The new work for symphony orchestra, Oscuro (2022; commission: Casa da Música), by António Pinho Vargas, will be premiered on October 15 at the Casa da Música in Porto. The programme of this concert entitled Paraísos musicais, performed by the Porto Symphony Orchestra – Casa da Música under the baton of maestro Pedro Neves, will also include the premiere of a new work by Solange Azevedo (Young Composer in Residence 2022 at the Casa da Música), and two works by Luís de Freitas Branco – Vathek (1913-1914) and Paraísos artificiais (1910). “Music is art in time (and of time). Therefore, a music discourse is what the listener, endowed with his or her own sensitive perception and auditive biography, manages to capture in the moment of listening. In the present phase there are many premieres and few further performances or new interpretations. So, it’s the discourse, which every music composition is able to create, that conducts the listener during the temporal unwinding of each work. (...). One can say that every work tells a different story, designs a sonic atmosphere of its own, constructing a specific ‘thing’ (ein Ding in Heideggerian terminology) with a title” – said António Pinho Vargas, composer published by the MIC.PT, in the interview from March 2021.

In October three Igor C. Silva's works will be performed in the USA and Spain. The piece Smart-alienation (2016) for small flexible ensemble, electronics and video, is included in the programme of the concert by the Tactus ensemble (with artistic direction by Margaret Kampmeier), taking place on October 3 at the Ades Performance Space – Manhattan School of Music in New York. The work Static on my fingers for a group of improvisers, electronics and video, will be performed by the Vertixe Sonora on October 17 & 19 in Vigo and Valencia (Spain). And finally, the piece People are on the Streets (2013) for electric guitar, live electronics and video, will be performed by the guitarist Jeremy Lyons on October 27 at the Black Cherry Puppet Theater in Baltimore (USA). “Since early my music has rapidly become influenced by technological means, either the computer or electr(on)ic instruments. This influence exists due to the fact that I studied electric guitar, an instrument that is essential to sound manipulation. Additionally, I have always listened to music that uses electronic means. This led me to write music essentially for instruments and electronics” – said Igor C. Silva, composer published by the MIC.PT, in the interview given to the MIC.PT in September 2015.

Jaime Reis' work Inverso Sangue: Cinábrio (2017) for string trio, will be presented in the context of the concert by the DME Ensemble (Beatriz Costa, violin; Ana Monteverde, viola; Ângela Carneiro, violoncello; Mariana Vieira, music informatics), which will take place on October 8 in the context of the F(o)lio – International Literary Festival in Óbidos. Another piece by this composer published by the MIC.PT, Fluxus, transitional flow (2013) for viola and electronics, will be performed by Maurizio Barbetti on October 22, at the International Guitar Festival in Pescara (Italy). Additionally, on October 11 Jaime Reis will give an interview on the German radio NDR Kultur (Hamburg), in the context of the programme Neue Musik. “Despite having more than once composed music using phenomenons that basically are extra-musical, such as biological, and aerodynamic models, or literature, and other arts, etc., I don't take them only as a source of inspiration. It has more to do with the the way how I know and live a given phenomenon, a given work or artistic experience. The way how these elements are incorporated in the work isn't only a ‘transcription’, algorithm, or transition from a so-called nonmusical element to a musical one. On the contrary, I tend to create analogies between the phenomenons that I find in ‘reality’ – that is in the physical world –, and the music phenomenons” – said Jaime Reis in the interview given to the MIC.PT in October 2016.

The 70th Week is the new audiovisual opera by João Pedro Oliveira, which was premiered on September 27 at the University of North Texas in Denton (USA), and which will be also presented on October 25 at the Autumn Festivals in Aveiro. “The Book of Daniel is probably one of the most mysterious texts of the Bible. It describes diverse enigmatic prophecies, which can be interpreted in various ways. Some of them are related with the present” – says this composer published by the MIC.PT. And he continues: “This audiovisual opera includes various events from Daniel's, and his companions' life, as well as the three main prophecies. The 70th Week is one of them, and it refers to a state of constant war, sacrilege and destruction, ultimately leading to a transformation of the world into a new place of peace and justice. The operatic action is reinterpreted within a projection of various computer-generated images and sounds, as well as pre-recorded vocal interventions, and dance movements. Some of the eight scenes constituting this opera are imagined representations of the Book's events; other scenes are its symbolic interpretations.” The 70th Week was composed between March 2021 and September 2022, and it includes the participation of the performers: Beatriz Maia (soprano), Francisco Ponce (dance), Isabel Alcobia (soprano), Pedro Rodrigues (tenor), Rafaella Veiga (contralto), Rosario Romero (dance), and Tiago Matos (baritone).

The first session (online) of the Composition Seminar with João Quinteiro will take place on October 8. It is an initiative organised by the Philharmonic Band Association of the Madeira Autonomous Region. Divided into three working sessions and with a practical approach, this Seminar aims at introducing to the participants some of the determining 20th-century, composition techniques, such as the music notation. The presented techniques will be applied into small composition exercises oriented by João Quinteiro. The Seminar no. 2 and 3 in-person sessions will take place on November 26 and 27. Additionally, João Quinteiro's work Kein Pfad mehr (2021) will be performed at the inaugural concert of the Concrète [Lab] Ensemble, which will take place on October 24 at the Cossoul space in Lisbon. The Concrète [Lab] Ensemble, with artistic direction of this composer published by the MIC.PT, has developed its initial path in direct relation with composers, focusing on the openness and receptivity to any collaboration, in the context of creation or interdisciplinary performances within the universe of experimental music.

The work Melancholia (2022) for piano, violin and violoncello, by Miguel Azguime (composer published by the MIC.PT), will be premiered in the context of another Antena 2 Live Recital at the O'culto da Ajuda in Lisbon, which will take place on October 11. The programme of this concert performed by the Sond'Ar-te Trio – with Elsa Silva (piano), Vítor Vieira (violin), and Filipe Quaresma (cello) –, will also include the music by Álvaro Salazar, Beat Furrer and Dimitri Shostakovich. Additionally, on October 15 the CAE in Portalegre will host the theatre piece Discurso sobre o Filho-da-Puta (Speech on the Son of a Bitch) by Alberto Pimenta – a production by the Rainha Theatre (Caldas da Rainha), directed by Fernando Mora Ramos, with music composition by Miguel Azguime, and performed by the Vocal Strings Quartet (Beatriz Antunes, Fábio Costa, Marta Taveira and Nuno Machado). “This piece is a grammatically impeccable and rigorous shout in favour of the free freedom, and against the prejudice and the hypocritical and nepotic friendliness, which continues to construct the ways of our sociability, always crossed by power ambitions and other powers” – reveal the piece's creators in the programme note.

On October 14 the German-French Cultural Institute in Tübingen (Germany) will organise a concert which in its programme includes five works by Paulo Bastos; four of them are world-premieres (*). The works are: em palavra a noite (2017) for soprano and piano *; Flutz (2016), electroacoustic (‘tape’) music *; Flutzcla (2016), electroacoustic (‘tape’) music *; Sete miniaturas (2010) for solo oboe *; as well as sou já do que fui (2017) for piano four hands. The performance of this concert, entitled Salon Europa #2, will be realised by: Andrea Conangla (soprano), Domingos Soares Costa (piano), Razvan Marin Gheorghiu (oboe) and Duo Jost Costa (piano four hands). On the following day (October 15), also in Germany, Paulo Bastos will realise a presentation for music education teachers, entitled Composition Course in Braga – Calouste Gulbenkian Music Conservatory (Tübinger Musikschule). Additionally, at the end of this month this composer published by the MIC.PT will give a composition workshop at the MUBA – Music and Ballet School in Tallin (Estonia). This composition workshop makes part of the Building Culture Across Borders initiative, taking place between October 24 and 29.

The performance Vórtice (para o fim de um Tempo) [Vortex (for the end of a Time)] has been created in collaboration between the playwright and stage director João Delgado Lourenço, the three composers – Daniel Moreira, Miguel Resende Bastos (composers published by the MIC.PT) and Catarina Ribeiro –, and the Caleidoscópio Quartet – Artway (Alexandre Abreu, clarinet; Dalila Teixeira, piano and keyboards; Gabriela Peixoto, violin; Teresa Soares, violoncello). “This project offers and original perspective, where the sensation of the time is explored through the symbiosis between the music and another equally elusive, dynamic, and abstract element: the light. Allying these two abstract worlds, the staging becomes a unifying factor. What remains to discover is whether this unification is the key to an exit or the entrance of new possibilities” – emphasise the project's creators. The performance Vórtice (para o fim de um Tempo), with the light design by Marugga and Tiago Silva (OUTcube), the lighting assistance of Leandro Leitão (OUTcube), and sound design by José Monteiro, will be presented on October 2 at the Armazém 22 in Vila Nova de Gaia.

At the 16th edition of the Síntese – Contemporary Music Cycle of Guarda, the Síntese – Contemporary Music Group will pay tribute to José Saramago marking the centenary of the writer's birth. In this sense, in the framework of three concerts in Guarda (October 6), Covilhã (October 7), and Castelo Branco (October 8), the Síntese Group conducted by Yan Mikirtumov will give premiere performances of three new works by the composers Carlos Azevedo, Carlos Marecos (composer published by the MIC.PT), and Tiago Derriça. This programme will also include a work by Fernando Lopes-Graça, a composer very close to José Saramago. The other concerts of the Síntese Cycle, taking place until December, are: the performance by the Continuum XXI ensemble (October 19), and the concert by the João Roiz Ensemble (November 16), both at the Municipal Theatre in Guarda. The Cycle's final, taking place on December 4 in Guarda, will feature the 5th edition of the Contemporary Performance Competition.

On October 8 the DME Ensemble will give a concert in the context of the F(O)LIO – International Literary Festival in Óbidos. The concert's programme will include works by various composers published by the MIC.PT: Densidades (2003) for violin and electronics by Clotilde Rosa; Noctis Lumina (2007) for viola solo by Daniel Moreira; Inverso Sangue: Cinábrio (2017) for string trio by Jaime Reis; Singularity (2019) for violoncello and electronics by João Pedro Oliveira. Additionally, the concert's programme will also include Emmanuel Nunes' work Degrés (1965) for string trio. The DME Ensemble is a variable-composition group, created in 2013 on the initiative of the composer Jaime Reis (the ensemble's artistic director), to encourage the contemporary and electroacoustic music practice. In this sense, the concert in Óbidos will be performed by: Beatriz Costa (violin), Ana Monteverde (viola), Ângela Carneiro (violoncello), and Mariana Vieira (music informatics).

On October 14 the young pianist José Pedro Ribeiro will give a recital at the O'culto da Ajuda in Lisbon (Emerging Talents cycle), whose programme includes four works by the composers: Pierre Boulez, Hugo Ribeiro and Carlos Marecos (composers published by the MIC.PT), and Fernando Lopes-Graça. As the pianist writes in the programme note, the concert's first work, 12 Notations (1945) by Pierre Boulez, offers moments of profound beauty despite its formal and structural rigour. Right after, Gestos V: Capítulo II (2019) by Hugo Ribeiro, constitutes a set of 35 small pieces to present a series of music gestures, or, as the composer indicates, “Sonic Photographs”. The recital's penultimate work, Terras por detrás dos montes (2011) by Carlos Marecos, is divided into four movements – Paul, Reguengos, Miranda and Paradela. What is recurrent in this piece is the harmonic, melodic and timbral speculation, where the piano is sometimes used in a less traditional way. To close the night – Fernando Lopes-Graça's Sonata no. 3 (1952), dedicated to the French pianist Hélène Boschi, which is certainly one of the most representative works of Portuguese 20th-century piano music.

In October the Duo Sigma will be on tour in South America, giving concert in Argentina and Brazil. The programmes of these concerts, taking place between October 12 and 21, will include works by various composers published by the MIC.PT: Carlos Marecos, Christopher Bochmann, Eduardo Luís Patriarca, Isabel Soveral, João Pedro Oliveira, and also by Mariana Vieira, along with premieres of works by Luis Menacho e Marcos Lacerda. The Duo Sigma was created in 2017 by the cellist Miguel Rocha and the pianist Ana Cláudia Assis. It is dedicated to the performance of contemporary music, focusing on Portuguese and Brazilian repertoire, and stimulating the creation of new works and new artistic expressions for cello and piano.

On October 24 the Guilherme Cossoul Society in Lisbon will host the first concert of the Concrète [Lab] Ensemble, a variable-composition group dedicated exclusively to experimental and research music, with the aim to create a space of direct relation with the music creators. This formation, whose artistic director is João Quinteiro, is guided with the openness towards the discovery of new means and resources of the present music creation and thought. Created in the beginning of 2022, the group is constituted by young musicians coming from diverse parts of Portugal. The programme of the Concrète [Lab] Ensemble's first concert will include the works by the four composers published by the MIC.PT: Christopher Bochmann, João Quinteiro, Jorge Peixinho, and Luís Neto da Costa; as well as by Luís Mandacaru and Teppo Hauta-aho. This concert, conducted by João Quinteiro will be performed by the musicians: Daniela Neves (flute), Mariana Oliveira and Miguel Dias (oboe), Tiago Mourato and Tomás Mendes (clarinet), Tomás Martin (saxophone), João Junceiro (horn), Pedro Rolo (trombone), Tânia Jardim (piano), Gonçalo Flores (percussion), and Raquel Leite (double bass). In addition to the musicians performing the concert on October 24, the Ensemble also includes the participation of the following instrumentalists: Rui Antunes (violin), Ana Campos (viola), Pedro Carmo (violoncello), and Luís Castelo (guitar).

In September the MIC.PT website has activated a new Composer's Page dedicated to Luís Neto da Costa – composer, teacher, researcher, and conductor, who graduated in Composition at the ESMAE in Porto and became Master of Music Teaching at the University of Aveiro. Luís Neto da Costa has received eight awards and mentions at several national and international competitions. He attended masterclasses, seminars and classes with various composers, such as: Pierluigi Billone, Luis Naón, Franck Bedrossian, Dimitri Papageorgiou, Clemens Gadenstätter, Luca Francesconi, Unsuk Chin, and Harrisson Birtwistle (among others). In 2017 he was Young Composer in Residence at the Casa da Música in Porto, leading to the commission of three works, premiered by the Remix Ensemble and the Porto Symphony Orchestra. He has also received commissions from institutions such as the Portuguese Association of Composers, Arte no Tempo, and Antena 2. His music has been performed in several Portuguese concert halls, and in Madrid, Valencia, Milan, Bordeaux, Larissa, Monterrey, and Rio de Janeiro.
Additionally, in September Luís Neto da Costa has joined the group of Composers Published by the MIC.PT, and presently the Catalogue of Scores Published by the MIC.PT includes his work a kind of sensuous meaningfulness (2016) for flute, clarinet, and piano. In the following months the MIC.PT Catalogue will be enriched with various other scores by Luís Neto da Costa.

In order to encourage the creation and dissemination of new musical works, the Sond’Ar-te Electric Ensemble is announcing and organising the 12th 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 2017. The submitted pieces must not have been commercially published or awarded at any other national or international competition. Winners of the previous Sond’Ar-te Competitions can't participate in the present edition. The jury of the 12th Sond’Ar-te Electric Ensemble Competition is composed of: Agata Zubel, Jêrome Combier, Pedro Neves and Miguel Azguime. The Competition's deadline is October 31, 2022.

The research project To be a Musician in Portugal: the social and professional condition of musicians in Lisbon (1750-1985) presents a cycle of conversations entitled To be a Musician in Portugal, taking place between October and November 2022 at the Portuguese Music Museum – Casa Verdades de Faria (Monte Estoril). This initiative is directly connected with the exhibition To be a musician in Portugal (1750-1985), open at the same museum since July 2, and closing on November 6. This exhibition brings to the public, for the first time, an extraordinary documental corpus kept in the archives of the Irmandade de Santa Cecília and Montepio Filarmónico, and the Historical Archive of the Portuguese Musicians' Union. This is an essential source for a better understanding of the history of music in Portugal between the end of the Old Regime until the last decades of the 20th century. The cycle of conversations that will now take place, includes the participation of different speakers, relevant for the different aspects associated with each presented them. The aim is to debate and discuss some questions related with this material and immaterial music patrimony, either from a historical perspective, or debating the present and the future of the musicians' activity in Portugal – from association to formation, the musicians' expectations and challenges, up to the scientific research around this vast domain. The PROFMUS research project (INET-md [NOVA FCSH]), with a team of 23 researchers, is coordinated by Rui Vieira Nery. The Exhibition is produced and curated by Cristina Fernandes, Manuel Deniz Silva, and Tiago Manuel da Hora.

Since the end of September, two new In the 1st Person Interviews (in Portuguese) – with the composers Diogo Alvim and Filipe Lopes –, are available on the MIC.PT YouTube Channel.
Presently the MIC.PT YouTube Channel contains 20 New Interviews to composers residing in Portugal, realised since 2019; as well as eight Interviews from the MIC.PT Archive, realised between 2003 and 2005.
The New Interviews, conducted by Pedro Boléo, were filmed at the O'culto da Ajuda in Lisbon and realised in the context of the In the 1st Person cycle of the Music Today and Research & Invention Music radio broadcasts, produced by the MIC.PT and Miso Music Portugal for the Antena 2. They constitute a (re)visit to the creative universe of various composers published by the MIC.PT, following the Historical Interviews recorded by the MIC.PT almost 15 years ago. Today they are unique registers of the artistic evolution of each interviewed composer.
In order to access the Interviews (in Portuguese) follow the links below or visit the MIC.PT YouTube Channel.