NOTA BENE: Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the initiatives disseminated in this Newsletter can be subject to changes in the programming or postponements. For updated information, please visit the websites of the organising entities.

A concert entirely dedicated to the music of Clotilde Rosa will take place on December 11 at the O'culto da Ajuda in Lisbon. The programme of this event entitled Clotilde é uma Rosa II – peças inéditas e outras (Clotilde is a Rose II – unpublished and other pieces), includes various works by this composer published by the MIC.PT – four premieres: Impromptu For JAM for solo cello (2000), Improvisos para Marimba (2012), Lírica Jâmbica for solo violin (2012) and Antínoo III for cello and double bass (2016); and three other works: A Memória é um espelho for solo viola (2013), Castelos d’Oiro em Mundos Irreais V.2 for cello and piano (2017) and Waving II for piano and electronics (2017). The concert, with live stream on the >> Miso Music Portugal YouTube Channel, will be performed by: Adriano Aguiar (double bass), Fátima Juvandes (marimba), Ana Cláudia Assis and Ana Telles (piano), Ricardo Mateus (viola), José Sá Machado (violin), Miguel Rocha and Jorge Sá Machado (cello).

The premiere of two works by Ângela Lopes, composer published by the MIC.PT, will take place in December. The first piece, Negro Alba (2020), for marimba and electronics, makes part of the recital by Aldovino Munguambe and Vasco Fazendeiro (marimbas), organised in the context of the 13th International Spring Music Festival in Viseu (December 15). At this concert the musicians will also perform premieres of pieces by three other composers published by the MIC.PT: José Carlos Sousa, Cândido Lima & Pedro Rebelo. The second work by Ângela Lopes, Iulius (2020) for guitar and electronics, will be premiered by Júlio Guerreiro, in the context of another Antena 2 Recital at the O'culto da Ajuda in Lisbon (December 2). At this concert the guitarist will also perform the pieces: Música para um ateliê (2019) for solo guitar by Ângela da Ponte and Ondas/ Distâncias (2019) for guitar and electronics by António de Sousa Dias (composers published by the MIC.PT); as well as music by Eli Camargo Jr. and Filipe Pires.

The piece Fluxus, Transitional Flow (2013), for viola and electronics, by Jaime Reis, will be performed by Aïda-Carmen Soanea in the context of the Phonographic Release viola [un]plugged, taking place on December 4 at the Lisboa Incomum. Another piece by this composer published by the MIC.PT Inverso Sangue: Ambar (B) (2018), for solo soprano saxophone, will be performed by Pedro Bittencourt on December 11 in the framework of the 5th MusMat 2020 International Music and Mathematics Congress, organised by the Research Group linked to the Music Post-Graduate Programme at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Additionally, in the second half of the month, two other works by Jaime Reis will be performed at the Municipal House of Culture in Seia, on December 19 and 20; the works are, respectively: Sangue Inverso – Quartzo (2020) at the concert Beethoven - and his time - Bomtempo (Musicamera Produções) and Sangue Inverso: Obsidiana · Inverso Sangue: Cinábrio (2017) at the concert Vortex Temporum, geometrias do inelidível (DME Ensemble).

The work My Empty Hands for flexible percussion ensemble, electronics and video, by Igor C. Silva, composer published by the MIC:PT, will be presented at a concert organised at the Soai University in Osaka (Japan). This work was commissioned to Igor C. Silva by the Drumming – Percussion Group, which gave its premiere performance in July 2018, at the Henela Sá e Costa Theatre in Porto. As in the case of various other of his works, also here this composer and multimedia artist resorts to a multidisciplinary approach. He joins music with other artistic means such as video, lighting and staging, inviting the audience to reflect on the way in which the modern society relates with the constantly developing technology and social networks, alienating people inside a distorted reality. Additionally, on December 12 Igor C. Silva will give a masterclass – Synchronization and Interaction as a Composition and Expressive Tool –, at the Music Conservatoire of Murcia (Spain) in the context of II Semana de la Creación (2nd Creation Week).

The electroacoustic work N'vi'ah (2019) by João Pedro Oliveira, composer published by the MIC.PT, was selected for the on-line festival Transversal Sonora 2020 – Sonidos en Diálogo, having been included at the virtual concert which took place on November 16 and which is now available on the >> Festival's YouTube Channel. This work was also awarded in the context of the Sound Silence Thought Competition (USA). Additionally, the video-music Things I Have Seen In My Dreams (2019), makes part of the oficial selection for the Psychedelic Film and Music Festival (January 15-17, 2021; USA); and the piece Burning Silver (2014) for flute, guitar and electronics, was selected for the next season of the Followmyscore project. In the first half of this month the music by João Pedro Oliveira will be presented in the context of three events: on December 2 at the Corwin Series Concert (Synesthesias – New Music at UCSB, Santa Barbara, USA), Ana Cláudia Assis will perform the work In Tempore (2000) for piano and electronics; on December 3 at the Contemporary Music Cycle in Badajoz (Spain), the Síntese – Contemporary Music Group will perform the work The Delicate Essence of Dreams (2020) for accordion, saxophone, viola and cello; and the electroacoustic work La Mer Émeraude (2018) will be presented at the International Colloquium – Espacio-Inmersividad (Mexico) on December 9. In the context of this event João Pedro Oliveira will also give a conference on spatialisation in music.

The premiere of the new Triple Concerto for clarinet, cello, piano and string orchestra (2020) by Miguel Azguime, will take place on December 15 at the Belém Arts Centre (CCB) in Lisbon. This concert joins music by Beethoven (Trio in B Flat Major op. 11 for clarinet, cello and piano) and Miguel Azguime – apart from the new work, a homage to Beethoven on his 250th anniversary, commissioned to this composer published by the MIC.PT by the CCB, the programme of this concert also includes his piece ConCordas (2016). «For Miguel Azguime, the German composer represents a major influence: for the boasting artistic individuality, the affirmed creative freedom and independence, the virtuosity and demand implied in performing his music, for the innovation and the unexpected which it provokes» – reveal the concert's programme notes. This performance joins two ensembles: the Camerata Alma Mater and the Soloists from the Sond’Ar-te Electric Ensemble (Nuno Pinto [clarinet], Filipe Quaresma [cello] and Elsa Silva [piano]), conducted by Pedro Neves. Additionally, the New Op-Era, Salt Itinerary (2006), by the Miso Ensemble (Paula Azguime and Miguel Azguime), is winner-performance of the call for the 7th International Theatre, Art and New Technologies Festival Le Meraviglie del Possibilie (Italy), in the context fo which it will be presented on December 18. On Decemebr 6 at the same festival, Miguel Azguime will also give an on-line workshop, The Electronic Voice, dedicated to the use of new technologies in the Salt Itinerary.

Peixinho é Fixe (3) is the title of the concert by the GMCL – Lisbon Contemporary Music Group, conducted by Pedro Pinto Figueiredo, which will take place on December 4 and 5, respectively, at the Granary of the Alcobaça Monastery and at the Auditorium of the Nossa Senhora do Cabo Music School in Linda-a-Velha (pedagogical concert with entrance exclusive for the Music School students). The programme of this monographic concert is composed of six works by Jorge Peixinho, composer published by the MIC.PT. The works are: Remake (1985), Welkom (1972), O Canto da Sibila (1976), Leves Véus Velam… (1981), Coração Habitado (1966) and Deux pièces meublées (1988).

The Síntese – Contemporary Music Group, conducted by Pedro Neves, will give a concert on December 3 at the XII Ciclo de Música Actual, organised by the Centro Nacional de Difusión Musical and the Sociedad Filarmónica de Badajoz in Spain. Its programme includes works by the three composers published by the MIC.PT: Christopher Bochmann (Asas; 2020), Hugo Vasco Reis (Some Lines Mixing a Color; 2019) and João Pedro Oliveira (The Delicate Essence of Dreams; 2020). At this concert, which will be broadcast on-line (>> link), the Síntese will also perform the music by Ana Seara, Rúben Borges and Jesús Torres.

Another Antena 2 Live Recital (>> link) will take place at the O'culto da Ajuda in Lisbon on December 2. In this context the guitarist Júlio Guerreiro will perform a programme entirely dedicated to the music by composers residing in Portugal. «This programme showcases collaborations between the performer and the composers, within the guitar instrumental universe. It shows a creative path initiated with a joint reflection on what the work can be, passing through a moment of revision anticipating the performance, which by its nature, always deceives a definite conclusion» – says the guitarists, who on this occasion will perform the music by: Ângela da Ponte (Música para um ateliê), Ângela Lopes (Iulius; world premiere), António de Sousa Dias (Ondas/ Distâncias), Eli Camargo Jr. (Textura das cores sombrias) and Filipe Pires (Figurations VII). The live streaming of this recital will be available on the >> Miso Music Portugal YouTube Channel.

Once more, the DME Ensemble invites its audiences for an original challenge at a concert with concise explanations on the exploration of time. Its programme is composed of 21st century works by these three composers published by the MIC.PT: Daniel Moreira (Noctis Lumina for viola), Paulo Ferreira-Lopes (Purity I for ensemble and electronics) and Jaime Reis (Sangue Inverso: Obsidiana · Inverso Sangue: Cinábrio for three instruments). It also includes some essential 20th century works by Brian Ferneyhough, Elliott Carter and Gérard Grisey. This concert entitled Vortex Temporum, geometrias do inelidível (Vortex Temporum – geometries of the unavoidable), premiered in November in Castelo Branco and performed by the DME Ensemble under the baton of Pedro Pinto Figueiredo, will take place again on December 20 at the Municipal House of Culture in Seia (Portugal).

«This year, the Covid-19 has obliged us to postpone the Spring Music Festival to the rainy season» – emphasise the organisers of this annual initiative by the Proviseu/ Dr. José Azeredo Perdigão Regional Music Conservatoire in Viseu, with artistic direction by José Carlos Sousa. During the 13th edition of the International Spring Music Festival of Viseu (November 28 – December 19), the audience can securely attend on-line concerts (>> link). The programme of the Festival encompasses music of various genres and styles, including premieres of works by the four composers published by the MIC.PT (preformed by Aldovino Munguambe & Vasco Fazendeiro [marimbas]): Ângela Lopes (Negro Alba), José Carlos Sousa (Letráceas), Cândido Lima (BAGATELA para marimba e electrónica – 1770-2020 [Beethoven]) and Pedro Rebelo (Music by Wood).

Giving an active response to the situation imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, in December the Música Viva 2020 Festival organises an Emergency Extension, realising two concert which were canceled in November for force majeure reasons. In this sense, on December 9 and 10 the O'culto da Ajuda in Lisbon will host, respectively, the Lisbon Ensemble XX/ XXI artistically directed by Pedro Pinto Figueiredo and the Borealis Ensemble with António Carrilho (recorders), Sara Braga Simões (soprano), Helena Marinho (piano) and Catherine Strynckx (cello). The two ensembles will perform programmes entirely dedicated to music created by composers residing in Portugal. At the first one, the Lisbon Ensemble XX/ XXI will perform works by the composers published by the MIC.PT: Gonçalo Gato (Portuguese premiere of Now State), Hugo Vasco Reis, Jaime Reis, João Quinteiro (world premiere of Euridice, sete da manhã) and Jorge Peixinho; as well as a piece by Emmanuel Nunes. At the second concert, the Borealis Ensemble will present the programme entitled Este som de o mar praiar with pieces by: Fernando C. Lapa, Hugo Vasco Reis, Isabel Soveral (composers published by the MIC.PT), António Fragoso, Berta Alves de Sousa, David de Souza, Ernesto de Mello e Castro, Fernando Lopes-Graça, Frederico de Freitas, Nuno da Rocha, Rui Soares da Costa, Vasco Negreiros and Vianna da Motta. «This project, whose title was take form Fernando Pessoa's Mensagem (1934), evokes the sounds of a utopian and unreachable sea, referring to an essential dimension of Portuguese identity, its complex relation with the sea» – reveal the Borealis musicians in the programme notes. The live stream of the concerts will be available via the >> Miso Music Portugal YouTube Channel.

Amílcar Vasques-Dias (AVDias0018)
Unha-gata (2015) · version for bass clarinet, tuba & piano

Jaime Reis (JReis0006)
Fluxus, Dimensionless Sound (B) (2012-17) · flute & electronics

Sofia Sousa Rocha (SSRoc0006)
Fala do Velho do Restelo ao Astronauta (2014) · speaker, ensemble &electronics

In November the MIC.PT released a new Performer's Page dedicated to the guitarist and teacher José Teixeira. He was born in Fafe and did the Licentiate Degree in Classical Guitar at the University of Minho (Ricardo Barceló's class). José Teixeira regularly gives recitals – either solo, or with chamber and orchestral ensembles. His repertoire includes works by various 20th and 21st century Portuguese composers: Fernando C. Lapa, Fernando Lopes-Graça, José Mesquita Lopes, Sérgio Azevedo and Vítor Rua, among others. José Teixeira participated in the recording of the CD Pleiades (with the Portuguese Guitar and Mandolin Orchestra), a pioneering plectrum music edition in Portugal. Together with the guitarist Luís Miguel Leite, he has founded the project Portuguese Contemporary Music for Guitar, which gave origin to a homonymous CD released in October.