Fernando Lopes-Graça
Encyclopedia
Fernando Lopes-Graça, GOSE, GCIH (Tomar
, 17 December 1906- Parede
, near Cascais
, November 27, 1994) was a Portuguese
composer and conductor of the 20th century. He worked both as a contemporary music composer
and as a musicologist.
His major influences came from Portuguese popular music, that he studied, continuing the work of other musicologists, like Francisco de Lacerda
.
He was a member of the Portuguese Communist Party
and was a strong opponent to "Estado Novo" and its leader António de Oliveira Salazar
.
He completed the "Dicionário de Música" (Dictionary of Music), started by his teacher, Tomás Borba, himself a composer.
Tomar
Tomar Municipality has a total area of 351.0 km² and a total population of 43,007 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 16 parishes, and is located in Santarém District...
, 17 December 1906- Parede
Parede
Parede is a civil parish in the Portuguese municipality of Cascais. In 2001 its resident population was approximately 17,830 inhabitants, covering an area of 3.6 km², along the southern coast, near the mouth of the Tagus estuary...
, near Cascais
Cascais
Cascais is a coastal town in Cascais Municipality in Portugal, 30 kilometres west of Lisbon, with about 35,000 residents. It is a cosmopolitan suburb of the Portuguese capital and one of the richest municipalities in Portugal. The former fishing village gained fame as a resort for Portugal's royal...
, November 27, 1994) was a Portuguese
Portuguese people
The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....
composer and conductor of the 20th century. He worked both as a contemporary music composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and as a musicologist.
His major influences came from Portuguese popular music, that he studied, continuing the work of other musicologists, like Francisco de Lacerda
Francisco de Lacerda
Dr Francisco José Maria de Lacerda was a Portuguese explorer in the 18th century. He led an expedition to the Kazembe region of Zambia in 1798. After his death on this mission, the group was led by Francisco Pinto.-External links:*...
.
He was a member of the Portuguese Communist Party
Portuguese Communist Party
The Portuguese Communist Party is a major left-wing political party in Portugal. It is a Marxist-Leninist party, and its organization is based upon democratic centralism. The party also considers itself to be patriotic and internationalist....
and was a strong opponent to "Estado Novo" and its leader António de Oliveira Salazar
António de Oliveira Salazar
António de Oliveira Salazar, GColIH, GCTE, GCSE served as the Prime Minister of Portugal from 1932 to 1968. He also served as acting President of the Republic briefly in 1951. He founded and led the Estado Novo , the authoritarian, right-wing government that presided over and controlled Portugal...
.
He completed the "Dicionário de Música" (Dictionary of Music), started by his teacher, Tomás Borba, himself a composer.
Chronology
- 1906: December 17: birth in TomarTomarTomar Municipality has a total area of 351.0 km² and a total population of 43,007 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 16 parishes, and is located in Santarém District...
(where he would start his piano studies). - 1924: becomes a student at the Conservatório Nacional de Lisboa.
- 1927: becomes a student of Vianna da MottaJosé Vianna da MottaJosé Vianna da Motta was a distinguished Portuguese pianist, teacher, and composer. He was one of the last pupils of Franz Liszt...
's Classe de Virtuosidade. - 1931: obtains the Composition Degree. In the same year he is arrested and expelled to AlpiarçaAlpiarçaAlpiarça is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 95.0 km² and a total population of 8,157 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 1 parish, and is located in Santarém District....
. - 1934: wins a scholarship to study in FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, which he is later denied for political reasons. - 1937: goes to ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, where he studies with composition and orchestration with Charles KoechlinCharles KoechlinCharles Louis Eugène Koechlin was a French composer, teacher and writer on music. He was a political radical all his life and a passionate enthusiast for such diverse things as medieval music, The Jungle Book of Rudyard Kipling, Johann Sebastian Bach, film stars , travelling, stereoscopic...
. - 1938: The "Maison de la Culture de Paris" commissions «La fiévre du temps» (ballet-revue). Harmonisation of traditional Portuguese songs.
- 1940: Wins the composition prize from Círculo de Cultura Musical with his 1st Concert for Piano and Orchestra.
- 1941: receives an invitation from Tomás Borba to teach at the Academia de Amadores de Música.
- 1942: wins a prize from Círculo de Cultura Musical for «História Trágico-Marítima» (Miguel TorgaMiguel TorgaMiguel Torga, pseudonym of Adolfo Correia da Rocha is considered one of the greatest Portuguese writers of the 20th century...
poem). - 1944: wins, for the 3rd time, the Composition Prize from Círculo de Cultura Musical for «Sinfonia».
- 1945: integrates the Movement of Democratic UnityMovement of Democratic UnityThe Movement of Democratic Unity was a quasi-legal platform of Portuguese democratic organizations that opposed the dictatorial regime of António Oliveira Salazar and was founded in October 1945....
's District Commission. - 1949: integrates the jury of the International Béla Bartók Festival in BudapestBudapestBudapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
. - 1952: wins another composition prize from Círculo de Cultura Musical for his 3rd Piano Sonata.
- 1961: publishes, with Michel Giacometti, the 1st volume of the Antologia de Música Regional Portuguesa. Starts work on «In Memoriam Béla Bartók» (8 progressive suites for piano), which he will complete in 1975.
- 1969: Mstislav RostropovichMstislav RostropovichMstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich, KBE , known to close friends as Slava, was a Soviet and Russian cellist and conductor. He was married to the soprano Galina Vishnevskaya. He is widely considered to have been the greatest cellist of the second half of the 20th century, and one of the greatest of...
performs his Concerto da Camera (cello). - 1973: Editora Cosmos starts the publication of «Obras Literárias» (18 volumes).
- 1974: becomes president of the Comissão para a Reforma do Ensino Musical, created by the Provisional Government of the April RevolutionCarnation RevolutionThe Carnation Revolution , also referred to as the 25 de Abril , was a military coup started on 25 April 1974, in Lisbon, Portugal, coupled with an unanticipated and extensive campaign of civil resistance...
. - 1979: composes the «Requiem pelas vítimas do fascismo em Portugal» (Requiem for the Victims of Fascism in Portugal) for large orchestra, soloists, and choir.
- 1981: receives invitation from the Hungarian government for the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of Béla BartókBéla BartókBéla Viktor János Bartók was a Hungarian composer and pianist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century and is regarded, along with Liszt, as Hungary's greatest composer...
's birth. - 1993: integral of his piano sonatas and sonatinas (MatosinhosMatosinhosMatosinhos Municipality is located in Porto District, Portugal. The main city is Matosinhos. It is bordered to the south by the city of Porto and lies within the Greater Porto subregion. The municipality has a population of 168,451 in 10 parishes. Many people have recently moved from the...
). Tribute for his 87th birthday. - 1994: dies, at home, in the evening of November 27.
Sources / Links
- http://www.vidaslusofonas.pt/
- Bio, Catalogue & Audio Samples