Ciclo Lopes-Graça

The piano works of Fernando Lopes-Graça remain insufficiently integrated into the active repertoire due to the scarcity of diverse recordings, limited presence on digital streaming platforms, and the lack of dedicated analytical research on the composer. It is in this context that the Lopes-Graça Project was created, proposing the development of a unique editorial object combining a CD with a selection of piano works and a book that, in addition to informative notes, includes an analytical study co-signed by pianist Miguel Borges Coelho and composer-analyst Daniel Moreira, both professors at ESMAE/IPP and researchers at CEIS20/UC. Following the release of the book-CD, the Lopes-Graça Cycle will take place, featuring several concerts throughout the year in various locations across the country, presenting the discographic edition and marking the 120th anniversary of the composer’s birth.

The program begins with the Second Piano Sonata, the composer’s major and most recorded work, followed by Glosas sobre Canções Tradicionais Portuguesas and Eight Bagatelles, which are almost entirely absent from streaming platforms except for Glosa No. 9, and concludes with Música Festiva No. 18, written for Miguel Borges Coelho’s 18th birthday, a piece worked on and premiered by the pianist in Lopes-Graça’s presence in 1990 but never previously recorded. Performance and analysis will mutually inform each other during the project preparation while maintaining their autonomy, and the book-CD will encourage interaction between listening and reading, alongside digital availability. The project aims to disseminate Lopes-Graça’s piano works through recording and streaming, recital and festival presentations, conference-concerts in professional and academic contexts, production of two promotional videos, and deepening research on his piano music through performance, analytical study, and the interplay between the two.