In November the In Focus section is dedicated to João Madureira, to mark the composer's 50th anniversary.
João Madureira’s work includes compositions for orchestra, chamber ensembles, solo instruments with and without electronics, vocal and stage music, as well as music for theatre. In his language he integrates the various 'ruptures' from the history of music, making use of the techniques and aesthetics both from the 20th and 21st centuries, such as serialism and (post)spectralism, as well as from the more distant past. Connected with the aesthetic principles of late postmodernism, within Portuguese music João Madureira has created a singular voice. What interests him, isn't only to draw from the various sources, such as ancient music, Central-African culture and non-musical phenomenons. These very sources let him root into his music different metalinguistic dimensions.
This November visit the MIC.PT In Focus section with a new Interview to João Madureira, whose Birthday Party will take place on December 12 at the O'culto da Ajuda in Lisbon. It'll include the participation of the Lisbon Contemporary Music Group, the Sond’Ar-te Electric Ensemble, the ESML Choir, Paulo Lourenço and João Pereira Coutinho. Additionally two works by this composer published by the MIC.PT will be performed in the context Música Viva 2021 Festival (November 6-20, O'culto da Ajuda in Lisbon): Ausgraben und Erinnern (2006) for instrumental ensemble, by the Sond'Ar-te Electric Ensemble +, conducted by Petter Sundkvist (November 6); and Rosto (2021; premiere; commission: Miso Music Portugal), by the Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart (November 11).

This month Amílcar Vasques-Dias will participate as composer and pianist in the interdisciplinary colloquium, O Conhecimento das Árvores/ Árvores do Conhecimento (The Knowledge of Trees/ The Trees of Knowledge), which will take place on November 11 and 12 at the University of Porto. In this context, this composer published by the MIC.PT will give a conference/ concert, Da Seiva à Música, which'll include some of his piano works: Azinheira de silêncio, Acácia de ninhos, Cerejas-pão, Sobreiro and Limoeiro. Additionally, Amílcar Vasques-Dias will also be joined by the flutist Jorge Salgado Correia to perform the two other composer's works: Glicínia (2000) for solo flute and Não Mais Sob a Árvore de Bô (1997) for flute and piano.

The premiere of the new Christopher Bochmann's Concerto for Orchestra, by the Lisbon Metropolitan Orchestra conducted by Pedro Amaral, will take place on November 19 and 20 at the Joaquim d'Almeida Cinema-Theatre in Montijo & at the Picadeiro Real in Lisbon. The programme of these concerts entitled Canal da Mancha includes works by English composers who found artistic influences on this side of the Channel – Edward Elgar, Frederick Delius & Christopher Bochmann, composer published by the MIC.PT who has been residing in Portugal for more than 40 years. Similarly to Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra, in the new work Christopher Bochmann uses concertante writing, involving the different orchestra sections.

The solo-violin piece Oi In Lov (1997) by Cândido Lima, composer published by the MIC.PT, will be performed by Sergiu Năstasă on November 13 in the context of the concert, EROS KAI THANATOS, taking place in the framework of the Meridian Festival – Planetarium, organised by the Romanian Section of the ISCM – International Society for Contemporary Music. As in so many other titles, also here Cândido Lima enjoys playing with the onomatopoetic sound and the meanings of words in one word. Oi In Lov is an anagram of 'violino' ('violin') and an echo of the verse, All you need is love. Yet, whether it has something to do with the music is another matter... This work by Cândido Lima was selected for the Meridian Festival in the context of the ISCM Collaborative Series, and following the official application by the Miso Music Portugal/ MIC.PT as the Portuguese ISCM Section. The format of the 16th edition of the International Meridian Festival (November 7-14) has been adapted to the present pandemic situation in Romania – all the events will be broadcast on-line.

The winners of the International Composition Award for the Six Historic Organs of Mafra (promoted by the Portuguese Ministry of Culture & the Mafra Municipality), were announced on October 1: in the A Category (Original Work for Six Organs), Diogo da Costa Ferreira (composer published by the MIC.PT), for the score Écho de la Pensée; and in the B Category (Transcription for Six Organs), Luís Neto da Costa, for Beethoven, Abertura Coriolano. At this 4th edition the jury (Yves Rechsteiner, Federico Del Sordo, Eugénio Amorim & João Vaz) has evaluated 22 competition applications, having also attributed two Honorary Mentions: to Jef Vloemans & Daniel Filipe Santos Sousa. The premiere of the new works will take place on November 17 at the Basilica of the Mafra National Palace. Additionally, in the context of the Young Creators Scholarships 2021 programme, promoted by the National Centre of Culture, Diogo da Costa Ferreira has received a Creation Scholarship to compose a new chamber opera based on the work O Abraço by Lima de Freitas.

In November, the music by Hugo Vasco Reis, composer published by the MIC.PT, will be presented in Águeda and Burgos (Spain). The piece Oceano Nox (2020) for soprano, recorder, cello and piano, will be performed by the Borealis Ensemble, on November 3, at the Centro de Artes de Águeda in the context of the Festivais de Outono 2021. At this concert the Borealis Ensemble, with António Carrilho (recorders), Helena Marinho (piano and fortepiano), Sara Braga Simões (soprano) and Catherine Strynckx (cello), will present the project Este som de o mar praiar (Mensagem [1934], Fernando Pessoa), revisiting the connection between the sea and the composition/ performance, promoting the creation of new repertoires and presenting works from the Portuguese music patrimony related with this theme. Additionally, the exhibition Num Único Acorde with video-installation and painting by Pedro Vaz (the project's author) and with music by Hugo Vasco Reis, will be open to the public until January 23, 2022, at the Centro de Arte Caja de Burgos (Spain).

On November 9, in the context of the November Music Festival (Den Bosch, the Netherlands), the Ensemble Klang and Stephanie Pan will perform for the third time the new multimedia opera by Igor C. Silva, entitled Fillow (commission: Gaudeamus/ Miso Music Portugal), a one-woman opera exploring the shifty language of truth in the modern world. As the opera's creators explain in the programme notes: “News spreads quickly: it accelerates, goes viral and soon nobody has control over it. How does it feel to seek a truth, find it and then to lose it...” Apart from that, the piece From This Side (2021; commission: Sonoscopia) for flexible ensemble and electronics by this composer published by the MIC.PT, will be performed by João Dias (percussion), Carina Albuquerque (cello), Clara Saleiro (flute) and Frederic Cardoso (clarinet) at the Association of Bouça Habitants and at the Pasteleira Torres Vermelha Association in Porto, respectively, on November 5 and 20 (project Portuguese Works from the 2020's · Cultura em Expansão).

The visual-music piece by João Pedro Oliveira, Coalescence (2021), is winner at the Only the Best competition within the Experimental Video & Best Sound Design Categories. Another work by this composer published by the MIC.PT, Dark Energy (2018), has been distinguished with an Honorary Mention at the Prix CIME 2021, and the work La Mer Émeraude (2018) has received the 3rd Prize at the Musicworks Competition (Canada). In November the Duo Sigma continues its tour, Mémoire... Miroir & Aprendiz de Novos Sons, whose programme includes his work Absence-Mémoire (2021), i.e., at the Música Viva 2021 (November 18). Additionally – the work Things I Have Seen in My Dreams (2019) will be performed at the Electroacoustic Music Studies Network Conference (De Montfort University, November 19); at the conference of the International Society for Music Information Retrieval (November 8-11); and in the context of the 15th International Symposium on Computer Music Multidisciplinary Research, Japan (November 16). Lastly – the work Vox Sum Vitae (2011) will be performed by Fabio Macchia (vibraphone) & Francesco Rizzo (electronics) at the MA/IN Festival in Matera, Italy (November 21); and the work N'vi'ah (2019) makes part of the Jem FEST programme (November 20).

Various works by Miguel Azguime, composer published by the MIC.PT, will be performed in the framework of the Música Viva 2021 Festival, taking place betwwen November 6 and 20 at the O'culto da Ajuda in Lisbon: Águas Marinhas (2005) for 14 instruments, by the Sond'Ar-te Electric Ensemble +, conducted by Petter Sundkvist (November 6); Cantos para libertar o Ar (2020; world premiere; commission: Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation) for four voices, by the Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart (November 11); as well as Par ce chemin de rien (2020; world premiere) for flute and piano, by the Sond'Ar-te Duo, with Sílvia Cancela & Elsa Silva. Additionally, on November 7 at the Belém Cultural Centre in Lisbon, the Lisbon Metropolitan Orchestra conducted by Pedro Neves, will present the programme A Cor Amarela [Oriente] (The Colour Yellow [Orient]), which includes Miguel Azguime's work Illuminations (2016), as well as the music of Luís de Freitas Branco (Vathek) and Huang Ruo (The Color Yellow concerto for sheng and chamber orchestra, performed by the soloist Wu Wei). Lastly – the composer's work, Point Vermeil (2021) for violin and electronics, presented on October 28 in Tui (Spain), will be performed again by Vítor Vieira in Seville (concerts: Oficio de armas – Vertixe Sonora).

The world premiere of the new piece entitled Being your own reflection (2021) for piano four hands by Sara Carvalho, composer published by the MIC.PT, will take place on November 7 at the CCCI Auditorium in Aveiro, during the concert by the ContinuoDuo (Inês Filipe and Patrícia Sousa) integrated in the Autumn Festivals, an initiative by the University of Aveiro. In the context of the Festivals Sara Carvalho will also participante in the Round Table moderated by Teresa Carvalho, Portuguese Women in Music – 3 Paths, which will take place on November 28 at the Aveirense Theatre, and which will also include the participation of Helena Marinho and Susana Sardo. Additionally – Sara Carvalho's piece o pé descalço da Corujeira, e um eco de qualquer coisa que se foi (2021), for flute, bass clarinet, percussion, cello and audience, will be performed by João Dias (percussiom), Carina Albuquerque (cello), Clara Saleiro (flute) and Frederic Cardoso (clarinet) at the Association of Bouça Habitants and at the Pasteleira Torres Vermelha Association in Porto, respectively, on November 5 and 20 (project: Portuguese Works from the 2020's · Cultura em Expansão); the piece imponderabilia (2020) for saxophone and piano, integrated in the (In)vivible Cities project, will be presented by the Performa Ensemble in the context of the 15th Síntese – Contemporary Music Cycle of Guarda (November 16); and the work My shadow walks home with me (2011) for flute and piano, will be performed by Sílvia Cancela (flute) & Elsa Silva (piano) (Sond'Ar-te Duo), at the final concert of the Música Viva 2021 Festival, on November 20.

Two works by Rui Penha will be presented in the context of the Música Viva 2021 Festival at the O'culto da Ajuda in Lisbon. On November 13, in the context of the concert Multidiciplinary Works (EASTN-DC #2), this composer published by the MIC.PT will present the piece auditorium (2012) for small percussion instruments, mainly repurposed kitchen supplies, captured by binaural microphones and manipulated by a computer controlled by a hidden, wireless controller. Another piece by Rui Penha, 3 quadros sobre fado: métrica · melodia · harmonia (2013), is included in the programme of the Música Viva 2021 final concert (November 20), performed by the Duo Sond'Ar-te Duo – Sílvia Cancela (flute) and Elsa Silva (piano).

The performance by Vítor Rua (composer published by the MIC.PT), Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc (2020) for digital unit, video and two electric guitars, will be released on CD by the guitarists José Teixeira & Luís Miguel Leite. The release-concert will take place on November 23 at the O'culto da Ajuda in Lisbon. On November 6 in Mirandela, Vítor Rua will participate as performer in the theatre piece with his original music – A Queda de um Anjo by the João Garcia Miguel Theatre Company (based on the work by Camilo Castelo Branco). Apart from that, on November 26 & 27 (Mirandela, Albergaria-a-Velha) the Telectu (Vítor Rua & Ilda Teresa Castro) will give concerts in tribute to Jorge Lima Barreto, marking the 10 years after his passing away.

Essays by the three composers published by the MIC.PT – Diogo Alvim, Filipe Lopes and Rui Dias –, are included in the book Perspectives on Music, Sound and Musicology – Research, Education and Practice (ed. Springer; 2021). This book results from an invitation addressed to authors who stood out for their quality and relevance to the music research community, from their contributions at the EIMAD – International Research Meeting in Music, Arts and Design, held in May, 2020, at the School of Applied Arts of the Polytechnic Institute of Castelo Branco. In this sense, Diogo Alvim has contributed for the book with the chapter entitled Composition as Artistic Device; Filipe Lopes, together with Paulo M. Rodrigues, is author of the essay Musicking with Plants; and Rui Dias, who's simultaneously one of the publication's editors, has included on the book's pages the article of his authorship, MicroSonic Spaces: Towards an Autonomous Ecosystem of Virtual Sonic Agents.

The Música Viva Festival is an integrated initiative by the Miso Music Portugal to promote and disseminate contemporary music creation, dedicated, in particular, to Portuguese composers and performers and the relationship between music and technology. In 2021 the Música Viva completes its 27th edition; showing the vitality of music creation in Portugal within a clear confrontation between different ideas and aesthetics, the Festival enables new possibilities for experimentation, fostering new spaces of expression and approximation with the audience, multiplying encounters and giving way to emerging values pointing out new paths. The Festival will be taking place between November 6 and 20 at the O'culto da Ajuda in Lisbon and its programme includes concerts by various music formations, such as the Sond'Ar-te Electric Ensemble, Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart, Loudspeaker Orchestra (including the concert: Filipe Esteves – Sul e Sueste), the Duo Sigma and the Lisbon Ensemble 20/21 (Emmanuel Nunes, Lisbon, August 31, 1941). The MV2021 programme is also composed of workshops conducted by Claude Cadoz, Nicolas Castagné, Marko Ciciliani and Iannis Zannos; various performances within the EASTN-DC – European Art-Science-Technology Network for Digital Creativity Festival; and a concert with the participation of the Mixed Music Lab – José Luís Ferreira (ESML). The Música Viva Festival is a privilege space to premiere and present works by various Portuguese composers, and in this sense the programme of this year's edition will include the music by: Andreia Pinto-Correia, Carlos Marecos, Christopher Bochmann, Eduardo Luís Patriarca, Emmanuel Nunes, Eva Aguilar, Filipe Esteves, João Madureira, João Pedro Oliveira, Luís Tinoco, Mariana Vieira, Miguel Azguime, Rodolfo Valente, Rui Penha and Sara Carvalho.

The Autumn Festivals, an initiative by the University of Aveiro, are taking place until November 28. During the Festival's 2021 edition the crucial role is played by women, creating a privileged space for the female composers, performers and researchers to present their most recent artistic and academic works, to discuss paths, absences and inequalities in the Portuguese music sector. This edition makes it possible to listen to some of the most renowned performers, works by prominent female composers and, simultaneously, to get to know the new and future personalities in music. The Festivals' rich programme contemplate symphonic, concert and contemporary music, chamber and solo music recitals, as well as dance, fado, and opera, presenting various world premieres of new works. Similarly to the previous years, apart from Aveiro, the Festivals also visit the towns of Águeda, Ílhavo and Oliveira de Azeméis. The Autumn Festivals' programme includes the music of various composers published by the MIC.PT: Ângela Lopes, António Chagas Rosa, Fernando C. Lapa, Hugo Vasco Reis, Isabel Soveral, João Pedro Oliveira and Sara Carvalho, among various others.

This year the Síntese – Contemporary Music Cycle celebrates 15 years of its continuous activity, with a programme lasting until December 19 (Guarda, Covilhã, Castelo Branco). Eight concerts, open rehearsals, community-involvement activities, the 5th Contemporary Performance National Competition... are some of the Cycle's proposals. In its November programme one should highlight the concerts at the Municipal Theatre in Guarda (TMG): November 4 by Nuno Aroso; November 11, opera rehearsals with the Síntese – GMC. On November 16 the Music Conservatoire in Guarda receives a concert by the Performa Ensemble, (In)visible Cities, with premieres of the two works: Shelter by Igor C. Silva & The Artist’s Struggle for Integrity by Rui Penha (composers published by the MIC.PT). On November 20 the TMG receives the concert by the Síntese – GMC with premieres by César Viana, Solange Azevedo & Pedro Faria Gomes. This concert will be repeated on November 21 & 27 in Castelo Branco & Covilhã. The programme of the Síntese Cycle also includes the music of various other composers published by the MIC.PT: Eduardo Luís Patriarca, João Pedro Oliveira & Sara Carvalho.

In October the New Music Review Lounge has published a new text (in Portuguese) by Pedro Boléo, Nas vertigens do timbre, dedicated to the two final concerts of the first edition of the Croma – Contemporary Music Cycle of Oeiras, an initiative by the APC – Portuguese Association of Composers, which took place between October 2 and 10, mainly at the Ruy de Carvalho Auditorium in Carnaxide. The concerts featured in Pedro Boléo's text, performed by the Vertixe Sonora Ensemble (October 9) and the Lisbon Ensemble 20/21 (October 10), included works by various Portuguese composers: Eduardo Luís Patriarca (premiere of ...só o silêncio que reluz é ouro...), Emmanuel Nunes, João Quinteiro, Ka'mi and Luís Neto da Costa (premiere Chamariz de Liceia).

In October the MIC.PT website has activated a new Composer's Page dedicated to Gerson de Sousa Batista, composer, playwright, multi-instrumentalist and poet, born in Aveiro. Gerson Batista started his academic path in Civil Engineering, but early on he began composing. In 2007 he dedicated himself completely to the arts, having enrolled to study Music Theory, Organ, Composition and Vocal Techniques at the Calouste Gulbenkian Music Conservatory of Aveiro. Since then he has composed for a wide range of instruments, published numerous books and works in both physical and digital formats, and created and staged a wide variety of works. For the work Quem Chama? (2021) Gerson Batista received the 1st Prize in the Mixed Choir Category, in the framework of the 3rd National Manuel Emílio Porto Choral Composition Competition, organised by the Lajes do Pico Municipality in partnership with the MIC.PT.

This year the International Rostrum of Composers (IRC), an annual forum of radio producers organised by the IMC – International Music Council, took place between October 12 and 15 in Belgrade (Serbia), having received representatives of 21 radios from four continents, who presented 37 works composed during the last five years. In this sense, two works have been indicated as exceptional: Lonesome Skyscraper (2019) for orchestra and electronics by Ivana Ognjanović (General Category) and Are One (2021) for voice, chamber orchestra and electronics by Krists Auznieks (Composers Under 30 Category). In this context and in the framework of the new IRC Prize, thanks to the support of the Portuguese broadcaster RTP – Antena 2, Ivana Ognjanović will receive a commission for a new chamber work, which will be premiered and recorded in Portugal in the following months, and Krists Auznieks will benefit from a residency and commission programme offered by the IMC and the Swedish Radio. The Rostrum has also selected various other pieces recommended for broadcast and concert performance, including the work Talkin(g) (A)bout My Generation (2019) for ensemble and electronics by the young Portuguese composer, Pedro Lima (Categories: General and Composers Under 30).