Not only does a musical piece record a composer’s perception or vision towards life, but it also captures certain personality traits of his. One can perhaps find even greater reference of Pedro’s thoughtful presentation in his Nachtmusik– as the flowy melody glides lightly across clouds of ambience, and reappearing with a soft shimmer after a brief escape, ears are enticed to follow its journey across a vivid night scene. A pianist himself, Pedro is aware of not only what is written on the score but also the abstract chemicals during live performance. As a composer who writes from a performer’s point of view in diverse styles, he places equal attention to musical expressiveness as well as performer’s enjoyment during performance. It is not difficult to imagine Pedro’s excitement when learning of his Nachtmusik, inspired by Mozart’s work under the same title, being selected by Bright Sheng. “My ambition is to enjoy what I do and to be lucky enough to have my pieces performed by the best musicians,” as the London-based Portuguese composer reveals his mind in a leisure way, one can feel as if he is savouring every moment in life.


All thanks to his parents, Pedro is surrounded by a musical ambience in his upbringing and gradually feels his passion in composing at the age of 14. Although his parents are not classically trained as musicians, Pedro is grateful that he and his brother are enrolled to study in a music conservatory at a young age. Since then, his life is always full of music. Having exposed extensively in the musical field certainly makes it even harder for him to pick only one composer in history as his favourite, and Pedro admits it is not an easy decision, “If you had asked me this question 15 years ago, I would have picked Chopin, Mozart and Debussy. 10 years ago, I would have told you that Bernstein and Prokofiev were my favourite composers. And 5 years ago, I would have said Monteverdi. But now my answer is uncertain.” Mark-Anthony Turnage, Hans Wernerhenze and Alban Berg are the names Pedro associates the most with his piece Nachtmusik. Very much influenced by his painter mothers, Pedro reveals his love towards the fine arts and lists visiting art galleries as one of his favourite pastimes other than music. “I still remember this collection of my favourite composers my mum used to paint me when I was very young,” one can almost feel his joy as the composer recalls his youth with a smile.

Upon the conclusion of The Intimacy of Creativity, the composer is ready to set out for new musical adventures again. His latest composition will be heard this November at the Philharmonia Orchestra’s Bartók Festival, Infernal Dance, in London.



Links:

Pedro’s personal website

The Intimacy of Creativity: Pedro Faria Gomes