Tudo Nunca Sempre
o Mesmo Diferente Nada – TNSoMDN (Everything Never Always the Same Different Nothing) is an opera project by Tiago Cutileiro – composer published by the MIC.PT – whose integral version will be premiered this month at two concerts: on February 23 and 27 at the Municipal Theatre of Guarda and at the Cine-Teatro Avenida in Castelo Branco. The spectacles – staged by Sónia Baptista, Leonor Keil and Sara Carinhas; performed by Inês Simões, Maria João Sousa, Nélia Gonçalves, Maria Ermida and the ]ars ad hoc group[ – will also continue next month, on March 1 at the Campo Alegre Theatre in Porto, among other concerts. The TNSoMDN is an opera in the most classical sense – it involves a simultaneous conception of music, libretto, video projection and staging, which despite the “non-narrative” music, a “non-deterministic” score, and a non-discursive staging, promotes an almost linear perception of the text as centralizing element.

Récit I​ (2019) for five car cushion springs is a new work by Ricardo Ribeiro – composer published by the MIC.PT –, which will be premiered by the percussionist Nuno Aroso on February 22 in Cologne, Germany (ON – Neue Musik Köln). The programme of this concert, entitled Xcuse me the naked materials: Out Of Order and with the participation of Luís Antunes Pena (electronics), also includes a work by this composer published by the MIC.PT – Três Quadros Sobre Pedra (2008); the piece `Xcuse me while I kiss the Sky (2010) by Pedro Junqueira Maia; as well as the music by Panayiotis Kokoras and Nicolas Collins. In his music Ricardo Ribeiro employs spectral techniques, giving significant attention to the sonic qualities of music. In accordance with the strategy, “to say the maximum with the minimum”, he uses elements such as repetition and “articulation of matter”, in this sense being close to the approach of composers such as Beat Furer or Pierluigi Billone.

Two films – Fordlandia Malaise by Susana de Sousa Dias and A Story from Africa by Billy Woodberry –, created with the participation of António de Sousa Dias, have been selected for the 14. Forum Expanded: ANTIKINO (The Siren’s Echo Chamber) of the 69th Berlin Film Festival (Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin; February 7-17). “My cinematic and audiovisual work is important since I transfer certain sonic aspects to the universe of image, and vice-versa. For example some research in «figure-background» or «field-space» relationships, etc., are echoed in my visual works and in the music works they're unified with some concepts from my sonic universe” – says this composer published by the MIC.PT, whose 60th anniversary is celebrated this year (interview for the MIC.PT, April 2017).

Give Guitars to People is
a performance of meta-idiomatic improvisation with new music by Vítor Rua (composer published by the MIC.PT), Jochen Arbeit and NATürlich, which will take place on February 16 at the Volksbühne in Berlin (Germany). Although this project is composed of isolated sonic experiences of every participant, the encounter between these musicians / composers results in an idiomatic journey with a unique sonority, yet without a concrete relationship between them becoming apparent. “I am both an improviser and a com-poser, so within me there’s a constant ping-pong between these two complementary activities” – says Vítor Rua in the interview given to the MIC.PT in December 2016. In Por-tugal the performance Give Guitars to People will be presented on March 16 at the O’culto da Ajuda in Lisbon.

The work A verdadeira Hidrostória do Elefonte​ (2018) for narrator and chamber orchestra by Sofia Sousa Rocha – composer published by the MIC.PT –, based on the story by Mário João Alves, will be performed on February 16 at the São Carlos National Theatre in Lisbon. The programme of this event, including the participation of Mário João Alves (narration) and of the Portuguese Symphony Orchestra, is also composed of the works by Fátima Fonte (Era uma vez eu alface) and Sara Ross (Uma história que começa pelo fim). These three musical stories for children with narrator and chamber orchestra have been commissioned by the Victor Córdon Studios and the São Carlos National Theatre. Another work by Sofia Sousa Rocha – Por um dia igual (2014) for four hand piano – will be performed by the Kla-Vier Duo on February 18 and 22 in Lisbon and Porto.

The version for flute, piano, guitar, cello and percussion of the work Tensão-Deformação​ (2017-19) by João Pedro Oliveira – composer published by the MIC.PT – will have its world premiere on February 17 at the Lisboa Incomum Space, in the context of the concert inaugurating the Tesseract Ensemble. The programme of this event will also include the music by Jaime Reis and Jorge Peixinho – composers published by the MIC.PT; and also by Roberto Victorio and Paul Chihara. Additionally, this month another work by João Pedro Oliveira – Tesseract (2017), video-music – is included in the programme of the WAV Venice Audio-Visual Show, taking place on February 1-9. The same piece was also presented at the 2nd Cultural Week of the Manuel Carra Profissional Music Conservatoire in Málaga (Synchresis 37 Programme, January 29 – February 1).

The work Prelude to a Rock and Fugue​ (2013) for piano four hands by Paulo Bastos – composer published by the MIC.PT – will be premiered by the Kla-Vier Duo (Patrícia Ventura & Sónia Amaral) on February 18 at the Foz Palace in Lisbon. This concert, which will repeat on February 22 at the Casa das Artes in Porto, includes works by Sofia Sousa Rocha and Fernando C. Lapa (Storyboard, 2003) – composers published by the MIC.PT; and also by Ligeti, Pärt and Bach / Kurtág. “I wrote this work for the Kla-Vier Duo, having in the background some common places in music – alluding to a musical form (prelude), to a genre (rock) and technique (fugue). It's
a relaxed and almost ironic piece. Already in the title one finds a provocative rock between a classical prelude and an orthodox fugue. In an atmosphere oscillating between a prelude with serious style, a rock with certain swing and an uncommon fugue (the theme and  the counter-theme start simultaneously!), the work has a structural unity within the diversity of the materials” – reveals Paulo Bastos.

Fluxus, pas trop haut dans le ciel (2017), 16-channel electroacoustic music for a system in form of cu-pola by Jaime Reis, makes part of the pro-gramme of the DME Festival – Electroacoustic Music Days, taking place between February 19 and 22 at the Music College of Lisbon, the Cine-Teatro Avenida (Castelo Branco) and at the Superior School of Music and Perfor-mance Arts (Porto). The programme of these concerts will also include the music by two other composers dedicated to electroacoustic music: Mario Mary (Argentina) and Robert Normandeau (Canada). Additionally, in the context of the Russolo Award, where Jaime Reis – composer published by the MIC.PT – is one of the seven laureates, the work Fluxus, pas trop haut dans le ciel will be per-formed on February 23 at the Chimeres.Space in Athens (Greece). Organized since 2010 by the Studio Forum in co-operation with the Russolo-Pratella Foundation, the Russolo Award was created in 1979 to pay tribute to the Italian com-poser and painter Luigi Russolo.

The work Descriptions de la Matière by Miguel Azguime – composer published by the MIC.PT – is included in the pro-gramme of the Antena 2 Recital by the pianist Elsa Silva, which will take place on February 26 at the O’culto da Ajuda . It was in 2016 precisely at this Lisbon venue – dedicated to new music,  and which since its creation in 2014 has been defending the freedom of artistic expression – that Elsa Silva premiered this work for piano and electronics by Miguel Azguime, in the context of the Extraordinary Piano cycle. Additionally, together with the composers Trevor Wishart (the United Kingdom) and Gilles Gobeil (Canada), Miguel Azguime is in the jury of the 20th International Competition of Electroacoustic Composition – Música Viva 2019,
which has been organized by the Miso Music Portugal since 2000.

This February Daniel Moreira – composer published by the MIC.PT and specialist in music theory – is tutor in the context of the 10th Free Course of Music History Saber Ouvir (To Know to Listen) – 2nd Module: Music and Language. It will be taking place on February 11, 18, and 25 at the Casa da Música in Porto. This Course gives a historic perspective on the ancestral connection between music and language – from the Classical Antiquity until today. What distinguishes (and joins) these two universes? What are the conditions in order for them to be joined? To what extent the language can serve as model of reflection on music (and the opposite)? This module also shows how music and language have been differently combined by different composers – from medieval polyphony, through classical and romantic symphony to contemporary opera.

After Nocturnal Music #1 the Composition Course at the ESMAE – Superior School of Music and Performance Arts of Porto, presents the 2nd chapter of this cycle dedicated to new Portuguese music. In this sense, on February 7 at the Helena Sá e Costa Theatre in Porto it will be possible to listen to the music by six composers: Rui Penha and Ângela da Ponte (composers published by the MIC.PT); and also by Carlos Azevedo, Dimitris Andrikopoulos, Fátima Vieira and Telmo Marques. The performance Nocturnal Music #2 includes the participation of the musicians: Constantin Sandu, Fernando Ramos, Gilberto Bernardes, Jeffery Davis, João Pedro Lourenço, Mário Teixeira and Nuno Aroso.

The world premiere of a new work for piano by Álvaro Salazar, Descriptions de la Matière (2016) for piano and electronics by Miguel Azguime (composer published by the MIC.PT), Groupes II for piano by Armando Santiago, as well as a selection of Sonatas and Interludes for prepared piano by John Cage and Sequenza IV for piano by Luciano Berio – these are the pieces composing the recital by the pianist Elsa Silva, which will take place on February 26 at the O’culto da Ajuda in Lisbon. Since October 2018 the Miso Music Portugal and the Antena 2 (Portuguese Radio) have been organizing – once a month on Tuesdays – a recital with live broadcast form the O’culto da Ajuda, with exceptional performers giving voice to the music of our time. It is a cycle of solo concerts with the participation of Portuguese renowned musicians, performing significant 20th / 21st century music works, together with the music by Portuguese contemporary composers. The programmes also include important premiere performances, and present different acoustic instruments in combination with electronically transformed sounds.

Works by three composers published by the MIC.PT – Sândalo de Prata (2018) for flute and guitar by Jaime Reis; Sine Nomine (1987/1988) for variable formation (flute, piano, guitar, cello, percussion) by Jorge Peixinho; and the premiere of the version for quintet (flute, piano, guitar, cello, percussion) of the work Tensão-Deformação (2017-19) by João Pedro Oliveira – are included in the programme of the Premiere Concert by the Tesseract Ensemble, taking place on February 17 at the Lisboa Incomum Space. “The impulse to create the Tesseract – resident-ensemble at the Lisboa Incomum – has been the simple and genuine desire to make music of our time” – say the Ensemble’s founders. Formed by renowned musicians, the Tesseract is aimed to be a vehicle to encourage the creation and to promote the music by Portuguese composers. For its Premiere Concert, Monika Streitová (flute), Marco Fernandes (percussion), Pedro Rodrigues (guitar), Miguel Rocha (cello) and Ana Cláudia Assis (piano) have chosen five works – also including the premiere performance of Micro-fragmentos II by the Brazilian composer Roberto Victorio and the Portuguese premiere of Ceremony II (Incantations) by the American composer Paul Chihara.

Christopher Bochmann (CB0122)
Pastorale (2015) · chocalhofone alentejano and orchestra

Christopher Bochmann (CB0123)
Four Fragments and a Fantasy (2015) · eleven instruments

Amílcar Vasques-Dias (AVDias0011)
Se uma gaivota viesse ... (2016-17) · orchestra

The next concert in the framework of the 2nd edition of the CriaSons Festival – Tendencies in Portuguese Contemporary Chamber Music will take place on February 11 at the Foz Palace in Lisbon. This time the Composer / Musician Resident responsible for the composition of the repertoire is Alejandro Erlich Oliva. The programme he conceived, entitled Argentine in Portugal, includes works of his own authorship: Três Aires Argentinos (2015), Pequeña Canción y Danza (2017), Tres Danzas Argentinas (2018) and Três Canções (2016); and also: Amen para uma Ausência (1987) by Constança Capdeville (composer published by the MIC.PT), the world premiere of the piece Opus Brevis (2018) for string quintet composed for the CriaSons by Samuel Pascoal, as well as the music by Diego Kovadloff, Alberto Ginastera and Astor Piazzolla. “This programme fits in an evident confluence of aesthetic, historical and personal affinities. The authorial matrix is Argentine and Portuguese, corresponding to my condition as resident and admirer of the generous country, which received me with open arms in 1976. It was the year when Argentina was drowning in the tragedy of a fierce dictatorship. The choice of composers symbolizes the continuous passage of legacy and the exchange of stylistic influences, which since always have characterized the essence of culture” – reveals Alejandro Erlich Oliva. The performers of the concert are: Natasa Sibalic (soprano), Alejandro Erlich Oliva (double bass) and the Lopes-Graça Quartet with Luís Pacheco Cunha and Maria José Laginha (violin), Isabel Pimentel (viola) and Catherine Strynckx (cello).

The Miso Music Portugal and the Portuguese Music Research & Information Centre – MIC.PT, as the Portuguese Section of the ISCM – International Society for Contemporary Music, are pleased to announce that in the framework of the oficial application for the World Music Days 2019, which included works by six Portuguese composers, the WMD 2019 jury has selected three compositions: Obsidia – of the invisible sounds or of the audible images (2017), electroacoustic work by João Castro Pinto; Metamorphosis and Resonances for Harp Solo (2017) by Hugo Vasco Reis; and Peaceful Meeting (2016) for cello and double bass by Clotilde Rosa. In total, the organizers of the World Music Days 2019 have received over 500 submissions – 99 works have been selected for performance. The ISCM World Music Days is an annual event, every year taking place in a different country, being organized to celebrate contemporary music. At the 2019 edition the Festival entitled Through the Forest of Songs will take place in Estonia (Tallinn / Tartu), between May 2 and 10. The organizers of the event, including the Estonian Composers’ Union, emphasize that one of the objectives of the WMD 2019 is to present a programme “reflecting contemporary music in as rich and extensive spectrum, as possible”.

From now on the MIC.PT has a new Composer’s Page dedicated to Lino Guerreiro, who in 2008 graduated from the Composition Course at the ESML – Music College of Lisbon, where he studied with Carlos Caires, Christopher Bochmann, José Luís Ferreira and Sérgio Azevedo (Composition). In other areas he worked with other composers / musicians / musicologists, such as: Carlos Marecos, João Madureira, Roberto Perez and Benoît Gibson. In 2012 he finished the Master's Degree in Music (Composition) at the ESML, under the guidance of António Pinho Vargas. Also in 2012, he finished the Master's Degree in Music Education at the ESML, under the guidance of António Pinho Vargas, Carlos Marecos and Francisco Cardoso. Lino Guerreiro develops his activity as composer mainly within the genres for wind instruments and percus-sion. He teaches Composition and Musical Education at the D. Dinis Music Conservatoire in Odivelas,  as well as Music Theory and Analysis at the Metropolitana Music College.

In January the MIC.PT has activated a new Performer’s Page dedicated to Bruno Monteiro, heralded by the Portuguese daily journal Público as “one of Portugal´s premier violinists”. Bruno Monteiro made his debut recitals at the age of 13 at the São Luis and Rivoli Theaters; he gave his first solo orchestral concert at the Lisbon Opera House (Teatro Nacional de São Carlos) when he was 14. Since then and with a repertoire that ranges widely from Bach to Corigliano, including important Portuguese composers (Armando José Fernandes, Fernando Lopes-Graça and António Pinho Vargas, among others), he has been performing as recitalist, soloist and chamber musi-cian in all the major musical centres of Portugal and around the world. A noted recording artist, his 2014 CD of the complete works for Violin and Piano and Solo Violin by the esteemed Portuguese composer Fernando Lopes-Graça (Naxos) received the highest acclaim from newspapers and musical magazines all over
the world.

The ESML – Music College of Lisbon and the Polytechnic Institute of Lisbon present the results of the research project Creation, Circulation, Register and Edition of Portuguese Contemporary Music Works, financed by the FCT – Foundation for Science and Technology in the framework of the PT2020 programme. In this sense the Release of three CDs and 30 scores by Portuguese composers (editions by the MPMP – Patrimonial Movement for Portu-guese Music) will take place in the second half of February. The composers are: André Simões, António Pinho Vargas, Carlos Caires, Carlos Marecos, Christopher Bochmann, Diogo da Costa Ferreira, Érica Liane, João Caldas, João Carlos Pinto, João Ceitil, João Damas, João Llano, João Madureira, Jorge Ramos, José Luís Ferreira, José Maciel, Lucas Rei Ramos, Manuel Moreira, Miguel Diniz, Nuno Trocado Olívia Silva, Paulo Novado, Pedro F. Finisterra, Pedro Latas, Pedro Lima, Pedro Nunes, Solange Azevedo, Telmo Lopes and Tiago Cabrita. Additionally, this Release will be accompanied by two concerts with music by Portuguese composers – on February 21 and 22
at the Thalia Theatre in Lisbon (free entrance).

In order to encourage the creation and diffusion of new electroacoustic works, the Miso Music Portugal promotes the 20th International Competition
of Electroacoustic Composition Música Viva 2019. The deadline for the works’ submission is February 27. The winning work will be announced during
the Música Viva 2019 Festival, which will be taking place at the O’culto da Ajuda in Lisbon between May 24 and June 1. The works submitted for the Competition should include a maximum of eight channels and should have a duration between 5 and 15 minutes. This initiative is directed to composers
of all nationalities and ages, each of whom may submit only one work, which has not been commercially published or awarded at any other national
or international competition. The Competition jury is composed of: Trevor Wishart, Gilles Gobeil and Miguel Azguime.

José Lopes e Silva (1937-2019) – Portuguese composer and musician, author of numerous works, above all for guitar solo, and within the genres of chamber, electroacoustic, vocal music, and musical theatre – passed away last month in January. A prominent member of the Lisbon Contemporary Music Group, guitarist, “screamer (gritarista) and sonic manipulator” (as he used to call himself), José Lopes e Silva was also one of the pioneers of New Music in Portugal. Born in 1937, in Calvelo (Lafões), since the 1970s he dedicated himself to the study of contemporary music and of new music currents. He worked with Jorge Peixinho, Álvaro Salazar, Luís de Pablo and Filipe Pires. In 1975 in Germany, he participated in various courses on contemporary music (performance and theory) for guitar, as scholarship holder of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. One year later, he attended the Darmstadt Summer Courses where he worked with György Ligeti, Mauricio Kagel e Cristóbal Halffter. His work Epígono I was selected and performed at the World Music Days 1980 Festival, in Israel. He gave numerous concerts, as soloist and with the Lisbon Contemporary Music Group – in Portugal, Brazil, Spain, France, Germany, Poland, Finland, former Yugoslavia, the Netherlands, Israel
and Italy.