In 2021 Emmanuel Nunes, one of the most widely-known Portuguese composers around the world, and the only composer who received the Pessoa Prize, would have celebrated his 80th anniversary. Emmanuel Nunes, a complex artist, created his exclusive universe of sounds with audible influences of Stockhausen and Boulez, of Webern, of Schubert's and Mahler's romanticism, of the polyphonic tradition culminating in the work of Bach. The composer also stood out as a pedagogue, for example in the context of the Seminars at the Gulbenkian Foundation, which he directed and where he taught various Portuguese composers from younger generations, including: Bruno Gabirro, Jaime Reis, João Madureira, João Rafael, Pedro Amaral, Pedro M. Rocha, Ricardo Ribeiro or Virgílio Melo, among others.
The September In Focus on the MIC.PT is a written documentary, in which Emmanuel Nunes’ biography is mixed with the commentaries by four persons, whose paths have crossed with the composer's path (António Jorge Pacheco, Bruno Gabirro, Guillaume Bourgogne & Pedro Amaral). The creation of this In Focus has also included the participation of João Rafael, who on this occasion has generously provided his text devoted to Emmanuel Nunes, originally published in 2013 in the Musik & Ästhetik Journal.

A new work by Ângela da Ponte, composer published by the MIC.PT, will be premiered this month in the context of the concerts Obras Portuenses da Década 20, which between September and November will visit various territories of the Cultura em Expansão project (Porto) – Nun'Álvares de Campanhã Association on September 18; Auditorium of the Miragaia Music Group (October); Habitants Association of Bouça and Torres Vermelhas Association of Pasteleira (November). The performance of the four music moments, whose programme will also include new pieces by Igor C. Silva, José Alberto Gomes and Sara Carvalho, will be realised by João Dias (percussion), Beatriz Picas (cello), Clara Saleiro (flute) and Frederic Cardoso (clarinet). Additionally, this month Ângela da Ponte's work Untitled #2 (2021), will be performed by the Sond'Ar-te Electric Ensemble with Pedro Carneiro (direction), in the context of the No Feminino concerts, on September 15, 16 and 17 (Lisbon, Caldas da Rainha and Coimbra).

The electroacoustic work by Ângela Lopes (composer published by the MIC.PT), Reciclo-Recirculos – em forma de sanza (2019; commission: DME Festival), has been selected for the World New Music Days 2021 Festival (WNMD 2021) in China (Shanghai & Nanning), in the context of the Official Application for the WNMD 2021 by the Miso Music Portugal/ MIC.PT (Portuguese Section of the International Society for Contemporary Music). Unfortunately, due to the unstable situation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the WNMD 2021 organisers have decided to postpone the Festival originally planned in September; the WNMD 2021 is expected to take place in the second half of March, 2022. Additionally, the piece by Ângela Lopes Gárgulas d'Arga (2013) for five instruments and electronics, will be performed in the context of the No Feminino concerts by the Sond'Ar-te Electric Ensemble, with Pedro Carneiro (direction) – September 15, 16 & 17 in Lisbon, Caldas da Rainha & Coimbra.

1+1=1 (ONE+ONE=ONE, title inspired in the piece Deseja-se Mulher by Almada Negreiros, 1959), is the multidisciplinary performance directed by Paula Pinto and with musical coordination by António de Sousa Dias (composer published by the MIC.PT), joining dance, music, video and words around the universe of the Portuguese artist José de Almada Negreiros. This project results form the work developed at the 14th Compota Creative Residency, realised at the Marvila Library in Lisbon, involving a multidisciplinary team of profissional artists, students from the Dance College and the Music College of Lisbon, and pupils from the basic dance course at the Luís António Verney School. The performance 1+1=1 will be presented on September 27 and 28, at the O'culto da Ajuda in Lisbon (live streaming on the Miso Music Portugal YouTube Channel).

On September 2, at the Medieval Hall of the Rectory at the University of Minho and in the context of the 2nd International Congress Paisagens Sonoras (Soundscapes), Cândido Lima, composer published by the MIC.PT, presents the Acousmatic and audiovisual concert in the form of homage · Memories of Beethoven and Xenakis: music and architecture. Conceived in two parts, this concert begins with fragments by contemporary classics (Stravinsky, Varèse, Xenakis and Beethoven) taken from audiovisual documents, which are then matched with Cândido Lima's works – electroacoustic and audiovisual music, with diversely-configured, pre-recorded pianos and the composer's own film footage, alluding to the Congress' theme – Soundscapes: the Sound, the Music and the Architecture within the André Soares (1720-1769) Commemorations.

Carlos Alberto Augusto, composer published by the MIC.PT, is author of the sound environment of the new Interpretation Centre in the City of Évora, which was launched on July 30, in the context of the Municipality's aim to preserve and to value the monument – the D. Manuel Palace. 'The creation of the Centre's sound environment was a complex operation. The solution I tried to introduce lies in the confluence of a series of genres, within a domain that is perhaps closer to what nowadays is designated as Sound Art. And this is something unusual in a museological context – between opera, installation, soundtrack and a more traditional sound guide' – reveals Carlos Alberto Augusto on the blog Fragmentos.

A new orchestral work by David Miguel, composer published by the MIC.PT, will be premiered on September 29 at the TAGV – Gil Vicente Academic Theatre in Coimbra, in the context of the concert by the Academic Orchestra of the University of Coimbra (OAUC), which will be conducted by André Granjo and Jan Wierzba (guest conductor). At this event entitled Sonos humanae vitae, dedicated to Life and inspired by some landmark events within the history of Humanity, the OAUC will celebrate the five years of its activity. This concert will also mark the gradual return to normality, welcoming the new students at the University of Coimbra in the context of the habitual Opening Concert of the Academic Year 2021/22.

In the final of June the Music Analysis journal associated with the SMA – Society for Music Analysis (UK), published an article by Daniel Moreira on Bernard Hermann's music for Alfred Hitchcock's film Vertigo (1958), whose central dimension is time and which can be interpreted as a a metaphor for the vertigo of time. As researcher Daniel Moreira is particularly interested in the analysis of film music (with special focus on Bernard Hermann's scores) and in studying the idea of musicality in cinema (with particular focus on David Lynch's films). In his new article entitled The Spiral of Time: the Crystal-Image in Herrmann's Music for Hitchcock's Vertigo, this composer published by the MIC.PT discusses some of the ways in which Bernard Herrmann's music for Vertigo plays a crucial role in delineating the complex temporality of the film, more specifically by first opposing and then merging two different layers of temporality – one of them future-oriented, the other one past-oriented. .

Follow (2021), the new multimedia opera by Igor C. Silva (composer published by the MIC.PT), will be premiered on September 8 at the Gaudeamus Festival in Utrecht (the Netherlands). With the libretto by Aaron Landsman, this new work was created for the performer Stephanie Pan and for the Klang Ensemble, having been commissioned by the Gaudeamus and the Miso Music Portugal. Follow is a one-woman opera exploring the shifty language of truth... The opera's creators explain in the programme notes: “News spreads quickly: it accelerates, goes viral and soon nobody has control over it. We swipe and follow and try to reflect on how it relates to us. How does it feel to seek a truth, find it, lose it, and end up losing yourself in the process? In Follow, voices, sounds and lights bounce around in a dizzying spectacle that wraps the audience in waves.” Additionally, this month three other Igor C. Silva's works will be performed in Portugal in the context of different events: Zone#1 (2019) by the percussionist João Dias, on September 3 at the Zero Festival in Tomar; a new piece for flexible ensemble and electronics (commission by the Sonoscopia), on September 18 at the Nun’Álvares de Campanhã Association in Porto; and Smart-alienation (2016) by the Electroville Jukebox, on September 19 at the Roda Festival in Coimbra.

On September 4 at the São Francisco Convent in Coimbra, João Castro Pinto will present a collaborative performance with the singer Leonor Arnaut. This concert, included in the programme of the event Dar a ouvir. Paisagens sonoras da Cidade. 2021, is based on the sound recordings made by the composer in Coimbra and in various locations of the Mondego river. On the same day, the short film Scopaesthesia by Nolan McWhorter with João Castro Pinto's sound design and experimental soundtrack, will be premiered at the Horrible Imaginings Film Festival 2021 (USA). Another short film with the sound design by this composer published by the MIC.PT, Winner Winner by Kalani Gacon, has been selected for the 15th Annual Sydney Underground Film Festival (Australia), taking place on-line between September 9 and 26. Also this month, João Castro Pinto's new soundscape composition will be premiered on September 19 at the São Jorge Castle in Lisbon. It has been commissioned to the composer by the Lisboa Soa festival, for the release of the book Arte Sonora, Ecologia e Cultura Auditiva: Lisboa Soa 2016-2020. The work is based on the sound archives of the five past editions of the Lisboa Soa, recreating and recomposing the festival's sound collection, and its premiere will be accompanied by the presentation of pieces by various other composers.

This month João Pedro Oliveira will be one of the keynote speakers in the context of the 2nd Atemporánea Festival, which will be taking place between September 13 and 18 in Buenos Aires (Argentina). The programme of this international festival dedicated to contemporary music and organised by the Ástor Piazzolla Conservatoire, will include the performance of João Pedro Oliveira's work In Tempore (2000) for piano, electronics and video. Additionally, between August 22 and September 27, the 180, thewrong​.​tv channel is broadcasting a programme with various video works by this composer published by the MIC.PT (Et Ignis Involvens, 'Âphâr, Petals, Neshamah, Storms, Tesseract & Things I Have Seen in My Dreams). This channel results from the collaboration between the Canal180 (Porto) and the international digital art platform, The Wrong, offering a unique television experience, giving space to the presentation of irreverent works by diverse contemporary digital artists.

In his new sound poetry/ new op-era performance, A vida é sempre preferível, ou o monólogo do sal para lhe completar a medida (2021), Miguel Azguime rejoins the composer, the poet and the performer within a solo piece – a new incursion into the 'text-music/ music-text' universe. A vida é sempre preferível is a work-in-progress in search for a new transformation, a return to the word and its electronic maniuplations, and a reflection on the man and the world, where life is always the preferable path and place. «For me art means thought and, consequently, philosophy, so music is a way of thinking the world… and music that doesn’t think is not art!» – said Miguel Azguime in the Interview given to the MIC.PT exactly one year ago. This month the presentations of this new project by Miguel Azguime (composer published by the MIC.PT) will take place on September 24 and 25, respectively, at the Teatro da Rainha in Caldas da Rainha and at the O'culto da Ajuda in Lisbon.

The presentation of the new installation by Pedro Rebelo, Mondego: o rio está em todo o lugar ao mesmo tempo (Mondego: The River is Everywhere), is taking place until September 5 at the São Francisco Convent in Coimbra, in the context of the initiative Dar a Ouvir. Paisagens Sonoras da Cidade. This new project by Pedro Rebelo (composer published by the MIC.PT), created with the Mondego communities, aims at articulating the impact of human activity on the environment, focusing on the listening experience in situ along the river. The Mondego, the longest river in the Portuguese territory, is here explored from the point of view of soundscape transformation and its impact on human and non-human communities. The sonic, organic and residual materiality of the river is sculpturally expressed in an immersive and interactive environment, inviting the public to reflect on the presence and belonging of humanity in nature.

The new chamber opera by Sofia Sousa Rocha entitled Oráculos e Ladainhas, for soprano, baritone, flute, horn, violin, cello, harp and percussion, with libretto by Tiago Schwäbl and staging by Flora Détraz, will be premiered on September 18 during the FIO – Festival Informal de Ópera, organised by the Sinfonietta de Braga and the Braga Municipality. Apart from this work by this composer published by the MIC.PT, the FIO programme also includes three other small-format operas: IN(opeRA)VEL by Sara Ross (libretto: Tiago Schwäbl; staging: Joana Providência); O concílio celeste by Fátima Fonte (Patrícia Portela, Sónia Baptista); and Maria Magola by Francisco Fontes (Marta Pais de Oliveira, Daniela Cruz). The FIO Festival will be taking place in the three iconic spaces of the city of Braga: Gnration, Nogueira da Silva Museum, Medieval Hall at the University of Minho Rectory and the Biscaínhos Museum.

The three concerts entitled No Feminino by the Sond'Ar-te Electric Ensemble under the baton of Pedro Carneiro, will be taking place on September 15, 16 and 17, respectively, at the O'culto da Ajuda in Lisbon, the Teatro da Rainha in Caldas da Rainha and at the TAGV – Teatro Académico Gil Vicente in Coimbra (the second concert is integrated in the Commemorations of the TAGV's 60th Anniversary). These concerts, which not only affirm the feminine presence in contemporary Portuguese composition, but also strongly evidence its individual and original character, will be entirely constituted by recent works, composed between 2010 and 2021 by three generations of composers, four of them published by the MIC.PT: Untitled #2 (2021) by Ângela da Ponte, Gárgulas d'Arga (2013) by Ângela Lopes, Le Navigateur du Soleil Incandescent – quatrième lettre (2010) by Isabel Soveral, Instabile Tempus (2016) by Patrícia Sucena de Almeida; and also Retracement (2021) by Mariana Vieira. All the works included in the No Feminino programme, have been commissioned by the Sond'Ar-te Electric Ensemble.

Three composers published by the MIC.PT – Ângela da Ponte, Sara Carvalho and Igor C. Silva – as well as José Alberto Gomes, participate in the project Portuguese Works from the 20s (Obras Portuenses da Década de 20), organised in the context of the Cultura em Expansão programme by the Porto Municipality. In the context of this project, encompassing the four central Porto territories of the Cultura em Expansão programme – Campanhã, Miragaia, Bouça & Pasteleira –, these composers have been invited to create a translated-into-music reflection on the contemporary life in the city of Porto. The result will be presented at four different moments in each of the territories – September 18, Nun'Álvares de Campanhã Association; October 16, Auditorium of the Miragaia Music Group; November 5 and 20, Habitants Association of Bouça and the  Torres Vermelhas Association of Pasteleira. The music performance at these moments will be realised by a quartet selected for this project – João Dias (percussion), Beatriz Picas (cello), Clara Saleiro (flute) and Frederic Cardoso (clarinet).

In September the founding entities of the riZoma – Portuguese Platform for Intervention and Research in New Music, will meet in the context of the 8th on-line Meeting, to define the next steps within the development of this new network, which intends to foment the approximation with the audience, to stimulate a critical mass for intervention, to create dialogue with the trusteeship and to defend the richness and vitality of the contemporary-classical-music creation and practice. All the entities from the contemporary-classical-music area in Portugal, which would like to integrate the riZoma, can communicate their interest via the following e-mail: rizoma.plataforma@gmail.com.

The pianist, chamber music performer and teacher, Olga Prats passed away in the final of July. During her almost 70-year-long artistic and pedagogical activity she privileged the music of Portuguese composers (particularly by Fernando Lopes-Graça and Constança Capdeville). She was a great advocate for chamber music in Portugal, having created in the 1970s a duo with the viola player Ana Bela Chaves, and in 1980 the Opus Ensemble, one of the most internationally recognised Portuguese chamber music groups. Until 2008, Olga Prats was teacher at the National Conservatoire as well as at the Music College of Lisbon.

In order to encourage the creation and dissemination of new musical works, the Sond’Ar-te Electric Ensemble is organising the 11th edition of the International Composition Competition – New Chamber Music with Electronics. This initiative is open to composers of any age and nationality. Each contestant can submit only one work, lasting between 7 and 15 minutes, and composed in or after 2016. The submitted pieces must not have been commercially published or awarded at any other national or international competition. Winners at the previous Sond’Ar-te Competitions can't participate in the present edition. The jury of the 11th Sond’Ar-te Competition is composed of: Stefano Gervasoni, Philippe Leroux, Pedro Neves and Miguel Azguime. The Competition's deadline is October 31.

The results of the SPA/ Antena 2 Composition Prize have been announced in August. In this sense the jury of the competition's 10th edition, constituted by José Eduardo Gomes (conductor), Carlos Caires (composer published by the MIC.PT) and Sara Carvalho (composer published by the MIC.PT), has unanimously decided to give the 1st Prize to João Baeta Castro Caldas for the work Apneia, and the 2nd Prize to José Manuel Castro Brandão for the work Ritual. João Caldas (b. 1995) has been recently dedicated to creating music/ sound for theatre, installations and cinema. In 2019 he initiated a project dedicated to the creation of solo pieces without written scores, in which the musicians are also the pieces' co-composers. José Brandão (b. 2000) studies Composition at the ESAME in Porto with professor Rui Penha, and he frequently plays clarinet and piano at the School's concerts.