Antonio Pinho Vargas

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António Manuel Faria Pinho Vargas da Silva (born August 15, 1951 in Vila Nova de Gaia ) is a Portuguese pianist, and a composer of jazz and classical music .

Career

Vargas studied piano at the Porto Conservatory (graduated in 1987) and history at the University of Porto (graduated in 1983). At the Rotterdam Conservatory he studied composition with Klaas de Vries (graduated in 1990). From 1994 to 2000 he was music assessor at the Fundação de Serralves ( Museu Serralves ) in Porto, and from 1996 to 1998 at the Centro Cultural de Belém . In 1995 he was awarded the order of the Infante Dom Henrique in the rank of commander. He also occasionally composed film music for various works by João Botelho and José Fonseca e Costa . In 2003 he wrote with Sobre música: Ensaios, textos e entrevistas. (Afrontamento, Lisbon 2003) a book about music.

Working as a jazz musician

After playing in rock bands from 1969 ( Jáfumega , Arte & Ofício and the Banda Sonora by Rui Veloso ), Vargas devoted himself to jazz and improvised music . At the beginning of the 1970s he was a member of the Anarband , which conceptually based on Jorge Lima Barreto . From 1975 he was a member of the free jazz formation Zanarp , before turning to new music . Vargas became increasingly interested in the history of jazz . In addition to free jazz, he also played funk and fusion jazz rock with his band Abralas (from 1977) and was one of the first Portuguese jazz musicians to regularly use a Fender Rhodes organ. Since 1976 he also played with Rão Kyao and recorded with him the album Malpertuis , which, two years after the Carnation Revolution , became the first jazz album by Portuguese musicians.

An admirer of the Miles Davis Quintet of the 1960s and influenced by the style of pianists such as Keith Jarrett , Chick Corea and Paul Bley , he founded his own quartet (with José Nogueira, Pedro Barreiros and Mário Barreiros). If he was previously called António Pinho, from now on he appeared under the name of António Pinho Vargas. In the 1980s, Vargas became one of the most important jazz musicians in Portugal. Initially influenced by the recordings of Keith Jarrett's European quartet (with Jan Garbarek ), he increasingly developed his own style with his own compositions, which were one of the first to seek an encounter between jazz and the melodies and rhythms of traditional Portuguese music (such as the choirs of the Alentejo or the percussions from the Alto Douro region ). His recordings as a band leader , beginning with Outros Lugares (1983), are among the decisive works of Portuguese jazz. His name is now known to a wider audience in Portugal. At the end of 2007, after a long illness and the death of his mother, he recorded a series of solo pieces on the piano between December 17th and 22nd in the small auditorium of the Centro Cultural de Belém. In 2008 the first double album of these recordings was released. The good sales of the album Solo made it into the charts. This was remarkable for a piano solo album of jazz, and with Solo II a second double album followed with further pieces from the same recording session, including a free improvisation. In 2012 he received the José Afonso Prize for this album .

Working in the field of classical music

Despite many opinions to the contrary, in Vargas' understanding of music a connection between jazz as popular music and classical music (as serious music ) is not possible. In classical music he remained only a composer, while in jazz he is also a musician.

Since the late 1980s, Vargas turned to the composition of classical music. He composed various symphonies , but also operas , for example Os Dias Levantados (German for "Days of Elevation") for the 25th anniversary of the Carnation Revolution .

Discography

Chart positions
Explanation of the data
Albums
solo
  PT 13 27/2008 (6 weeks)
  • 1983: Outros Lugares
  • 1985: Cores e Aromas
  • 1987: As Folhas Novas Mudam de Cor
  • 1989: Os Jogos do Mundo
  • 1991: Selos e Borboletas
  • 1994: Monodia
  • 1996: A Luz ea Escuridão
  • 1998: As Mãos - O Melhor de António Pinho Vargas ("Best Of")
  • 2001: Versos
  • 2001: Versos
  • 2003: Os Dias Levantados
  • 2008: Graffiti [just Forms], Six Portraits of Pain, Acting Out
  • 2008: solo
  • 2009: Solo II
  • 2011: Improvisações

Works

orchestra

  • An impossible task (2009) - for small orchestra (12 min., For the Centro Cultural de Belém ) World premiere in Lisbon April 2009 (conductor: Michael Zilm)
  • Um discurso de Thomas Berhard - for speaker and orchestra (12 min., For the Orquestra Metropolitana de Lisboa ) World premiere in Lisbon December 2007 (director: Michael Zilm)
  • Graffiti [just forms] - for large orchestra (25 min., For the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos ) first performance in Lisbon March 2006 (director: Lothar Königs)
  • Six portraits of pain - for violoncello and large orchestra (27 min., Commissioned work for the Casa da Música , as part of the European Capital of Culture , Porto 2001), world premiere in Porto 2005 (director: Frank Ollu)
  • Reentering - for orchestra and percussion obligato (8 min., For the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos) World premiere in Lisbon 2004 (director: Donato Renzentti)
  • … From foreign countries… - for piano and orchestra (18 min., For the International Music Festival Coimbra) World premiere Coimbra 2004 (conductor: Yu Feng, piano: Anne Kaasa)
  • Machines fictives (pour Pierrot le fou) - for orchestra (12 min., For the Fundação Oriente foundation ) World premiere in Lisbon 2003 (director: Yu Feng)
  • A impaciência de Mahler - for orchestra (20 min., For the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation) World premiere in Lisbon 2001 (conductor: Michael Zilm)
  • Duas peças - for string quartet (15 min.) World premiere Porto 2000 (director: Cesário Costa)
  • Acting-out - for piano, percussion and orchestra (19 min., For the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos) World premiere in Lisbon 1998 (director: António Saiote, piano: Miguel Henriques, percussion: Elizabeth Davies)
  • Três versos de Caeiro - for 12 instruments (10 min., For the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation ) World premiere in Lisbon and Milan 1997 (director: Renato Rivolta)
  • Três quadros para Almada - for 10 instruments (17 min.) First performance Lisbon 1994
  • Explicit drama - for orchestra and jazz trio (20 min.) World premiere in Lisbon 1992 (director: Michel Swiertchevisky)
  • Estudo / Figua - for 10 instruments (12 min.) First performance Amsterdam 1990 (director: Arie Van Beck)
  • Geometral - for orchestra (27 instruments) (20 min., For the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation) first performance in Lisbon 1989 (director: Michel Tabachnik )
  • Música plana / Música contraplana - for opus orchestra (12 min., For RTP television) First performance in Amsterdam 1989
  • Círculos - for orchestra (10 instruments) (10 min.), World premiere in 1987 (conductor: Álvaro Salazar)

Chamber music

  • 2 Violinos for Carlos Paredes - for 2 violins (6 min.) World premiere in Lisbon 2003 (Aníbal Lima, Pedro Pacheco)
  • Step by step, wolfs! - for 6 percussionists (6 min.) First performance 2002 (director: Miguel Bernat)
  • Três estudos for 2 pianos - for 2 pianos (15 min.) World premiere Lisbon 2001 (Miguel Henriques, Ana Valente)
  • Two family discussions - for 2 trumpets (6 min., For the Mafra International Music Festival ) World premiere Mafra 2001 (John Wallace, John Miller)
  • Quatro ou cinco movimentos fugidios da água - for clarinet trio (15 min.) World premiere Póvoa de Varzim 2001 (António Saiote, Jed Barahal, António Rosado)
  • Sete canções de Albano Martins - for vocal soloist (baritone) and piano (18 min.) World premiere Porto 2000 (Paulo Ferreira, Jaime Mota)
  • Estudos e interlúdios - for 6 percussionists (25 min.) World premiere in Lisbon 2000 (director: Miguel Bernat)
  • Terceiro verso de Caeiro - for 4 instruments (10 min., For Sven for Parlor ) first performed in Athens 1997
  • Nove canções de António Ramos Rosa - for vocal soloist and piano (25 min., For Encontros Primavera de Guimarães ) First performance Guimarães 1995 (Rui Taveira, Jaime Mota)
  • Nocturno / Diurno - for string sextet (8 min., For the city of Porto) World premiere Porto 1994 (Sextuor L'Artois de Lille)
  • Monodia - quasi un requiem - for string quartet (15 min., For the city of Porto) World premiere Porto 1993 (Ensemble MusikFabrik)
  • Mechanical string toys - for string orchestra (6 min., For the Orquestra Metropolitana de Lisboa ) first performance in Lisbon 1992 (conductor: Miguel Graça Moura)
  • Poetica dell estinzione (secondo mikhal serguieievitch) - for flute and string quartet (6 min.) World premiere Porto 1990 (director: Álvaro Salazar)
  • Cut - for saxophone quartet (8 min.) First performance Lisbon 1989 (Quarteto de Saxofones de Lisboa)
  • Gravitações - for flute and clarinet quartet (6 min., For the Oficina Musical ) world premiere Porto 1984 (Eduardo Lucena, Américo Aguiar (Oficina Musical))

Opera and oratorio

  • A little madness in the spring - chamber orchestra and 3 singers (chamber opera 3 singers; fl; ob; cl; Bcl; fg; tp; hn; tbn; 2 perc; harp; pf; vl I; vl II; vla; vln; cb); Electronics by Carlos Caires and Antonio Pinho Vargas Libreto: Paulo Tunhas Duration: 32 'Commissioned by: Casa da Música Published by: First Performance: Eduarda Melo, Matthew Bean, Ivan Ludlow Remix Ensemble, dir. Franck Ollu, Lisboa, 1996
  • Judas (secundum Lucam, Joannem, Matthaeum et Marcum) (2002) for choir and orchestra Large Choir; (2.2.2.2.4.2.2.0.1 perc); (12.10.8.8.6) Duration: 30 'Commissioned by: Festival de Música Sacra de Viana do Castelo Published by: http://www.editions-ava.com/store/work/319/ First Performance: Choir and Orq. Gulbenkian you. Fernando Eldoro, 2002
  • Os dias levantados (1998) opera 8 singers; Large choir; (2.2.3.2 - 2.0.2.2 - 3 perc); Strings Libretto: Manuel Gusmão Duration: 105 'Commissioned by: Expo'98 Published by: First Performance: Orq. Sinfónica Portuguesa, Choir from Teatro Nacional de S. Carlos, dir. João Paulo Santos, Lisboa, 1998
  • Édipo - Tragédia de Saber (1996) opera 4 singers; 32 choir; fl; fg; cl; if; tp; tbn; 2 perc pf; vl I; vl II; vla; vln; cb; Libretto: Pedro Paixão Duration: 64 'Commissioned by: Culturgest Published by: First Performance: Soilists from Orq. Sinfónica Portuguesa, Choir from Teatro Nacional de S. Carlos, dir. João Paulo Santos, Lisboa, 1996
  • Ancestral e mudo - Opera for 4 mixed choirs (5 min.) World premiere in Lisbon 1994 (Lisbon Chamber Choir, conducted by Teresita Gutierrez Marques)

solo

  • Il ritorno - for harpsichord (14 min., For the Mafra International Music Festival) World premiere Mafra 2002 (Ana Mafalda Castro)
  • Holderlinos - for piano (26 min., For the International Music Festival of Coimbra) World premiere Coimbra 2001 (Miguel Henriques)
  • La Luna - guitar (3 min., For Cecilia Colien Honneger) world premiere Madrid 1996 (Gabriel Estrahellas)
  • Mirrors - piano (9 min., For State Secretariat for Culture) World premiere Amsterdam 1990 (Paul Prenen)
  • Três fragmentos - clarinet (5 min.) First performed in Lisbon 1987 (António Saiote)
  • Peça - flute (4 min., For the Calouste Gulbenkian School of Braga ) world premiere Braga 1983 (Olavo Tengner, Jorge Salgado)

Film music

literature

  • Salwa Castelo-Branco: Enciclopédia da música em Portugal no século XX, PZ . 1st edition, Temas & Debates, Lisbon 2010, ISBN 978-972-42-4598-0

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ António Pinho Vargas in the Internet Movie Database , accessed June 19, 2012
  2. ↑ acharts.us , accessed on June 19, 2012
  3. ^ A b Salwa Castelo-Branco "Enciclopédia da música em Portugal no século XX, PZ.", 1st edition, Temas & Debates, Lisbon 2010, page 1310/1311
  4. ↑ a b anos80.no.sapo.pt: António Pinho Vargas ( Memento of the original from November 14, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed June 19, 2012 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / anos80.no.sapo.pt
  5. ↑ a b www.antoniopinhovargas.com: Biografia , accessed on June 19, 2012
  6. ↑ www.antoniopinhovargas.com: Biography from the Público newspaper , accessed on June 19, 2012
  7. ↑ Chart sources: PT
personal data
SURNAME Vargas, António Pinho
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Pinho Vargas, António
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Portuguese jazz and classical musician
DATE OF BIRTH August 15, 1951
PLACE OF BIRTH Vila Nova de Gaia , Portugal