Música Viva Festival Celebrates Fourteen Seasons
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MÚSICA VIVA FESTIVAL CELEBRATES FOURTEEN SEASONS --- Pedro Junqueira Maia Composer. Born in Porto, 1971, he graduat- ed in composition in the Superior Schools of Music of Porto and Lisbon. He works regularly in music for theatre and his Works were performed all over Portugal as well as South Africa, Italy, México and United Kingdom. He was the founder of Atelier de com- posição and publishing director of the editions of the same company. Atelier de Composição has published books about the Portuguese composers Cândido Lima, João Pedro Oliveira, Álvaro Salazar, Fer- nando Lopes Graça and Filipe Pires. He was also musical editor of Águas Fur- tadas, a magazine of Literature, Music and Visual Arts of the Nucleus of Academic Journalism of Porto University. As the artistic director of Memorando Lopes-Graça festival he was awarded the 1st prize ex-aequo on the competition organized by the Portuguese Institute of Arts/Ministry of Culture 2006. He teaches composition both at the Silva Monteiro Secondary Music School of Porto and at the Superior Institute of Intercultural and Transdisciplinary Studies at Portuguese Piaget Institute. --- CITAR JOURNAL 92 Miso Music is a force to be reck- table strength – getting those tools ing concert. oned with in the contemporary that make such new forms of reflec- In a first glance at the programme Portuguese music scene. From 19th tion possible. As far as contemporary provided by the organisation, we to 27th September last, they offered music is concerned, the Musica Viva came across figures which are, at us another sumptuous edition of Festival has filled this vacuum, con- the very least, impressive: 82 com- Música Viva –International Festival of tributing decisively to breaching the posers represented, of whom 42 Electro-acoustic Music. Now proud serious gaps that should be top of are Portuguese; 124 pieces to be to be in its fourteenth year, and has the cultural policy agenda of govern- performed, 53 of them having their now taken root at the Belém Cultural ments, slowly making its name as world premiere and 15 being com- Centre (CCB), it was under the aus- The contemporary music festival in missioned by Miso Music Portugal pices of Convergence of Multiple Portugal. itself. These are, in fact, striking num- Musical Expressions and Aesthetics All this is also underpinned by the bers, that indicate an event that is that we were able to enjoy, once prestige that has been spreading not to be taken at all lightly. again, contact with what’s going on abroad, where the event has gained Let us talk about the concerts. in contemporary music, in Portugal a great many admirers and collabo- First concert. The emblematic and abroad. rators. The number of works submit- Jerónimos Monastery was chosen as Since the disappearance of the sore- ted to its competitions, year after the venue to present two monumen- ly missed Gulbenkian Foundation’s year, is a measure of its success, now tal works by Karlheinz Stockhausen, programme of Contemporary Music not only in the already internationally the composer of transition pieces Encounters, Miso Music has, in a way, recognised award for a purely elec- in contemporary music, particularly taken on accrued responsibility for tronic work, but also for the newly those using electro-acoustic media. what is now the only annual event created prize for a so-called mixed In a short introduction, Miguel in this area. The responsibility has music work, the joining of acoustic Azguime began by explaining that been undertaken by the directors of instruments and electronic media. this concert had originally been the organisation, headed by Miguel In an interview with the arts maga- prepared together with the com- Azguime, its artistic director, who zine of the city of Coimbra, Jaime poser himself, but eventually be- has guided it on the best course to Reis, one of the most promising came a tribute following his recent achieve its objectives, confirming young composers for the continu- death. The programme comprised the festival as a place of excellence ation of contemporary Portuguese the Portuguese premiere of Mixtur, in promoting contemporary music in music, said that whenever he goes rendered in its two versions, as Portugal. abroad there are always three things planned, the original and the retro- Taking up the title provided by its that crop up about Portugal in grade. In between, at Stockhausen’s organisers, the culture of a country conversations between musicians: express wish, we had the opportu- can only be made up of converging Emmanuel Nunes, the most interna- nity to hear the dazzling Canto dos multiple musical expressions and tional of our composers, the impec- Adolescentes, a pioneering work in aesthetics. It is necessary (one might cable Remix Ensemble, from Oporto, the history of electronic music, us- even say imperative), to have access, and this Musica Viva. ing the human voice and its trans- to see, to hear, to feel and to experi- So, after this preamble, it is only formations. It is indeed a monument ment as much as possible, art or not fair that we extol here the spirit and as programming goes. The success art, at least to have the opportunity energy of all those who make Miso of the concert could not have been to chose whatever pleases one most Music happen. greater, whether for the works, for from everything on offer. Only like Let us then go on to the most recent the performance, for the venue, for this can we acquire the tools that Festival. the audience or even for the rather provide us with new ways of think- The actual festival is defined as “an remarkable atmosphere created. In a ing, which will give us new ideas and international, broad, recognised full-to-capacity Monastery, the con- therefore have different and more space for renovation and encoun- cert became a delirious event, with chances of living a better and hap- ter of the sound metamorphoses of teeming pews, standing public eve- pier life. And, as one public figure music today”, and some important rywhere, and even people sitting on in our society, the neurologist João institutions in Portuguese culture the floor of this centuries-old land- Lobo Antunes, says, ‘we live to be were involved in this year’s edition. mark. If we add to this the hearing of happy’. Hence the fundamental im- CCB, as mentioned before, was works which, despite their fifty years portance of contemporary art and of joined by the Gulbenkian orchestras of existence, are still utterly contem- events of the nature and magnitude and, for the first time, the Lisbon porary, seemingly impervious to time that we are dealing with here, be- Metropolitan Orchestra, which was (incredibly more contemporary than cause it is precisely in this that lies its entrusted with the most enticing most modern music that one hears tenacious effectiveness, its indomi- event of the programme, the open- about, if we were frank), the whole CITAR JOURNAL 93 event was even more remarkable and in which twenty miniature electronic at Jerónimos). noteworthy. (But is timelessness not musical pieces from all over the The evening included a concert in precisely one of the conditions for world were heard. The space chosen the Gulbenkian Foundation audito- the work of art to be exactly that: a was perfect (the public entrance lob- rium by the Gulbenkian Orchestra. “work of art”?) by at CCB) because it allowed any- Alongside composers who are The musical direction of Mixtur was one visiting CCB or even just passing already classics in contemporary entrusted to Pedro Amaral, an al- by to have sound contact with the music, the programme offered the ready acknowledged composer in works, whether or not they attended premiere of a work by a young the national and international musi- the festival or had any knowledge Portuguese composer, Bruno cal arenas, who has devoted himself that an event devoted precisely to Gabirro, commissioned by Miso (extremely confidently, we should this theme was taking place there. Music. add) to conducting. In a notoriously Besides so many and such prolific The emblematic Calling Across Time, difficult piece to control, he exercised activities, Miso Music also found by the British composer, Jonathan blameless rigour throughout. The no the time to create and promote a Harvey, was followed by a very beau- less famous Canto dos Adolescentes contemporary musical group, called tiful piece by Philippe Hurel in tribute came across as ecstatic. The speak- Sond’Ar-te, which filled the space for to Claude Debussy’s Prelude à l’aprés ers, scattered around in every cor- mixed music. Another concert was Midi d’un faune. My preference, how- ner, worked in the most amazingly presented here, this time with a pre- ever, was for Requies, by Luciano beautiful way. It is terribly exciting to dominantly Portuguese programme. Berio, a composition with a charm- realise, once again, and specially in It drew attention to the work of ing orchestral refinement typical of these particular conditions provided João Pedro Oliveira, the Portuguese Berio. by a wide space, the incredible pro- composer who has been amassing Worthy of special mention is the pre- duction of this work 52 years ago, an impressive array of national and miere of the work by Bruno Gabirro, bearing in mind the means available international awards, with Timshel for violin and orchestra which, de- at the time, i.e. the non-existence of (commissioned by Miso Music), as spite certain unsure moments, which computers. It is rare for a concert to well as Itinerário de Luz, by Enrique are to be expected from a young be so outstanding. X. Macias (whose double CD with man just out of college, showed On the second day of the festival, the same title was launched dur- great potential.