About
The new album by Portuguese composer António Pinho Vargas brings together two landmark works, performed live by Casa da Música’s resident ensembles. Six Portraits of Pain was one of the highlights of the venue’s inaugural programme in 2005, featuring the virtuoso cellist Anssi Karttunen as soloist alongside the Remix Ensemble, conducted by Frank Ollu. A deeply moving work, it draws inspiration from texts by Deleuze/Spinoza, Thomas Bernhard, Anna Akhmatova, Manuel Gusmão, and Paul Celan, each evoking different forms of existential suffering. Oscuro, on the other hand, stands as a testimony to more recent times, an era marked by tragedy and disfigurement, from the pandemic to the wars afflicting the world. It is performed by the Casa da Música Porto Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Pedro Neves. These historic recordings, captured live at the premiere performances, are now released in a carefully produced edition by Artway, reaffirming Pinho Vargas as a vital voice in contemporary European music.