On December 8 & 9, at the O'culto da Ajuda in Lisbon and the Misericórdia Church in Santa Maria da Feira, respectively, the Sond'Ar-te Electric Ensemble conducted by maestro Pedro Neves, will give two monographic concert entirely dedicated to the music of Ângela Lopes (composer published by the MIC.PT). The programme of these two concerts will be composed of six Ângela Lopes' works written between 2004 and 2022 (two of them are world premieres *): Dual (2004), for flute and piano; CORAIS – “No Mar, à noite...” (2011), for piano solo (commission – Matosinhos Municipality) *; Gárgulas d'Arga (2013), for flute, clarinet, violin, violoncello, piano, and electronics (commission – Sond’Ar-te Electric Ensemble); DITTY-DITTY (2019), for viola and electronics (commission – Arte no Tempo Association); Campaniana (2022), for flute, clarinet, violoncello and percussion (commission – Sonoscopia); TRAMA – “mural para murad” (2022), for flute, clarinet, violin, viola, violoncello, piano, percussion, and electronics (commission – Sond’Ar-te Electric Ensemble) *. “For me ‘to create’ music and art is, in general, a synonym for invention. Either in experimental or pure-research music, or still in formal music, art is always invention where the ‘attempt and error’ and the search for new paths lives side by side with the knowledge” – said Ângela Lopes in the MIC.PT Interview from March 2022.

The work Mirroring the voice of time (2019) for instrumental ensemble by Daniel Davis (composer published by the MIC.PT), will be premiered in Portugal on December 3 in the framework of the Winter Concert, which will take place at the Noble Hall of the Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region of Madeira in Funchal. The performance of this concert, making part of the Closer Parliament initiative, will be realised by the OCM – Classical Orchestra of Madeira, under the baton of Francisco Loreto (guest conductor). “The work Mirroring the voice of time has been inspired by Ambrose Akinmusire's jazz songs Henya and Ayneh. It is a reflection of an image which we had never seen, and when we finally see it we realise that it has always been present. Its voice travels from two different space and time moments, constructing a parallel between reality, fiction, past, present, and future” – Daniel Davis revealed to the Diário de Notícias – Madeira (printed release, November 29, 2022 · journalist: João Filipe Pestana). In addition to this national premiere, at this concert the OCM will also perform the Symphony no. 1 in C Major by Ludwig van Beethoven, and the last movement, The Great Gate of Kiyv, of Modest Mussorgsky's cycle Pictures at an Exhibition. The OCM – Classical Orchestra of Madeira is managed and run by the ANSA – Atlantic Symphonies and Notes Association.

This December two Fernando C. Lapa's works will be premiered in Barcelos and in Vila Real. On December 11 at the Misericórdia Church (Barcelos), the Moços do Coro ensemble accompanied by André Bandeira (organ) and conducted by Nuno Almeida, will premiere the work Regina coeli (2022) for organ and choir. Three days later, on December 14 at the Municipal Theatre in Vila Real, the Orquestra do Norte conducted by Fernando Marinho will premiere the work Traços de esplendor (2022), commissioned to Fernando C. Lapa by the Douro Friends League in the context of the Douro World Patrimony 20-Years Commemorations. Additionally, on December 18 in the context of the International Music Meetings organised by the Music Conservatory in Felgueiras, the Assai Quartet (Marco Pereira, flute; Hugo Ribeiro, oboe; Cândida Oliveira, clarinete; and Lurdes Carneiro, bassoon) will perform the work Traduções (1. Entre linhas; 2. Sobre planos) for wind quintet, composed by Fernando C. Lapa in 2014. And lastly, in the second half of the month, the Moços do Coro ensemble conducted by Nuno Almeida will release a new CD, which includes the piece Magnificat (2013) for a cappella choir by this composer published by the MIC.PT.

A recent work for accordion and string quartet by Luís Neto da Costa (composer published by the MIC.PT) will be presented on December 21 at the MNAA – National Ancient Art Museum in Lisbon, in the context of the concert Portuguese Music for Accordion. The programe of this concert, with live broadcast on the Antena 2, will include premieres of the works awarded at the 5th edition of the Accordion Composition Competition organised by the Folefest Association. The works are: Mocking Death at Her Face (2021) by Francisco Rosa (1st Prize), Atrito (2021) by Luís Neto da Costa (2nd Prize), and Prelúdio, Interlúdio e Poslúdio (2021) by Vasco Martins (3rd Prize). This programme will be complemented with other two pieces by Portuguese composers, for solo accordion, and for accordion with string quartet: Insiste, Persiste e Não Desiste (2014) by André Santos, and Improvisata (2003) by Paulo Jorge Ferreira. This concert will be performed by Pedro Carneiro (conductor), Pedro Meireles (violin), Catarina Bastos (violin), Irma Skenderi (viola), Catherine Strynckx (violoncello), Paulo Jorge Ferreira (accordion), Fernando Brites (accordion), and the Quartz Quintet. Its aim is to promote contemporary music creation for accordion.

The electroacoustic work for a 16-channel system in form of a dome, Fluxus, pas trop haut dans le ciel (2017) by Jaime Reis, is included in the playlist of the WeicheKissenHeisseOhren Listening Lounge (December 2-4), organised in the framework of the Sonic Matters 2022 Festival in Zurich (Switzerland). WeicheKissenHeisseOhren (Soft Pillows, Burning Ears) offers a space to cosy up in the warmth of a bed of pillows, and to listen to current electroacoustic music from all around the world. The works presented range from delicately produced sonic textures to forceful sonic bodies and soundscapes made from field recordings. The playlist has been based on an open international call to which sound artists, musicians, and composers from 31 countries have responded. Additionally to Jaime Reis' piece, on this playlist Portuguese music is also represented by the sonic creations of Jorge Ramos and Mariana Vieira. In the Interview given to the MIC.PT in October 2016, Jaime Reis (composer published by the MIC.PT) said: “What fascinates me is not the idea of knowing that I can do everything, but rather the idea of knowing that I still don't know what I will be able to do. My work with electronics has favoured this idea.”

João Pedro Oliveira's new audiovisual opera, The 70th Week, will be presented in Barcelona at the Phonos Centre (Aranyó Hall, Poblenou Campus, Pompeu Fabra University), and in Seia at the Municipal House of Culture during the DME – Electroacoustic Music Days Festival. The 70th Week is one of the prophecies from the biblical Book of Daniel, describing a state of conflict which potentiates a renovation. In this opera, digital images created by this composer published by the MIC.PT and dance-choreography recordings projected on the screen, are combined with texts sung in Latin, Hebrew, and Aramaic. The 70th Week was composed between 2021 and 2022 and it includes the participation of: Beatriz Maia (soprano), Francisco Ponce (dance), Isabel Alcobia (soprano), Pedro Rodrigues (tenor), Rafaella Veiga (contralto), Rosario Romero (dance) & Tiago Matos (baritone). Additionally, João Pedro Oliveira's piece Moving Cities is one of the five works distinguished with the first prize at the competition promoted by the MMMAD – Urban Digital Art Festival of Madrid. In this context, this João Pedro Oliveira's audiovisual creation is being exhibited until February 20, 2023, at different locations in Madrid and Vigo (Spain).

The work augurium #1 (2022) for piano and film by Patrícia Sucena de Almeida (composer published by the MIC.PT), will be premiered by the pianist Taíssa Poliakova Cunha on December 9 at the Cine-Teatro Paraíso in Tomar, in the context of the Trio de Damas project (an initiative by the Musicamera Produções). This project aims at paying tribute to three Portuguese pianists of paramount importance for the 20th century culture: Helena Sá e Costa, Nella Maíssa and Olga Prats. At this concert Taíssa Poliakova Cunha will perform a programme dedicated to the second pianist. “augurium #1 is a piano-solo piece, with a probable proliferation towards other works. It has emerged from the research of Olivier Messiaen's music” – says Patrícia Sucena de Almeida in the programme note. And she continues: “In this piece there are various sonically explored elements serving as sources of inspirational impulse – scenery (steep, carved with spikes and stone blocks), the flight of the birds (fast and light), the singing of birds (with its variants), the tragic shout (aggressive), and the singing of the angel (ethereal). What's created here is a ‘scenery’, whose formal organisation is divided into seven sections with the climax occurring in the fifth one.”

Sara Carvalho's new work, where the wild things are (2022) for recorders, toy piano, and amplified percussion, will be premiered by the Borealis Ensemble (António Carrilho, recorders; Helena Marinho, keyboards; Luís Bittencourt, percussion & objects), in the context of the project Música a sério para instrumentos de brincar (Serious Music for Toy Instruments), on December 5 at the O'culto da Ajuda in Lisbon. This project, which also includes the music by Camila Salomé Menino, Francisco Ribeiro, Hugo Ribeiro, and a collaborative piece by the Borealis Ensemble, combines creation and programming around the central idea: the use of objects, instruments, and devices, normally associated with games and play, in the context of artistic production. This month the Borealis Ensemble will also present this project in: Riba de Ave (Narciso Ferreira Theatre, December 7), Aveiro (DeCA – University of Aveiro, December 14), Seia (Municipal House Of Culture/ DME Festival, December 19), and Vila Nova de Gaia (Armazém 22, December 22). Additionally, the piece occupied mirrors (2019) for toy piano and audience by Sara Carvalho (composer published by the MIC.PT), will be performed by the pianist Mee Young on December 22, at the 3rd Toy Music Festival in Seoul (South Korea).

The work Suite Açaí (2016) for wind quintet by Ricardo Matosinhos (composer published by the MIC.PT), will be premiered on December 18 in the context of the EnIMus – International Music Meeting organised by the Music Conservatory in Felgueiras. The programme of this concert performed by the Assai Quartet (Marco Pereira, flute; Hugo Ribeiro, oboe; Cândida Oliveira, clarinet; Lurdes Carneiro, bassoon), to whom the Suite Açaí is dedicated, will also include works by Eugène Bozza, Heitor Villa-Lobos and Fernando C. Lapa (composer published by the MIC.PT).

The annual DME Festival in Seia is back and it will be taking place between December 18 and 21, visiting the Municipal House of Culture and the Music Conservatory in Seia. For this edition the Festival has invited two ensembles – the Sonido Extremo (Spain), and the Borealis Ensemble (Portugal), whose musicians will present the project Música a sério para instrumentos de brincar (Serious Music for Toy Instruments). The DME programme will also include the final of the Nano Músicos Eletroacústicos Competition, the audiovisual opera The 70th Week, and, to close the Festival, a solo recital by the pianist Ana Telles. The programme of the concerts at the DME Festival – Electroacoustic Music Days in Seia 2022, includes various works by the composers published by the MIC.PT: Carlos Caires, Carlos Marecos, Hugo Ribeiro, João Madureira, João Pedro Oliveira, Pedro Amaral, Sara Carvalho.

In November the New Music Review Lounge/ Espaço Crítica para a Nova Música, an initiative by the MIC.PT and the Miso Music Portugal, which's a forum dedicated to free and open critique, where uncompromising opinions, tastes and new tendencies in music can be discussed in both breadth and depth, has published three new texts (in Portuguese) by Pedro Boléo. The texts are dedicated to the three Música Viva 2022 Festival concerts – the Festival's Opening Concert (November 18), where the Sond'Ar-te Electric Ensemble conducted by Pedro Neves performed the music by Luís Salgueiro, Miguel Azguime, Paulo Ferreira-Lopes, and Philippe Leroux; the Lux et Umbra concert (November 19) by the clarinettist Frederic Cardoso, with the music of Rúben Borges, João F. Ferreira, Bernardo Lima, Rodrigo Cardoso, Luís Neto da Costa, and André Rodrigues; and the Antena 2 Recital (November 24) with the Ipsis Duo (Clara Saleiro & Marina Camponês – flutes) performing the music of João Quinteiro, Emmanuel Nunes, Hugo Vasco Reis, Pedro Pinto Figueiredo, Ângela da Ponte, and Philippe Hurel.

The 1st In-Person Meting of the riZoma – Portuguese Platform for Intervention and Research in New Music took place on November 27 at the O'culto da Ajuda in Lisbon. One of its programme points was the official presentation of the Platform's Coordinating Committee constituted by the five entities (alphabetical order): 1. Centro de Investigação e Informação da Música Portuguesa – MIC.PT; 2. Festival DME – Dias de Música Electroacústica; 3. Interferência – Associação de Intervenção na Prática Artística; 4. MPMP Património Musical Vivo; 5. Musicamera Produções. The Meeting's Agenda also included a discussion concerning the riZoma's future activities, as well as the presentation of the Platform's recent actions realised in cooperation with various peer organisations (Plateia, Rede, AAVP, Ação Cooperativista, ...), and concerning the joint request of funding reinforcement for the Sustained Support Programme (Ministry of Culture of Portugal/ DGARTES).

The CriaSons Festival is an initiative by the Musicamera Produções dedicated to contemporary Portuguese chamber music. The focus of the 4th edition of the CriaSons is the Music-Theatre, a performative genre developed by the composer Constança Capdeville (1937-1992). In this sense the Festival will select one composer who will join the panel of its residents (Constança Capdeville, António de Sousa Dias, Joana Sá, Paulo Brandão & João Pedro Oliveira), and whose challenge will be to create a Theatre-Music work, establishing a bridge between the past, the present, and the future. The deadline for submissions is December 31.

Since the end of October, two new In the 1st Person Interviews (in Portuguese) – with the composers Daniel Moreira and João Castro Pinto –, are available on the MIC.PT YouTube Channel.
Presently the MIC.PT YouTube Channel contains 22 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.