Today I went to a rehearsal at ESMAE (Superior Scholl of Music and Performing Arts - Porto) where two creations of two of my ex-professors, Jorge Peixinho (unfortunately death after longtime) and Álvaro Salazar (pictured), were played.
Peixinho's Fantasia-Impromptu is plenty of his personal poetics and unique genius that inspired all generations of portuguese "avant-gardistes". Portugal stills not capable of honouring him as a great musicien and great creator he was. Portugal always favoured bastards and corrupts, so there's little surprise when Peixinho died by an heart stroke almost in oblivion, "buried" in a minor town (his own town).
Álvaro Salazar's Noturno em Lizara (2009) is a short slice of quit abstract music where the composer combines great inspiration with a kind of contemplating pace. Amazingly this old man, who can actually hardly get a sight of myself (him lost about 75% of his vision), know very well how his music should sound and lead the musiciens to some sort of very interesting achievement.
Later on, at concert, we were given versions of two XX century's major classics: Luciano Berio's Sequenze VIIB and Pierre Boulez's Dialogue de l'ombre double, the former for sax solo, and the later for saxo and tape. Gilberto Bernardes was the inspired sax player.
Note: I never wrote Álvaro Salazar's name on my curriculum because (unfortunately) I went to very few of his (great) classes...
