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Christopher Bochmann was born in England in 1950. for nine years he lived in Turkey, where he began to study ‘cello with his father. On returning to England, he joined the Choir of St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle. He graduated from the University of Oxford, and studied subsequently with Nadia Boulanger in Paris and Richard Rodney Bennett in London, as well as attending seminars with Harrison Birtwistle and Peter Maxwell Davies. Bochmann’s career led him to teach in various schools, both in Brazil and in Portugal, where he moved definitively in 1980. He was Director of the Escola Superior de Música of Lisbon from 1995 to 2001, and continues to teach there. As far as his pedagogical works is concerned, he has been very active in the teaching of music in Portugal. His activity has included the publication of several studies and resource manuals for composition courses, as well as the transcription and editing of works receiving their modern premières. Christopher Bochmann is Titular Conductor of the Symphonic Youth Orchestra, whose artistic director he has been since 1984.
“(…) Until about 1982, or 1983, my music tended towards a quite considerable complexity, notably rhythmic, but not only- a complexity in many senses. I worked a great deal with aleatpric forms, with open forms… later, for various reasons, from 1982, 1983, onwards, I began to work on pieces which are virtually controlled improvisations. A kind of aleatoricism, therefore. During the rest of the decade (…), I composed various works which seek to join these two aspects – the complexity (…) with another music, very free (…). And then, somewhere around 1991, I began to feel that it had become very difficult to discover these two sides – they are so integrated that one can say that the pieces have a single technique.”
Christopher Bochmann (July 2003)
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Instruments: Conductor |
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Biography
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British-Portuguese composer of mostly orchestral, chamber, choral, vocal, and piano works that have been performed throughout Europe; he is also active as a conductor.
Christopher Bochmann studied cello with his father Martin Bochmann (b. 1914 – d. 1983) as a child. He studied counterpoint and harmony with Donald Paine as a Music Scholar at Radley College from 1964-67, as well as composition and counterpoint privately with Nadia Boulanger in Paris from 1967-71 and composition privately with Sir Richard Rodney Bennett in London from 1969-72. He studied composition with Kenneth Leighton as a Music Scholar at Oxford University in 1968-69 and there also studied with David Lumsden from 1968-71 and Robert Sherlaw Johnson from 1969-72, where he earned his BA with honors in 1971, BMus in 1972, MA in 1976, and DMus in 1999. In addition, he attended Dartington in 1970 and there encountered Sir Harrison Birtwistle and Sir Peter Maxwell Davies.
Among his honors are two First prizes of the Lili Boulanger Memorial Fund in Boston (1968, 1976), the John Osgood Memorial Prize from Oxford University (1970) and First Prize in the Trio competition in Fontainebleau (1970, for De Profundis). In addition, he has earned First Prize in the competition of the Stroud Festival in the UK (1974, for Complainte de la Lune en Province), Second Prize in the Vienna competition (1977, for Snakes of Silver Throat) and the Clements Memorial Prize (1978, for String Quartet No. 2). He has also received Third Prize in the G.B. Viotti competition in Vercelli (1980, for Partita No. 2), First Prize in the Basque choral competition (1988, for O Magnum Mysterium) and more recently, the Medalha pelo Mérito Cultural from the government of Portugal (2004).
Christopher Bochmann is also active in other positions. He was a chorister at St. George's Chapel in Windsor from 1960-64 and a cellist in the National Youth Orchestra in London in 1966-67. He has served as the conductor of the Orquestra Sinfónica Juvenil in Portugal since 1984, with which he has toured extensively. He has founded numerous choruses and new music ensembles in Portugal and there has been widely invited as a guest conductor, especially with the Orquestra Clássica da Madeira. In addition, he has written many articles, as well as the book A Linguagem Harmónica do Tonalismo (2003, Juventude Musical Portuguesa).
He taught analysis, choral conducting, counterpoint, harmony, and 20th-century techniques at the Instituto Gregoriano in Lisbon from 1980-91, composition, counterpoint, fugue, and harmony at the Conservatório Nacional de Lisboa from 1981-85 and analysis and composition at the Universidade Nova in Lisbon in 1985-86. He has taught analysis and composition, among other subjects, at the Escola Superior de Música de Lisboa since 1985, where he has been chair of the composition department since 1991 and served as director from 1995-2001. Outside of Portugal, he taught in the UK from 1971-77, including a term as music director at the Cranborne Chase School from 1973-76, and taught composition and harmony at the Yehudi Menuhin School in 1977. He also gave summer courses in Brazil from 1978-85 and again in Brasília in 2004-05. He taught as guest professor at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Leipzig in 2002.
Christopher Bochmann lived with his family in Turkey from 1952-60 and has lived and worked in both Portugal and the UK since 1980. |
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Portuguese Repertoire of the 20th and 21st Century
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Portuguese Repertoire of the 20th and 21st Century |
Title |
Composer |
Musical category |
Instrumentation (general) |
Date |
Duration |
Notes |
Fati Necessitas |
Almeida, Patrícia Sucena |
Chamber music (+ than 8 instruments) |
Instrumentation (general)
|
2005 |
8' 00" |
Notes |
|
|
Ecos Distorcidos |
Antunes, João |
|
Instrumentation (general)
|
|
|
Notes |
|
|
Sonatina para viola e piano |
Azevedo, Sérgio |
Chamber music (2-8 instruments) |
Instrumentation (general)
|
|
|
Notes |
|
|
Songs for Simeon |
Bochmann, Christopher |
Soloist(s) and Orch./Ens. and/or Choir |
Instrumentation (general)
|
1992 |
50' 00" |
Notes |
Soprano, Baritone, Children's Choir, Chamber Choir, Mixed Choir and Orchestra |
|
|
Miserere Mei |
Bochmann, Christopher |
Soloist(s) and Orch./Ens. and/or Choir |
Instrumentation (general)
|
1994 |
12' 00" |
Notes |
5 Speakers and Chamber Orchestra |
|
|
Homenagem a Manuel de Falla [Ivo Cruz] |
Bochmann, Christopher |
Orchestra |
Instrumentation (general)
|
1996 |
|
Notes |
|
|
Leituras de Liberdade |
Bochmann, Christopher |
Chamber music (2-8 instruments) |
Instrumentation (general)
|
2003 |
15' 00" |
Notes |
Vocal and Instrumental Ensemble |
|
|
Cicero Dixit |
Bochmann, Christopher |
Soloist(s) and Orch./Ens. and/or Choir |
Instrumentation (general)
|
2006 |
35' 00" |
Notes |
Speaker, Alto, Double Choir and Instrumental Ensemble |
|
|
Corpo e Alma |
Bochmann, Christopher |
Opera |
Instrumentation (general)
|
2008 |
60' 00" |
Notes |
|
|
Dirge |
Bochmann, Christopher |
Solo |
Instrumentation (general)
|
2014 |
5' 00" |
Notes |
|
|
Sonata nº 1 |
Branco, Luís de Freitas |
Chamber music (2-8 instruments) |
Instrumentation (general)
|
1908 |
28' 30" |
Notes
|
|
|
Sonata para Violoncelo e Piano |
Branco, Luís de Freitas |
Chamber music (2-8 instruments) |
Instrumentation (general)
|
1913 |
23' 00" |
Notes
|
|
|
Sonata nº 2 |
Branco, Luís de Freitas |
Chamber music (2-8 instruments) |
Instrumentation (general)
|
1928 |
25' 00" |
Notes
|
|
|
Noemi |
Branco, Luís de Freitas |
Soloist(s) and Orch./Ens. and/or Choir |
Instrumentation (general)
|
1939 |
23' 00" |
Notes |
3 Soloist Voices, Mixed Choir, Organ and Chamber Orchestra |
|
|
Variações e Fuga Tríplice sobre um Tema Original |
Branco, Luís de Freitas |
Soloist(s) and Orch./Ens. and/or Choir |
Instrumentation (general)
|
1947 |
15' 00" |
Notes |
Organ and String Orchestra |
|
|
Duas peças |
Carneyro, Cláudio |
Chamber music (2-8 instruments) |
Instrumentation (general)
|
|
|
Notes |
|
|
Ciclo de Natal |
Carrapatoso, Eurico |
Vocal Group/Choir (a cappella) |
Instrumentation (general)
|
1991 |
15' 00" |
Notes |
|
|
Sonatina para Violeta e Piano |
Costa, Luiz |
Chamber music (2-8 instruments) |
Instrumentation (general)
|
|
|
Notes |
|
|
A Chorona |
Durão, Manuel |
Opera |
Instrumentation (general)
|
2008 |
12' 00" |
Notes |
Mezzo-soprano, tenor, bass and orchestra |
|
|
Influorescências |
Farias, Djalma |
|
Instrumentation (general)
|
|
|
Notes |
|
|
Duas Fantasias |
Gomes, Pedro Faria |
Chamber music (2-8 instruments) |
Instrumentation (general)
|
2002 |
8' 00" |
Notes |
|
|
Espera |
Gomes, Pedro Faria |
Chamber music (2-8 instruments) |
Instrumentation (general)
|
2009 |
5' 30" |
Notes |
|
|
Ecos da Eternidade |
Lopes, José Mesquita |
Chamber music (+ than 8 instruments) |
Instrumentation (general)
|
1999 |
8' 00" |
Notes |
|
|
Ce Funeste Langage |
Madureira, João |
Chamber music (2-8 instruments) |
Instrumentation (general)
|
2005 |
9' 15" |
Notes |
|
|
Quinteto |
Monteiro, Francisco |
Chamber music (2-8 instruments) |
Instrumentation (general)
|
|
|
Notes |
|
|
Outonais |
Moreira, Pedro |
Chamber music (2-8 instruments) |
Instrumentation (general)
|
2006 |
|
Notes |
|
|
in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me |
Oliveira, César de |
Orchestra |
Instrumentation (general)
|
2006 |
|
Notes |
|
|
O Abismo e o Silêncio |
Oliveira, João Pedro |
Chamber music (2-8 instruments) |
Instrumentation (general)
|
2001 |
22' 00" |
Notes |
soprano, violin, viola, cello, harp, piano and electronics |
|
|
Para uma Voz Sem Acompanhamento |
Patriarca, Eduardo Luís |
Solo |
Instrumentation (general)
|
|
|
Notes |
|
|
Meta-Formoses ou Concerto para Clarinete Baixo |
Peixinho, Jorge |
Soloist(s) and Orch./Ens. and/or Choir |
Instrumentation (general)
|
1985 |
|
Notes |
Bass Clarinet and Ensemble |
|
|
Llanto por Mariana b |
Peixinho, Jorge |
Chamber music (2-8 instruments) |
Instrumentation (general)
|
1986 |
20' 00" |
Notes |
|
|
Sine Nomine |
Peixinho, Jorge |
Chamber music (+ than 8 instruments) |
Instrumentation (general)
|
1987 |
16' 00" |
Notes |
|
|
... A Silenciosa Rosa / Rio do Tempo... |
Peixinho, Jorge |
Chamber music (2-8 instruments) |
Instrumentation (general)
|
1994 |
12' 00" |
Notes |
Flute, Violin, Viola, Violoncello and Harp |
|
|
Octólogos |
Pires, Filipe |
Chamber music (2-8 instruments) |
Instrumentation (general)
|
2001 |
11' 00" |
Notes |
|
|
5 Bagatelas |
Ribeiro, Hugo |
Chamber music (2-8 instruments) |
Instrumentation (general)
|
2005 |
9' 00" |
Notes |
|
|
As duas mulheres de Sigmund Freud |
Ribeiro, Hugo |
Opera |
Instrumentation (general)
|
2008 |
12' 00" |
Notes |
2 Sopranos and 13 players |
|
|
Fantasia para Viola e Piano |
Rigaud Nogueira , Fernando |
Chamber music (2-8 instruments) |
Instrumentation (general)
|
|
|
Notes |
|
|
El Vaso Reluciente |
Rosa, Clotilde |
Chamber music (2-8 instruments) |
Instrumentation (general)
|
2003 |
|
Notes |
Voice and Instrumental Ensemble |
|
|
Con-Sequências |
Rosa, Clotilde |
Chamber music (+ than 8 instruments) |
Instrumentation (general)
|
2006 |
|
Notes |
|
|
Resson[ânsias] |
Seara, Ana |
|
Instrumentation (general)
|
|
|
Notes |
|
|
Alfa |
Soldado, Luís |
Opera |
Instrumentation (general)
|
2008 |
|
Notes |
Soprano, Tenor, Bass and orchestra |
|
|
In Time of Daffodils |
Viana, César |
Solo |
Instrumentation (general)
|
|
|
Notes |
|
|
|
|
Other repertoire |
|
Prizes |
|
Performances (selection) |
|
Documents
|
|
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