Works

Instrumentation (detailed)

Soloists

Piano

Performer(s)

Pirâmides de Cristal (Crystal Pyramids) was composed, using the same material as another work I wrote for orchestra in 1991, called Tessares. Both these pieces are inspired in fractal geometry. A fractal is a kind of structure that retains certain properties no matter to which level (microscopic or macroscopic) we observe it. Consequently, certain characteristics that are important in its overall shape are also present in its smallest details. This piece is structured around certain harmonic combinations generated by specific intervals and notes. These harmonic structures are used continuously in the piece repeating themselves in different occasions and levels (microscopic or macroscopic), but its musical surface is always different each appearance. It is the combination of these repetitions and its interaction in time that suggests to the listener's memory certain structural relations and a specific path in the earing and understanding of this work.

Work	Type	Date	Organization/Event	Venue	Town	Country	Performers	Notes	Inv Row
Pirâmides de Cristal	Premiere	1994/Jan/28	20th Century Piano Music Festival	Matosinhos Municipality - Noble Room	Matosinhos	Portugal	Madalena Soveral (piano)	Notes
Pirâmides de Cristal	Performance	1998/Nov/16	Music in November	Belém Art Centre	Lisbon	Portugal	Florian Müller (piano)	Notes
Pirâmides de Cristal	Performance	2010/Mar/16				United Kingdom	Nancy Harper (piano)	Notes

Documents
	Type (+ sub-type)	Cover/edition title Document title	Authors	Referring to	Publisher	Date
	Audio	Música Portuguesa Para Piano - Anos 90 Madalena Soveral  Pirâmides de Cristal		piramides de cristal João Pedro Oliveira Madalena Soveral	Numérica	2001
	Audio	João Pedro Oliveira Obras Encomendadas pela Câmara Municipal de Matosinhos  Pirâmides de Cristal		piramides de cristal João Pedro Oliveira Madalena Soveral	Numérica	1999
	Audio	Música Portuguesa - Séc. XX Obras Encomendadas pela Câmara Municipal de Matosinhos  Pirâmides de Cristal		piramides de cristal João Pedro Oliveira Madalena Soveral	Numérica	1996
	Audio	Pirâmides de Cristal,		piramides de cristal João Pedro Oliveira
	Scores	Pirâmides de Cristal  Pirâmides de Cristal		piramides de cristal João Pedro Oliveira	Câmara Municipal de Matosinhos / Oficina Musical	1995
	Scores	João Pedro Oliveira / Pirâmides de Cristal  Pirâmides de Cristal,		piramides de cristal João Pedro Oliveira	Centro de Informação da Música Portuguesa	2010 1993