News Archive
Talk at Escola Superior de Música de Lisboa postponed
Due to adverse weather conditions, Pedro Faria Gomes's talk at Escola Superior de Música de Lisboa, scheduled for 9th March 2023, has been postponed
CMG perform À Memória de Anarda and Fantasy on a Theme by Copland at Cardiff University
Cardiff University's Contemporary Music Group, directed by Robert Fokkens, performed À Memória de Anarda and Fantasy on a Theme by Copland on 21st March 2023, at Cardiff University School of Music
Chamber Works album featured on radio Antena 2
Recordings of Memória, Thanatos, Nachtmusik and Escape, all from the portrait album Chamber Works (Naxos, 2020), were broadcast on radio Antena 2's programme Música de Invenção e Pesquisa on 3rd March 2023
Performance of Memória at Philharmonie Luxembourg
Memória for clarinet and piano was performed by Nils Kohler and Cathy Krier on 5th October 2022 at Philharmonie Luxembourg as part of the Festival Atlântico
Jeremy Huw Williams and Paula Fan premiere The Ways of Time
The Ways of Time for baritone and piano, based on poetry by W. H. Davies, was premiered by Jeremy Huw Williams and Paula Fan on 23rd November 2021 at Cardiff University School of Music. This new work has been commissioned by Jeremy Huw Williams with generous support from the RVW Trust
Premiere of Partita in Guarda, Castelo Branco and Covilhã
Partita for soprano saxophone, accordion and string quartet was commissioned by Síntese – Grupo de Música Contemporânea and premiered by the ensemble with conductor Rita Castro Blanco at the Teatro Municipal da Guarda on 20th November 2021, followed by performances at the Centro de Cultura Contemporânea de Castelo Branco (21st) and the Teatro das Beiras in Covilhã (27th)
Aleksander Szram performs Quatro Peças in Cardiff and London
Aleksander Szram gave the UK premiere of Quatro Peças for solo piano on 27th April 2021, in a chamber music concert by rarescale at Cardiff University. The programme was repeated at City, University of London on 26th May 2021
Portuguese Premiere of Returning in Évora
Rodrigo Gomes (violin), Rui Travasso (clarinet) and Irene Renart (piano) gave the Portuguese premiere of Returning on 22nd November 2020, at the Convento dos Remédios in Évora. The concert was included in Eborae Mvsica's series 'Música no Inverno'
Prémio Autores 2020 (Classical Music) for Sonata
The performing rights society SPA have awarded the Prémio Autores 2020 in the category of classical music to Pedro Faria Gomes' Sonata, for violin and piano. The prize is awarded annually to a composer or performer whose work constitutes an outstanding contribution to classical music
Tableaux at the festival Cistermúsica
Tableaux, commissioned by the Grupo de Música Contemporânea de Lisboa in 2018, was performed again by the ensemble, conducted by Rui Pinheiro, on 23rd October 2020. The concert was livestreamed from the Monastery of Alcobaça as part of the festival Cistermúsica
Fantasy on a Theme by Copland performed by Madeleine Mitchell and Nigel Clayton
Madeleine Mitchell (violin) and Nigel Clayton (piano) performed Fantasy on a Theme by Copland at Cardiff University School of Music on 20th October 2020
Launch of portrait album Pedro Faria Gomes: Chamber Works (Naxos)
A portrait CD with chamber works composed between 2007 and 2018 is now available on Naxos. Memória, Sonata, Thanatos, Escape, Espera, Returning, Elegia and Nachtmusik are performed by Sarah Thurlow, Saul Picado, Carla Santos, Nancy Johnson and Miguel Fernandes. A launch concert and reception were held at Cardiff University School of Music on 4th February 2020 at 7pm
Portuguese premiere of Sonata at the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos
The Dryads Duo gave the Portuguese premiere of the Sonata for violin and piano on 14th November 2019, at the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos. The concert was broadcast on radio RTP Antena 2
World premiere recording of Memória (Centaur Records)
A new CD with works commissioned by clarinettist Wesley Ferreira has just been released on Centaur Records. The disc includes the world premiere recording of Memória, performed with pianist Gail Novak, alongside other works by Portuguese composers including Eurico Carrapatoso, Tiago Derriça and Manuel Durão
À Memória de Anarda performed in Lisbon
The Coro Regina Coeli de Lisboa conducted by Pedro Miguel performed À Memória de Anarda at the Academia das Ciências de Lisboa on 29th June 2019
English premiere of Sonata in Brighton
Following the premiere of Sonata for violin and piano in Cardiff in 2018, the Dryads Duo performed it for the first time in England at St. Luke's Church in Brighton, on 21st June 2019
Tableaux performed in Lagoa and Castelo Branco
The Grupo de Música Contemporânea de Lisboa gave the Portuguese premiere of Tableaux in two concerts in June 2019. At the Auditório Carlos do Carmo in Lagoa on the 18th, and the Centro de Cultura Contemporânea de Castelo Branco on the 19th
Premiere of Tableaux by the GMCL at Cardiff University
Tableaux, a new piece for eight players after paintings by René Magritte, was commissioned by the Grupo de Música Contemporânea de Lisboa. The ensemble, conducted by Vasco Pearce de Azevedo, premiered the new work on 12th December 2018 at Cardiff University Concert Hall
Recording of Memória in preparation
A recording of Memória performed by Wesley Ferreira and Gail Novak will be released on Centaur Records in Spring 2019. The disc will feature several works by Portuguese composers commissioned by Wesley Ferreira over the last decade
Eight chamber works recorded for portrait CD
A new CD was recorded in July featuring eight chamber works composed between 2007 and 2018: Elegia, Thanatos, Escape, Espera, Nachtmusik, Returning, Memória and Sonata. With performances by Sarah Thurlow, Carla Santos, Saul Picado, Nancy Johnson and Miguel Fernandes, the disc will be released and distributed by Naxos in January 2020
Dryads Duo commission and premiere Sonata
Sonata for violin and piano was premiered by the Dryads Duo at the Cardiff University Concert Hall on 24th April 2018. This new work was commissioned by the Dryads Duo
Endymion perform Thanatos in Cardiff
Thanatos for clarinet and string trio was performed by Endymion at the Cardiff University Concert Hall on 20th February 2018
Performances of Como se Faz Cor-de-Laranja with the Portuguese Symphony Orchestra
Como se Faz Cor-de-Laranja [How to Make the Colour Orange], for speaker and 17 musicians was performed twice on 10th February 2018 at the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos. The piece, based on a short story by António Torrado, was commissioned in 2007 by the Academia de Música de Viana do Castelo and has received several performances since. This new production with Sílvia Correia (speaker) and the Portuguese Symphony Orchestra conducted by José Eduardo Gomes was the Lisbon première
Orquestra de Jovens de Santa Maria da Feira perform Como se Faz Cor-de-Laranja
Eunice Almeida (actress and stage director) and the Orquestra de Jovens de Santa Maria da Feira conducted by Paulo Martins performed Como se Faz Cor-de-Laranja on 21st April 2017 at the Auditório de Louredo
Simon Rowland-Jones and Tim Horton play Espera in Cardiff
Espera was performed by Simon Rowland-Jones (viola) and Tim Horton (piano) at the Cardiff University Concert Hall on 7th March 2017
Premiere of chamber work commissioned by the London Symphony Orchestra
Evening was premièred by Ziazan Horrocks-Hopayian (soprano) and Anna Bastow (viola) at LSO St Luke's on 11th February 2017. This new work is a setting of a poem by Khadambi Asalache and it was commissioned by the London Symphony Orchestra
Brazilian premiere of À Memória de Anarda in São Paulo
The Brazilian premiere of À Memória de Anarda was given by the Coral Paulistano conducted by Luiz Marchetti at the Praça das Artes in São Paulo, on 11th June 2016
Premiere of Pinguins with the Portuguese National Ballet and Portuguese Symphony Orchestra
Pinguins was premièred by the Companhia Nacional de Bailado in June and July 2016, at the Teatro Camões in Lisbon and the Teatro Rivoli in Porto. This is a movement from Carnaval, a ballet directed by Victor Hugo Pontes based on Camille Saint-Saëns' Carnival of the Animals. The Orquestra Sinfónica Portuguesa was conducted by Cesário Costa
Recording of Poema with the Gulbenkian Orchestra released by Naxos
A recording of Poema was released in June 2016 on Naxos. The CD features Portuguese music for cello and orchestra and is performed by cellist Bruno Borralhinho and the Gulbenkian Orchestra, conducted by Pedro Neves
Como se Faz Cor-de-Laranja performed in Castelo de Paiva
Como se Faz Cor-de-Laranja was performed on 4th June 2016 by Sílvia Correia (actress and stage director) and an ensemble of teachers from the Academia de Música de Castelo de Paiva conducted by José Eduardo Gomes. The concert was held at the Auditório Municipal de Castelo de Paiva
Premiere of ELA with the Portuguese Symphony Orchestra and Joana Carneiro
ELA, a new work commissioned by the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos (Portuguese National Opera), was premièred by the Orquestra Sinfónica Portuguesa conducted by Joana Carneiro on 14th February 2016 at the Centro Cultural de Belém
Ensemble Lontano perform Nachtmusik at Cardiff University
Andrew Sparling (cl) and Richard Casey (pno) from the ensemble Lontano performed Nachtmusik at the Cardiff University Concert Hall on 10th November 2015
Pedro Faria Gomes appointed as Lecturer in Composition at Cardiff University
Pedro Faria Gomes was appointed as Lecturer in Composition at Cardiff University School of Music in September 2015
Canções do Quadrante premiered by AMSC and Joana Carneiro
Première of Canções do Quadrante by the Orchestra and Choirs of the Academia de Música de Santa Cecília, conducted by Joana Carneiro, on 9th May 2015 at the Centro Cultural de Belém. This new work was commissioned by the Academia de Música de Santa Cecília for their fiftieth anniversary
Toys and Games premiered in Coimbra
Pedro Silva premièred Toys and Games, for solo bassoon, at the Conservatório de Música de Coimbra on 18th December 2014
Premiere of How Beastly the Bourgeois Is with Inês Simões, Gulbenkian Orchestra and Magnus Lindberg
How Beastly the Bourgeois Is, based on a poem by D. H. Lawrence, was premièred by soprano Inês Simões and the Gulbenkian Orchestra, conducted by Magnus Lindberg, on 12th September 2014. This was a project of the European Network of Opera Academies
GMCL and Fernando Marinho perform Drive in Lisbon, Porto and Amarante
The Grupo de Música Contemporânea de Lisboa, conducted by Fernando Marinho, gave the first public performance of Drive. Concerts in Lisbon, Porto and Amarante on 25th, 26th and 27th September 2014
Returning at UNESCO's International Rostrum of Composers in Helsinki
Returning represented Portugal at UNESCO's 2014 International Rostrum of Composers, last May in Helsinki
Royal Musical Association grant awarded to Pedro Faria Gomes
A Thurston Dart Research Grant from the Royal Musical Association has been awarded to Pedro Faria Gomes to support a composition project at the Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon
Broadcasts on Swiss and Portuguese radios
À Memória de Anarda was broadcast on November 24th on Swiss Radio RTS Espace 2's choral music programme Chant Libre. On November 26th Como se Faz Cor-de-Laranja was broadcast on Portuguese Radio RTP Antena 2's Concerto Aberto