Jorge Gonçalves

Biography

Jorge performed in various locations such as: Lajes, Coimbra, Fundão, Tomar, Porto, Moita, Castelo Branco (Festival da Primavera 2005), Sintra, Palmela, Paredes, Lisbon (Festival Músicas do Acervo 2019), Viseu, Aveiro, Águeda (Ciclos de Lua Nova in Fundação Dionísio Pinheiro e Alice Cardoso Pinheiro 2022), Ourém, Torres Novas, in Poland (Warsaw and Dąbrowica) and Morocco (Tétouan at Festival International des Musiciens non Voyants 2017) and in Brazil (Natal). In July 2006 he was the protagonist of a commended recital in the Small Auditorium of the Cultural Centre of Belém in Lisbon, broadcast live on the public radio station RDP Antena 2. In June 2011, he was invited by the Fazioli brand of pianos to give a concert on one of its rare instruments, where he played Schumann’s Symphonic Studies Op. 13, among other works. In May 2016 he was invited as a performer to TEDx Aveiro where he played F. Chopin’s Scherzo in B minor, Op. 20 in Teatro Aveirense.

In January 2020 he gave a recital at the National Museum of Ancient Art in Lisbon where he played works by Bach, Chopin, Ravel, Prokofiev and Rachmaninoff. In August 2021 he was the protagonist of a recital in Convento São Francisco in Coimbra entitled “Viagem musical pelo imaginário de Goya” (A musical journey through Goya’s imaginarium) where he played Goyescas by Enrique Granados. He participated in concerts as soloist with various groups such as Banda Sinfónica of Guarda Nacional Republicana, Banda de Música da Força Aérea Portuguesa, Filarmónica União Taveirense, Orquestra Sinfónica da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte or Orquestra Portuguesa de Guitarras e Bandolins. Jorge had regular collaborations with prestigious singers, such as Daniela Matos and Susana China, performing with them on numerous occasions in Portugal.

His life and work have been the focus of articles, reports and interviews in various media, such as “Activa” magazine, “Correio da Manhã”, “Diário de Coimbra”, TSF, Antena 2, RTP and SIC. Jorge has cultivated a versatile pedagogical activity throughout his life, giving masterclasses, lessons, lectures and speeches specialized in the areas of piano performance and advocacy of Braille music.

Doctoral project

Title
Challenges of the Performing Practices of the 19th Century Pianism in the Performance of F. Chopin’s Nocturnes

Advisor
Luca Chiantore

Co-advisor
António Chagas Rosa

Abstract
This research explores the application of the performing practices of the nineteenth century pianism in the modern performance of the F. Chopin Nocturnes. These practices are common styles of performance of the pianism of that period, which were documented by early recordings. All of them share the characteristic of distancing themselves from the musical text and because of that they disappeared with the passing of the years. The literature identified their application in the past. But it remains the question of what we can do with this knowledge in the modern performance largely dominated by a submission to the musical text. Believing that those practices contain an important potential of enrichment in interpretive choices, this work transports them to our times from the point of view of the creativity provided by the artistic research.

Keywords
Performing practices; Chopin; Nineteenth century pianism; Artistic research; Modern performance.