On February 2, at Casa da Música in Porto, the saxophonist Henrique Portovedo will premiere three new works by Portuguese composers. This musician has stood out in the interpretation of contemporary music, having premiered many works by young Portuguese composers. On this occasion he will perform, among other contemporary works, a piece by Filipe Lopes, Variações sobre Espaço (world premiere), a work by Igor C. Silva for baritone saxophone and electronics, entitled Numb (national premiere) and also the work by Hugo Correia Radicibus for saxophone, electronics and guitars (also world premiere, with special guest, Lendário Homem do Trigo). These works "reflect the influence of the saxophonist and his performative language" as one can read in the concert program. For this recital Henrique Portovedo invited special guests: Nuno Aroso, Hugo Correia and João Rapozo, among others.

The cycle, New Music Encounters in Vila do Conde, starts in February its 3rd season. The New Music Encounters, with artistic direction by the composer Eduardo Patriarca, intend to bring to the audience, once a month, recent projects associated with contemporary music, presenting young performers and composers. The initiative begins on February 26 at 21h30 at the Main Hall of the Municipal Theatre of Vila do Conde, with a concert by the Coffee Quartet, composed of music students. The Quartet has an unusual formation: flute, oboe, clarinet and euphonium. This concert will be composed entirely of new works written for the group, by Rúben Borges, Nuno Lobo, André Ramos and ...like that bluebird (goodbye Mr. Jones) by Eduardo Luís Patriarca, composer published by the MIC.PT. The members of the Coffee Quartet are: Morgana Patriarca (flute), Fábio Soares (oboe), Bárbara Dias (clarinet) and Gabriel Silva (euphonium).

Carlos Alberto Augusto will be in residence in the O'culto da Ajuda between 25 January and 27 February at the Lab of Electroacoustic Creation of Miso Music Portugal. The composer will be preparing the presentation of his opera TMIE, standing on the threshold of the outside world, co-produced by Miso Music Portugal. On 25, 26 and 27 February the opera will be presented in O'culto da Ajuda, in a world première.Marina Pacheco will be the performer of this opera written and conceived by the composer, with the participation of Luis Filipe Cunha in the graphic and lighting design. TMIE, standing on the threshold of the outside world is a solo-opera by Carlos Alberto Augusto. The work was based on fragments by the Greek philosopher Empedocles. This musical theatre crosses three stories and three characters played by one singer, the soprano Marina Pacheco, creating a work that is intended to reflect on deafness, listening and the human ear.

The video 'Âphâr received an Award of Recognition at the Best Shorts Film Competition Award in the Animation category. The video accompanies the 2015 work 'Âphâr, written in 2007. 'Aphâr is an electroacoustic work for 8 channels, lasting 11'. João Pedro Oliveira, composer published by the MIC.PT, has received numerous international awards for his compositions. ‘Aphâr is a Hebrew word that means “dust”. This piece is inspired in the dream of Jacob, described in the Old Testament (Genesis, chapter 28). ‘Aphâr was composed at the composer’s personal studio and at the Electroacoustic Music Studio of the University of Aveiro. It received the first award at the Yamaha-Visiones Sonoras (Mexico) competition, in 2007.

A new work by António Pinho Vargas, his Violin Concerto in memory of Gareguin Aroutiounian, will be premiered at Centro Cultural de Belém, in Lisbon, on February 7, at 17h00. The composer published by the MIC.PT dedicated the work to the Armenian conductor and violinist Gareguin Aroutiounian, member of the Gulbenkian Orchestra since 1989. In addition to his career as a performer (particularly in chamber music) Aroutiounian taught in several Portuguese music schools. Gareguin Aroutiounian, born in 1951, died in March 2014. The work will be performed by the Metropolitan Orchestra of Lisbon under the baton of Gary Walker, with Tamila Kharambura on violin.

The Trash Panda Collective conducted by Jan Wierzba, a new contemporary music ensemble including several Portuguese performers, presented two works by composers published by the MIC.PT, on January 20 at the Amsterdam Conservatory (CVA). The works are: You should be blind to watch TV (2013), for ensemble and electronics, by Igor C. Silva and Do desenho e do som (2013), for ensemble, electronics, live-score and video, by Filipe Lopes. On the occasion of its first performance the Collective also presented pieces by Polo Vallejo and Louis Andriessen. Igor Silva’s Frames#87 for clarinet, live-electronics and video will be also preformed in Amsterdam this month - on February 17 at the CVA, by Frederic Cardoso (clarinet).

Carlos Alberto Augusto joins in February the Composers Edited by the MIC.PT. The online catalog of the MIC.PT scores now includes already three of his scores: Os Sinos dos Cristais (2013), for choir; Akinesis (2001), musical theater for viola and electronics, The Moment of Being (2005), musical theater for percussion and electronics. Carlos Alberto Augusto has worked mainly in the composition for theater and theater-music, with dozens of creations for different groups, in particular the regular collaborations with the Teatro da Rainha (in Caldas da Rainha). His music has a strong theatrical component. He studied with Murray Schaeffer and Barry Truax, and collaborated with the composer Constança Capdeville. He is active in the field of ​​multimedia creation, video and interactive communication, as a musician and sound designer. He has developed an intense research work and writing in the area of ​​"acoustic ecology". He worked in research, legislation, standardization and control of noise. Will premiere on February 25 a new opera, TMIE, his new opera in O'culto Help in Lisbon.

Pedro Rebelo, composer published by the MIC.PT, continues his research work articulating creative practice with a comprehensive understanding of the theory of culture and a reflection on new technologies. His new work Listening to Voices, is a part of this research, and was launched on January 12, 2016 at the Centre for Contemporary Arts in Glasgow. It can be heard on the composer's Soundcloud website. Pedro Rebelo is also an active performer in the field of chamber music and improvisation. He has recently been in Berlin for two performances - on January 28, in the Exploratorium Berlin, a centre dedicated to improvised music and creative musical pedagogies. Here Rebelo played the piano with Franziska Schroeder (saxophones). The concert was part of Sound and Lecture - Improvisation in dialogue. On January 29, the pianist and composer performed at the Kühl Spot Social Club improvising with the Greek duo Yorgos Dimitriadis and Antonis Anissegos, trumpeter Tom Arthurs and Franziska Schroeder on the saxophones.

The ExpressOriente Duo released a CD with new works from Portuguese composers. A China fica ao lado (China is nearby), was released in January 23, at the CAAA (Arts and Architecture Centre, in Guimarães) and in January 30 at the Museu Nogueira da Silva, in Braga, with two concerts with works by Ângela Lopes, Rui Dias (both composers edited by the MIC.PT) and Pedro Junqueira Maia. The Duo comissioned works to the three composers about the theme as a tribute to Maria Ondina Braga. A China Fica ao Lado is inspired in a short stories book written in 1968 in Macau by Maria Ondina Braga, writer born in Braga, a passionate for the oriental cultures. The program presented and the CD included three new pieces from Portuguese composers. The ExpressOriente Duo was born in 2006, created by Carlos Lima (guitar) and José Gil Magalhães (flute). The Duo plays a uncommon repertoire, frequently performing new original works, and has a special interest for the sonorities that build bridges between East an West

Carlos Alberto Augusto, Os Sinos dos Cristais (2013)

Carlos Alberto Augusto, Akinesis (2001)

Carlos Alberto Augusto, The Moment of Being (2005)

José Mesquita Lopes, A Natureza, o Povo e o Espaço (2013)

Cândido Lima, ETHNON - canto do paraíso (2010/2012)

This February, in the context of the new series Dossiers . Portuguese Composers of the 20th and 21st Centuries, we provide another online publication - the new edition in Portuguese of the Dossier no. 6 dedicated to Christopher Bochmann.
The series, Portuguese Composers of the 20th and 21st , intends to promote the work of Portuguese contemporary composers, constituting an “introspection” in the work of every composer, being simultaneously an encouragement to explore and (re)discover their music, as well as their aesthetic and philosophic reflection. Each Dossier is built of a short biography, questionnaire/interview or musicological article, catalogue of works with two ordinations (by instrumentation or following the chronological order) and discography.