List of Portuguese composers

This is a chronological list of notable classical Portuguese composers.

Middle Ages

• King Dinis I, King of Portugal, composer and troubadour. He composed more than 200 cantigas.
• José Mendes Figueira (brother of Carlos Mendes Figueira) (1224–1269), composer and troubadour
• Carlos Mendes Figueira (brother of José Mendes Figueira) (1228–1286), composer and flutist
• João Gonçalves Miguel de Silves (1346–1389), duke of Silves and Loulé, composer and troubadour

Renaissance

• Pedro de Escobar (c. 1465 – after 1535), composer and flutist
• Cosme Delgado (dates unknown), composer of polyphony, kapellmeister in Évora and pedagogue
• Vicente Lusitano (d. after 1561), composer and music theorist
• Bartolomeo Trosylho (1500–1567), composer and kapellmeister in the Lisbon Cathedral
• Damião de Góis (1502–1574), humanist philosopher, composer, student of Erasmus, secretary at a trading post in Antwerp
• António Carreira (1520–1597), composer and organist
• Diogo Dias Melgás (1538–1600), composer of polyphony
• Pedro de Cristo (1545–1618), composer of polyphony
• Manuel Mendes (1547–1605), composer and maestro
• Heliodoro de Paiva (fl. 1552), composer, philosopher and theologian
• Manuel Rodrigues Coelho (1555–1635), composer and organist of the late Renaissance and early Baroque
• Duarte Lobo (1565–1646), composer, choirmaster and musical director
• Manuel Cardoso (1566–1650), composer and organist
• Gaspar Fernandes (1566–1629), composer and organist
• Estêvão de Brito (1570–1641), composer of polyphony of the late Renaissance and early Baroque
• Filipe de Magalhães (1571–1652), composer of sacred polyphony and teacher of Estêvão Lopes Morago, Estêvão de Brito and Manuel Correia
• Manuel Machado (1590–1646), composer and harpist
• King John IV (1603–1656), King of Portugal and early musicologist, with an essay on Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina

Baroque

• Manuel Correia (1600–1653), composer and kapellmeister at the La Seo Cathedral
• D. Pedro da Esperanca (+24.6.1660) “insignis pulsator organorum”, cannon regular of the Monastery of the Holy Cross in Coimbra
• Filipe da Madre de Deus (1633–1688), composer and kapellmeister of the royal music chamber
• King Peter II (1648–1706), King of Portugal and composer (only ten organ pieces)
• João Rodrigues Esteves, (1700–1751) composer of religious music
• Carlos Seixas (1704–1742), composer and organist
• António Teixeira (1707 – after 1769), composer and chief of the choir of Lisbon Cathedral
• Francisco António de Almeida (before 1722 – c.1755), composer and organist
• Abbot António da Costa (1714–1780), composer, violinist, clerig and epistlegraph
• Luciano Xavier dos Santos (1734–1808), composer and head of the Setúbal Choir.
• João de Sousa Carvalho (1745–1798), composer and harpsichordist

Classical period

• Pedro António Avondano (1714–1782), composer and organist (the first Portuguese composer of the Classical period)
• João Pedro de Almeida Mota (1744–1817), Portuguese composer, worked in Spain for many years, where he died. His works are scattered by these two countries.
• José Joaquim dos Santos (1747–1801), composer (famous for his religious music: Stabat Mater for three voices, 2 sopranos, bass, with 2 violins and violoncello and the 5 Misereres)
• João José Baldi (1770–1816), composer (famous for his operas) and pianist
• João Domingos Bomtempo (1775–1842), pianist, composer and pedagogue
• Marcos Portugal (1762–1830), composer (famous for his operas) and maestro at Teatro S. Carlos in Lisbon
• Peter IV of Portugal (1798–1836), King of Portugal and Emperor of Brazil who was also a composer (pupil of Marcos Portugal and Nunes Garcia, as well as Sigismund Von Neucomm, a pupil of Haydn).

Romanticism – early 20th century

• Manuel Inocêncio Liberato dos Santos (1805–1887), composer and pianist
• Francisco de Sá Noronha (1820–1881), composer and violinist
• José Augusto Ferreira Veiga, Viscount of Arneiro, (1838–1903) composer and ballet choreographer
• Alfredo Keil (1850–1907), composer of operas and author of the music of the Portuguese national anthem
• José Vianna da Motta (1868–1948), pianist, teacher and composer
• Óscar da Silva (1870–1958), pianist, teacher and composer
• Luís de Freitas Branco (1890–1955), composer and academic
• António Fragoso (1897–1918), pianist and composer
• Fernando Lopes Graça (1906–1994), composer and musicologist
• Eurico Thomaz de Lima (1908-1989), composer, pianist and pedagogue
• Joly Braga Santos (1924–1988), contemporary composer and conductor

Contemporary

• Fernando Corrêa de Oliveira (1921–2004), composer
• Álvaro Salazar (1938–), composer, songwriter and conductor
• Jorge Peixinho (1940–1995), contemporary music composer
• Emmanuel Nunes (1941–2012), contemporary music composer
• Amílcar Dias (1945–), composer and maestro
• João Pedro Oliveira (1950–), electronic contemporary and instrumental music composer
• Paulo Brandão (1950–), composer and choral conductor
• António Pinho Vargas (1951–), jazz and contemporary music pianist and composer
• António de Sousa Dias (1959–), electronic contemporary and instrumental music composer
• Ernesto Rodrigues (1959–), composer and violinist
• António Chagas Rosa (1960–), contemporary composer
• Isabel Soveral (1961–), contemporary composer
• Eurico Carrapatoso (1962–), composer of mostly orchestral, chamber, choral, and vocal works
• Sérgio Azevedo (1968–) , contemporary composer
• Pedro Amaral (1972–), contemporary composer and conductor
• Bruno Bizarro (1979–), film composer, composer, songwriter
• Pedro Macedo Camacho (1979–), concert music composer, videogame and film composer
• Luís Tinoco (1969–), contemporary music composer
• Isabel Pires (1970–), electronic contemporary and instrumental music composer
• Hélder Bruno (1976–), composer of mostly orchestral, chamber, choral and vocal works

References

• VASCONCELOS, André. Música em Portugal, Porto Editora.
• Dicionário de História de Portugal, editado por Joel Serrão
• Grande Enciclopédia Portuguesa-Brasileira ed. de 1945

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