António Pinho Vargas


António Pinho Vargas is a Portuguese composer and pianist specializing in jazz and contemporary music. He has also authored books, essays, and articles on music.

Career

After earning a degree in history from the University of Porto, he studied music at the Rotterdam Conservatory from 1987 to 1990, graduating with a degree in Musical Composition. In 1991, he began teaching musical composition at the Escola Superior de Música in Lisbon. His first jazz album, Outros Lugares, was released in 1983. He has also composed soundtracks for Portuguese films and theatrical plays.
Since his return from the Netherlands, he has primarily focused on classical composition, creating operas, orchestral and ensemble works. His pieces have been recorded by groups such as the Arditti Quartet, Galliard Ensemble, Royal Scottish Academy Brass, and the Northern Sinfonia.

List of works

Ensemble

  • Sis Portraits of Pain
  • Machines Fictives
  • TRÊS VERSOS DE CAEIRO
  • TRÊS QUADROS PARA ALMADA
  • Estudo/Figura
  • ''Musica Plana / MÚSICA CONTRAPLANA''

Orchestra

  • Concerto para Violino in memorian Gareguin Aroutiounian
  • Quadros
  • Ouvertures And Closures
  • ONZE CARTAS
  • AN IMPOSSIBLE TASK
  • UM DISCURSO DE THOMAS BERNHARD
  • GRAFFITI
  • REENTERING
  • ... VON FREMDEN LÄNDLER...
  • DUAS PEÇAS
  • A IMPACIÊNCIA DE MAHLER
  • ACTING-OUT
  • EXPLICIT DRAMA
  • ''GEOMETRAL''

Chamber music

  • NO ART II
  • QUATRO NOVOS FRAGMENTOS
  • STRING QUARTET No. 3
  • QUASI UNA SONATA
  • QUATRO NOVOS FRAGMENTOS
  • ONE MINUTE TO GO
  • MOVIMENTOS DO SUBSOLO, QUARTETO DE CORDAS No. 2
  • DOIS VIOLINOS FOR CARLOS PAREDES
  • STEP BY STEP, WOLFS!
  • TRÊS ESTUDOS FOR 2 PIANOS
  • TWO FAMILY DISCUSSIONS
  • QUATRO OU CINCO MOVIMENTOS FUGIDIOS DA ÁGUA
  • SETE CANÇÕES DE ALBANO MARTINS
  • ESTUDOS E INTERLÚDIOS
  • TERCEIRO VERSO DE CAEIRO
  • NOVE CANÇÕES DE ANTÓNIO RAMOS ROSA
  • NOCTURNO/DIURNO
  • MONODIA – Quasi un Requiem
  • MECHANICAL STRING TOYS
  • POETICA DELL'ESTINZIONE
  • CUT
  • ''GRAVITAÇÕES''

Opera, Oratoria

  • DE PROFUNDIS
  • MAGNIFICAT
  • REQUIEM
  • OUTRO FIM
  • A LITTLE MADNESS IN THE SPRING
  • JUDAS
  • OS DIAS LEVANTADOS
  • ÉDIPO – Tragédia de Saber
  • ''ANCESTRAL E MUDO''

Solo

  • NO ART: Four Études for Solo Violin
  • POLÍTICAS DA AMIZADE: Estudo para Vibrafone
  • SUITE PARA VIOLONCELO SOLO
  • IL RITORNO
  • HOLDERLINOS
  • LA LUNA
  • MIRRORS
  • TRÊS FRAGMENTOS
  • ''PEÇA''

Film music

Directed by João Botelho
Directed by José Fonseca e Costa