares – 4 volumes. (text by Edson Zampronha)

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Nuno Jacinto

Composer Nuno Jacinto was born in Madeira and started his musical education at the age of 7 at the Conservatório de Música da Madeira, in Violin, Piano, Organ and Harp. In 2000 he specialized in Violin in Escola Profissional de Instrumento, which he finished with distinction (18 values). He won the 2nd violin prize on "Education Pedagogics" in Athens, Greece. In 2003, he applied to Escola Superior de Música e Artes do Espectáculo (ESMAE) at Oporto, where he took his degree in Composition, studying in the classes of João Madureira, Nuno Côrte Real, Dimitris Andrikopoulos, Clarence Barlow, Carlos Guedes and Klaas de Vries. Several of his most recent works have already been presented in Funchal, Oporto, Braga, Aveiro, Lisbon in festivals like “Sound Acoustics”- Zépellin2005 (Barcelona), “Technical Breakdown” (Copenhagen), Black&White Festival (Oporto) and “Corta”- International Festival of Short Movies of Oporto. In 2006, he was awarded with the Scolarship of Merit of IPP, in contribution to his exemplary academic carrier. In 2007, his piece for violin solo “Solo II” integrated as obligatory Portuguese contemporary work in Young Musicians Prize 2007 (Antena 2/RDP). In 2008, his piece for Orchestra “ArRestare” (1st version) was premiered by the Algarve Orchestra and conductor Cesário Costa, during the II Atelier de Leitura para Jovens Compositores. Presently, he is teacher of Music Analysis, Acoustics and Music Technology in Escola Profissional Artística do Vale do Ave (ARTAVE). (adapted from text by Nuno Jacinto)

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Yemanjazz

This adventure started in minor mode. Coltrane was the far away godfather that in the first instance put together some of the present musicians that later would create the group we here present: Yemanjazz. During 2004/2005 Pedro Castanheira conceived the project, creating original compositions and arrangings which resulted in a True Musical and Lyrical Creole of Cape Verdian Batucadas, Afro Cuban Mandinga, Brazilian Samba and Post Bop Horn Sections, with combined Italian, Cape Verdian Creole, Brazilian and French Lyrics. The variety of nationalities of the current formation further and continually enriches these Global Musical Vectorizations. In 2006, the group finds its form with the present musicians: guitar & piano & vocals & didgeridoo & flutes – Pedro Castanheira (PT); electric bass – Pietro Casella (PT/IT); double bass & percussion – Afonso Castanheira (PT); alto saxophone & percussion – Peter Bastiaan (NL); tenor saxophone – Francisco Andrade (PT/VN)); trumpet – Ricardo Pinto (PT); drums – Nuno Pessoa (PT); trumpet – Alexandre Andrade (PT/VN); trombone – Eduardo Lála; vibraphone, percussion & panela “sound system” – Ian Carlo Mendoza (MX). As the name suggests, there is a relation to the ocean’s motion and its inhabitants…Space is the place and that is where music plays its unifying role. The waves of the ocean connect the continents, as well as the sounds coming from these lands and that’s where Yemanjazz distils these influences in to its own painting and poetry. Yemanjazz profits from vernaculars of a variety of disciplines, some of them outside music like dance, poetry & performance. (text by Yemanjazz)

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João Paulo Henriques

Guitarist João Paulo Henriques was born in 1984 in Madeira Island, Portugal. He started his musical studies at the age of 6 with his father, playing the cello for 6 years. At 12 he began to study classical guitar having has main teachers, Pedro Zamora and Daniel Marchán. In order to continue his studies, he moved to Lisbon where he was accepted in the class of the renowned Croatian player Dejan Ivanovic, receiving his Diploma in the year 2008 from the University of Évora. In Portugal he presented himself in several solo recitals as well in chamber music recitals with Flute, Guitar, Piano and Percussion. He has also played in other countries as Spain, Holland and Belgium. He attend several master classes with the some of the best players and teachers in the world, like, Carlo Marchione, Joaquín Clerch, Darko Petrinjak, Marco Socías, Michalis Kontaxakis, Carmen Mª Ros, Leo Brouwer, Costas Cotsiolis and Hubert Käppel. Currently he is doing his Master Degree in Maastricht Conservatorium under guidance of the world renowned player and teacher Carlo Marchione. In 2005 he was a finalist in the soloist category of the national youth competition “Prémio Jovens Músicos” sponsored by the Portuguese Radio (RDP). He was awarded the 3rd prize exequo in the International Guitar Competition “Guitarmania” 2007 and the 1st prize in the VI International Guitar Competition of Leiria 2009.

(text by João Paulo Henriques)

Nuno Miguel Henriques's "Uma pequena Viagem - Caminho do Imperador", by
João Paulo Henriques.

Mário Carreira

Guitarist Mário Carreira (b. Lisbon, 1962) is a performer and teacher at the Oporto Music Conservatoire. His special areas of interest include chamber music and repertoire for voice and guitar. He studied at the National Conservatoire of Lisbon and at the University of Évora with Manuel Morais, a student of the late Emilio Pujol, and in Caen/France with Louis-Marie Feuillet at the Conservatoire National de Caen. He also studied with many early music specialists including: the late Macario Santiago Kastner, Hopkinson Smith and Anner Bylsma. He specialises in the romantic guitar, in which he has worked and been in contact with: the late Robert Spencer, Manuel Morais, Jakob Lindberg, Dr. Thomas Heck and Dr. Brian Jeffery. He is the founder of the D'Amore Ensemble. He’s also a collaborator of Tecla Editions and the author of many articles, including one available on www.hebeonline.com (Matiegka's sonata op.23). As a concert-guitarist he played in Portugal, France, Spain, Switzerland and New-Zealand. (text by Mário Carreira)

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João António Ribas's Sonata nº 1 (Andante sostenuto and Rondó-allegro non troppo), by Jorge Salgado Correia and Mário Carreira.

Sofia Sousa Rocha

Composer Sofia Sousa Rocha was born in 1986, in Braga. She started studying piano at the age of seven, enrolling four years later at the Conservatório de Música Calouste Gulbenkian in Braga. She studied violin with Manuel António Sá. In 2001 she started her first Composition studies with Paulo Bastos at the Conservatory of Braga, where she also studied Electroacoustic. In 2004 she successfully applied to the Escola Superior de Música de Lisboa (ESML) to complete a First Degree in Composition, graduating in 2008, with a mark of 18 (out of 20). She studied with some of the most well recognized Portuguese composers such as Christopher Bochmann, Luís Tinoco, Carlos Caires and Carlos Marecos, among others. She studied singing with Sandra Medeiros between 2005 and 2008. Currently she is studying with Susana Teixeira. As a student at ESML Sofia Sousa Rocha co-organized various events, including the concerts "Peças Frescas" (Student Composers' Concerts), promoting the youngest Portuguese musicians and composers. She also co-directed the IV and V Music Festivals of the ESML in the S. Luiz Theater. Recent activities include the composition of new pieces commissioned from the Young Musicians Prize, promoted by Antena 2 – Portuguese Radio Broadcast and Alcobaça Music Festival. She has also participated in the II Reading Panel of Algarve Orchestra with “Papagaio sem penas” (2008). Subsequently this piece was selected for the season 08/09. She is currently teaching musical analysis and composition at the Escola de Música do Orfeão de Leiria / Conservatório de Artes. (text by Sofia Sousa Rocha)

Sofia Sousa Rocha's "Homenagem a Berio" (electronics) (2nd Renaissance of Portuguese Composition project on You Tube):

Nicholas McNair

Pianist Nicholas McNair, resident in Portugal since 1980, likes to see all his musical activity, composing, performing, preparation, editing, improvising or teaching, as part of a single whole. Head chorister of Canterbury Cathedral at the age of 12, he later studied at Cambridge University and the Royal College of Music. In London he wrote a series of commissioned chamber and choral works supported by the Arts Council of Great Britain, the RVW Trust and other private foundations. The British Council sponsored a concert of his works in Queluz Palace, Portugal in May 1991, and commissioned a cantata “Magnificat” in 1992. He worked with Sir John Eliot Gardiner, researching and preparing for performance the principal operas of Mozart and Beethoven, all recorded by Deutsche Grammophon-Archiv. His editions also include the operas Antigono by Antonio Mazzoni (Lisbon October 1755) and La Notte Critica by Niccolò Piccinni (Lisbon 1767). A teacher at the Escola Superior de Música in Lisbon, he works frequently with the Gulbenkian Choir and Orchestra as organist and pianist. He has collaborated as editor, repetiteur or composer, with stage directors and composers such as Robert Wilson and Philip Glass (Lisbon, Madrid, New York), Carina Reich and Bogdan Szyber (Lisbon, Stockholm), Terry Jones and Luís Tinoco (Lisbon), António Pinho Vargas, Luís Bragança Gil, Tim Carroll, Paulo Matos, André Gago etc. He has created live music for 150 silent films, appearing also in the Cannes Festival of 1995 and at the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., in 1997. He gave a recital of improvisation at the 1st Mafra Festival (1997), and the first of his 8 CDs, “Classical Improvisations”, was released by Eroica in 1998. His improvisations (live and in transcription) have been used in performances with poets and actors such as André Gago, and in concerts of his works (e.g. Mãe d’Água, Lisboa March 2003). (text by Nicholas McNair)

Miguel Henriques

Miguel Henriques has devoted his attention to major works of the pianistic repertoire. His recital programmes include pieces from different styles and periods from Bach to Beethoven, Chopin, Janácek, Schubert, Liszt, Tchaikovsky, Scriabine, Shostakovitch, Messiaen, Schnittke, Lopes-Graça and António Pinho Vargas. From these two well celebrated Portuguese composers are also his last recordings on CD. Born in the city of Porto (Portugal), graduated at the Lisbon and Porto Conservatories and at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, Miguel Henriques took his master's degree at the University of Kansas in the United States. Complementary fields of professional activity in Musicology, Aesthetics, Composition, Conducting, Dramatic Expression, and Piano Methodology. Professor of piano at the Escola Superior de Música de Lisboa, Miguel Henriques is regularly invited to teach in masterclasses in Portugal and abroad. (text by Miguel Henriques)

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Discography

Miguel Henriques plays António Fragoso's Prelude (from "Petite Suite"):

Daniel Moreira

Born in Porto, 1983, composer Daniel Moreira began his music studies in 1994. At the Porto Music Conservatory, he studied guitar with Artur Caldeira and composition with João-Heitor Rigaud. In 2006 he graduated from Faculdade de Economia do Porto with a B.A. in Economics, for which he was awarded the Banco de Portugal Prize for best student of Economics in 2006. He studies at Escola Superior de Música e das Artes do Espectáculo – ESMAE, Porto - since 2006, where he has studied composition with Dimitris Andrikopoulos and Fernando Lapa, and electronic music with Carlos Guedes. Also at ESMAE, he received lessons from Klaas de Vries, Magnus Lindberg and Jonathan Harvey (these last two in cooperation with Casa da Música). He is currently attending the Master´s Degree in Composition and Music Theory. In 2007, two of his pieces have been selected for reading sessions at Casa da Música: Magma, for an ensemble of 15 instrumentalists (Remix Ensemble, conductor: Rolf Gupta) and a preliminary version of the String Quartet (Diotima Quartet). He has received an award at Gian Battista Viotti International Music Competition 2007 in Vercelli, Italy (3rd prize for Noctis Lumina, for viola solo) and an Honorable Mention at Póvoa de Varzim Internacional Composition Competition 2008 (O Escuro Silêncio da Chuva, for female voice and ensemble). In 2009, he is young composer-in-residence at Casa da Música. Several works will be commissioned, two of which for the resident ensembles (Oporto National Orchestra, Remix Ensemble). He is a chorister at Coral de Letras da Universidade do Porto since 2004. (adapted from text by Daniel Moreira)