SECÇÃO PORTUGUESA
da Sociedade Internacional de Música Contemporânea • ISCM
Na qualidade de Secção Portuguesa da Sociedade Internacional de Música Contemporânea que é desde 1999, a Miso Music Portugal tem representado anualmente Portugal nas assembleias gerais da ISCM contribuindo activamente para a promoção dos compositores portugueses e das suas obras a nível internacional.
Desde 2000, a Miso Music Portugal tem apresentado anualmente, aos júris internacionais dos festivais World Music Days uma candidatura com 6 obras de compositores portugueses, para integrarem o World Music Days do ano seguinte. A selecção das obras é da responsabilidade de um júri internacional escolhido pela organização do World Music Days do ano em questão.
A escolha dos compositores que integram a candidatura oficial da Secção Portuguesa é da responsabilidade da Miso Music Portugal.
Sempre que possível a Miso Music Portugal tem apoiado a deslocação e participação dos compositores portugueses com obras seleccionadas ao festival World Music Days.
Desde de 2000, que todos os anos Portugal está representado com pelo menos 1 obra de 1 compositor português.
A Sociedade Internacional de Música Contemporânea fundada em 1922, conta com a participação de cerca de 60 países. Tem como objectivos principais a promoção à escala internacional de todos os aspectos ligados à criação musical contemporânea, favorecendo a produção, a criação, a investigação, a difusão de obras, a pedagogia, etc... Entre as várias iniciativas que promove figura em destaque o festival World Music Days, que desde há décadas se afirma como um momento de eleição no calendário internacional dos festivais, e que visa promover a criação musical de todos os países membros, programando anualmente cerca de 150 obras de autores de todo o mundo!
Portuguese Section 2004 Report
This is the fifth year of Miso Music Portugal as the Portuguese section of the ISCM.
Cultural politics as regards the arts have changed slightly in relation to music, and for the first time in Portugal it is possible to apply for a 4-year grant from the Instituto das Artes / Ministry of Culture.
If the support we have applied for is given, we believe it will strengthen Miso Music Portugal and allow us to advance further in achieving our goals. Financial continuity and scheduling activities in advance will help to raise more support and organize co-productions, especially with foreign institutions. It will also certainly ensure new and better working conditions and stability among the Miso Music staff.
The permanent establishment of Miso Music Portugal is the only means, lasting and structured, that will permit the development and growth of the activities in progress, of activities under development and the creation of new activities which may fill still serious lacunae in the field of creation/experimentation, promotion and dissemination of music, both nationally and internationally.
This financial support granted for 4 years will be essential to the continuation of the Portuguese Contemporary Music Information Centre (PCMIC) .
The database and dynamic web site will provide comprehensive information about some 120 Portuguese composers and their music.
This project is financed by FEDER and the Ministry of Science and in 2004 received the support of the Gulbenkian Foundation, as well as of the Instituto das Artes / Ministry of Culture. This year we were able to raise the funds necessary to finish this project.
Available at the PCMIC will be various kinds of information and materials such as video interviews, samples of music, scores and much more.
This, then, is the indispensable element which was lacking for the organization of and scientific investigation into the musical heritage of Portugal in the 20 th and 21 st centuries, and the international projection and consequent raising of the profile of its musical production.
We are convinced that this powerful and essential instrument for the diffusion of our musical heritage is the guarantee of a greater visibility and of a regular presence on international circuits, which in turn benefit the other activities strategically developed by Miso Music Portugal for the encouragement and promotion of Portuguese music.
The Música Viva Festival is ten years old. Those ten years have seen it follow a singular trajectory, and have indelibly influenced musical composition in Portugal, clearly demonstrating the vitality of Portuguese music, and also proving the urgent necessity of providing means and conditions for the development of this music, which brings forward the future, and makes the present richer and more necessary.
In the last three years we have seen the disappearance of all the festivals dedicated exclusively to contemporary music (the Gulbenkian "Contemporary Music Encounters" ended in 2002, "Music in November", which lasted a mere two years, also finished, and other, smaller festivals, such as "Aveiro Síntese" and the "New Music Days" also ended), with the exception of the Música Viva Festival.
The 2004 edition of the Música Viva Festival is under the sign of salt, an essential substance, which, in gastronomy as in music, is the origin, the revealer of flavour, the manifestation of knowledge, living foundation of Art. And what itineraries, paths and questions has it not given rise to? What interchanges and exchanges has it not initiated? How large is the space in which the ideas and aesthetics, which it has brought about, are circulated and exchanged!
In terms of programming, the Música Viva Festival 2004 follows on the strengths of previous editions, notably with the inclusion of a substantial amount of Portuguese music, and by paying particular attention to the relationship of music and technology, while at the same time aiming to be more diverse and pluridisciplinary.
Featuring renowned names side-by-side with young composers and performers, the 2004 edition of the Música Viva Festival is the largest ever, with 17 performances, 4 lectures, courses and master classes, workshops for children and also the new "Interactive Lounge". In all, 80 works will be performed, 70 of them Portuguese premières, 18 world premières, 15 of them by Portuguese composers.
Pierre Henry, the great pioneer of electronic music, returns to Portugal 40 years after his first and only visit; the Smith Quartet will be in Portugal for the first time for the closing concert of the Festival, which includes some of the most renowned contemporary composers in a predominantly "electric" programme; the Gulbenkian Orchestra appears for the first time in the Festival, with a programme of important works from the end of the 20th century as well as new works under the direction of a young and talented conductor; the Ensemble Pythagore comes from France with a programme in which the relationship of acoustic instruments and musical information technology take current technological possibilities to the limit; the British pioneer Trevor Wishart will also be in Portugal for the first time, as well as the Frenchman Christian Clozier, for concerts of electronic music with the Orchestra of Loudspeakers. The Orchestra of Loudspeakers will also give many other concerts which will include Dutch electronic music, several works for electronic sounds and video, two concerts which showcasing the music of member countries of the International Confederation of Electroacoustic Music/UNESCO, the Portuguese première of the original version of Edgard Varèse's Poème Electronique and Concret PH by Iannis Xenakis, as conceived by their composers in 1958, in an extraordinary reconstruction by Kees Tazelaar, and also several works by Portuguese composers. The Ensemble 20/21 and Jorge Salgado Correia, with the Flute Ensemble of the University of Aveiro, constitute two further representatives of the intense and dedicated activity of some of the (few) Portuguese performers active in the performance of 21st century music. In addition to this extensive panorama, there are also the pluridisciplinary shows of Sten Hanson, Swedish pioneer of sound poetry, Américo Rodrigues, Portuguese pioneer in the same area and the audiovisual performance-tribute to Dziga Vertov.
Because the Música Viva Festival has always been an integrated initiative, stimulating and disseminating musical creation, rather than simply a collection of concerts, the 2004 edition naturally includes a substantial number of other events, including pedagogical activities, amongst which we draw special attention to the workshops for children, musical information technology courses and composition master classes; a series of lectures which question contemporary artistic creation and the relationship of music with other disciplines; the new "Interactive Lounge" which encourages interactive exploration on the part of visitors of new artistic objects which dissolve categories and explore the very space of their definition.
To complete this panorama of the Música Viva Festival 2004, mention must also be made of the Electroacoustic Composition Competition , which will end with a concert featuring the prize-winning works.
All these initiatives complement the concert programme, and make of the Música Viva Festival an enormous space for the circulation and exchange of ideas and aesthetics, in order to create a complete understanding of what Music is today, as always.
Promoting creation through regularly commissioning composers and providing
facilities for young composers to create and produce their works at the Miso Studio .
The creation of new compositions is brought about by commissions, and in this respect, Miso Music Portugal has (though timidly thus far, given current financial limitations) commissioned works from Portuguese composers including, thus far, Cândido Lima, Virgílio Melo, Miguel Azguime, Pedro Amaral, Isabel Pires, Ângela Lopes and Tomás Henriques. From 2005, the aim is to commission annually and regularly four works a year from Portuguese composers, which will, in 2005-2008, give rise to a total of 16 works.
Electroacoustic music has existed for 100 years. It is the emblem par excellence of the music of the 20 th and 21 st century. The need for supporting electroacoustic composition in Portugal is well known: there is still a lack of studios for the creation of new pieces, with the exception of the (generally rudimentary) studios attached to institutions of higher learning, such as conservatories and universities and some colleges.
One of our objectives, from 2005 onwards, is to contribute in a solid fashion to the artistic and professional development of young composers, by establishing a studio for composition and research, equipped with the necessary technology and human resources necessary for the implementation of a public service, that of receiving composers who have need of the conditions available for the composition of an electroacoustic work.
Composers in general, and younger composers in particular, notably those who have recently finished their studies, cannot develop their work in an area now rich in possibilities, and which has indelibly marked recent musical history. Just as Portugal cannot turn its back on the future, so Portugal can also be at the forefront of the world of technology and the arts.
Miso Music Portugal has been issuing recordings since 1988, the label being called Miso Records.
However, lack of support has meant that it has not so far been possible to create a real collection documenting contemporary composition in Portugal, as is its objective.
Indeed, the recording, preservation and making commercially available of contemporary music in Portugal is one of the principal objectives of Miso Music Portugal, not least because it is imperative to do so urgently, given the lacunas extant in Portugal in this respect. We aim, within the space of four years (2005-2008) to produce and make available a collection of 4 CDs which will provide a wide and very complete panorama of Portuguese contemporary music, based on the 16 composers to be commissioned by Miso Music, in addition to other works which will be added to them. In our opinion, this is the most effective means of addressing in an immediate fashion this urgent necessity, in order to show both in Portugal and abroad the period of exceptionally high creative quality that the country is currently enjoying. In 2004 we released a 2 CD set with a Portuguese scope of electroacoustic music and the prize winners of the last 4 years electroacoustic composition competition.
MISO MUSIC PORTUGAL ANNUAL REPORT 2003
This is the forth year of Miso Music Portugal as the Portuguese section and some attention as been made to tell the musical Portuguese community about ISCM and to start a larger representation of our musical community. In this sense we have been working hard on the "Portuguese Contemporary Music Information Center", database and dynamic web site that will provide comprehensive information about Portuguese music and Portuguese composers. This project has already begun in past November and will be financed until the end of 2004. However we still have to raise a percentage of the project total cost. In the end of this year there will be already available online some of the information. The PCMIC will have available different sorts of information like video interviews, samples of music, scores and much more.
Pursuing our goal to encourage musical creation and promote Portuguese contemporary
music we once more organize our Música Viva Festival with strong
emphasis on electroacoustic music and the relationships between music and
technology. Due to the financial problems that we have faced because of
payments delay, we are presenting our festival only in September, in Coimbra,
on "Coimbra, Nacional Cultural Capital" context.
The festival despite all difficulties organizes this year the "International
Symposium on Music & Science" that will take place with an important
number of guest speakers ranging from established composers - Barry Truax,
Simon Emmerson, Emmanuel Nunes, António Ferreira, Horacio Vaggione,
Agostino Di Scipio; specialists in Cognitive Science and Music - Ian Cross,
Marc Leman; researchers and developers of composition and synthesis tools -
Claude Cadoz, Takayuki Rai, Shu Matsuda; to Artificial Intelligence researchers
like Eduardo R. Miranda.
Besides this, as in the last editions Música Viva, offer us a range
of concerts given by the "Loudspeaker Orchestra", a real musical
instrument and new tool in the hands of Portuguese composers, used for projecting
sound in space, introducing a new perspective for electroacoustic composition
and allowing for interpretation in this area of music. Chamber concerts and
solo recitals by Portuguese and foreign musicians, using electroacoustic and
computer resources working in real time, proposing new approaches in this field.
Concerts organized in collaboration with Portuguese music Universities, responding
to the interest in electroacoustic music shown by students and a new generation
of composers.
There will also take place Composition Master Classes and DIPS workshop to
establish new contacts between composers, audiences and music students.
The Música Viva electroacoustic composition competition in its fourth
edition will continue its international life.
Establishing exchanges with international music institutions and promoting
Portuguese music abroad as always been an important role of Miso Music Portugal,
and in this sense we further developed this approach, promoting concerts with
Portuguese music in Bourges (France), in Buenos Aires (Argentina), in Sheffield
(UK), in Innsbruck (Austria).
We continue to put as much pressure as possible in the Portuguese governmental
institutions to lead to changes in the cultural policies in Portugal, especially
now, when things seem to be more difficult than ever to support contemporary
art in general.
Our project, quickly presented at last ISCM general assembly for a touring
contemporary music festival with support from European Community, after
a few months of reflection is being now further developed.
MISO MUSIC PORTUGAL ANNUAL REPORT 2002
This is our third year as the ISCM Portuguese Section and some attention as
been made to tell the musical Portuguese community about ISCM and to start
a larger representation of our musical community. In this sense we worked
hard to raise funds to start a data base and dynamic web site about Portuguese
contemporary music which will provide comprehensive information about Portuguese
music and Portuguese composers. This project will start in fall of 2002
and will be financed until 2004.
Pursuing our goal to encourage musical creation and promote Portuguese contemporary
we once more organized our MUSICA VIVA festival with strong emphasis on
electroacoustic music and the relationships between music and technology.
The festival presented 12 concerts featuring 50 works by composers from
17 different countries. Concerts by ensembles and soloists from Portugal
and abroad were alternating with concerts of “pure” electroacoustic
music using our 32 channels loudspeaker orchestra. 3 Studios were officially
present at this year festival: the Centre de Recherches et Formation Musicales
de Wallonie, from Liège-Belgium, the EMS from Stockholm-Sweden and
the Sonic Arts network from the UK.
The Música Viva electroacoustic composition competition started its
international life, after 2 years devoted exclusively to Portuguese composers:
62 candidates from several countries participate and the winners were Panaiotis
Kokoras from Greece and Ian Corbet from USA. The jury members were Henri Pousseur,
James Dashow and Miguel Azguime.
Besides concerts and performances; courses, seminars and lectures were also
organized to establish new contacts between composers, audiences and music
students, most of them from the conservatories of Lisbon, Porto and Aveiro.
Establishing exchanges with international music institutions and promoting
Portuguese music abroad as always been an important role of Miso Music Portugal,
and in this sense we further developed this approach, promoting concerts with
Portuguese music in Germany, in France, in Rome, in Belgium, in Austria, etc… In
this same light we provided the necessary information and materials for radio
broadcasts on Portuguese music at the Sudwestfunk and Deutschland Rundfunk
(Germany) and VPRO (Holland).
Finally we have been deeply committed to lead to changes in the music policies
in Portugal, but a recent change in the portuguese government has made
things even more difficult, and more uncertain than before. Organizing
the World Music Days festival in Portugal in 2006 seems now much more distant!
ISCM Portuguese Section / Miso Music Portugal ANNUAL REPORT 2001
The ISCM Portuguese Section is new since 1999.
The death of Jorge Peixinho in 1995 left a hole in the life of the Portuguese
Section.
We are now trying to reconstruct the history of the Portuguese Section and
we will be very grateful if any Section has any helpful information on this
matter.
We are working to make things move quickly to fulfil the needs of the growing
and thriving musical creation in Portugal.
Our goal is to encourage musical creation and promote Portuguese contemporary
music in Portugal and abroad and that implicates being able to lead to
changes in the music policies in Portugal, which is one of our hard tasks.
Electroacoustic music has played an important role in the Miso Music Portugal
activities, and both our Electroacoustic Music Competition and our Loudspeaker
Orchestra deserve to be mentioned, as they have both played an important part
in the development of electroacoustic music in Portugal. In fact this development
lead this year to a first time concert on Portuguese electroacoustic music
at the festival Synthèse in Bourges – France.
2001 meant an exceptional challenge for the Portuguese ISCM section because
of The Música Viva 2001, a major contemporary music festival we organized,
featuring a wide repertoire of chamber and electroacoustic music, this time
organized in Oporto European Capital of Culture from 4th to 14th of April.
Besides concerts and performances; courses, seminars and lectures were organized
to establish new contacts between composers, audiences and music students.
The Portuguese section has recently developed its own web site and is now starting
a collaboration with other institutions to establish a network on Portuguese
composers which will be available through the Portuguese Section web
site.
We will face, in the near future, some difficult battles. We must ensure that
the World Music Days in Lisbon – Portugal becomes a reality; spread
Portuguese Contemporary music around the world; divulge young Portuguese
composers, and become acquainted with new music creations from as many
countries as possible and be able to promote them in Portugal.