ISCM World New Music Days 2025: Thirst For Change - Extraordinary Saxophone
Sala Luís de Freitas Branco, Centro Cultural de Belém
World New Music Days 2025 - A global stage for new music invites us to listen to our times and to glimpse into the future. This initiative of the International Society for Contemporary Music, organized by Miso Music Portugal in celebration of its 40th anniversary, takes place under the theme Thirst for Change. The festival calls on artists and audiences alike to rethink the role of artistic creation in a world undergoing transformation. It’s a call for change, where music awakens new perspectives on our planet’s urgent challenges. A regenerative force of art music in times of upheaval.
This concert is a 21st-century music recital for saxophone and electronics by Henrique Portovedo, a musician who, in addition to his technical abilities, has been standing out for his strong connection with contemporary music creation. The programme will feature CMC Composer Jonathan Nangle's Artificial Blissful State (2016), selected by the festival organisers following an open call and nomination process faciliatated by the Contemporary Music Centre, the ISCM Irish Section.
Artificial Blissful State is a commentary on the rise of AI (artificial intelligence) within our daily lives, from voice-activated personal assistants on our mobile devices to home assistants, self-driving vehicles to online stores tracking our browsing history in an effort to “suggest” things that might be of interest to us based on search terms and past transactions. Here, an aggressive electronic track drives forward, unrelenting, unflinching, a steady pulse against which the saxophone plays their role, sometimes irregular and jarring, pushing against the tide of ‘progress’, sometimes slotting into place with ease, but never stemming the technological flow.
Addendum 2024: In the eight years since I wrote this piece, AI has become a hot topic with the rise of numerous platforms, such as Chat GPT and Stable Diffusion, and more recent applications, such as Sora, becoming mainstream and more widely available to the public. The speed at which these platforms have developed and evolved is mindblowing, and the applications are simultaneously exciting and deeply troubling. With the rise of the machines (forgive the analogy), the commentary embedded within my piece is even more prescient today than in 2016, when I was inspired to write this piece. Artificial Blissful State was commissioned by Gavin Brennan with funds generously provided by the Arts Council of Ireland.
- Jonathan Nangle
Jonathan Nangle’s participation in the World New Music Days is graciously supported by Culture Ireland.
Programme
CHRISTOPHER BOCHMANN (UK, 1950)
Capriccio (2007), 6’
DÁNIEL PÉTER BIRÓ (Hungary, 1969)
Kilkul (Breakdown) (2024), 10’
Individual submission
TILEN LEBAR (Slovenia, 1993) YCA
Hassan (2022), 11’
ISCM Slovenian Section submission
DIOGO ALVIM (Portugal, 1979)
Music for Sax and Boxes (2012–2025), 10’, WP (new version)
PAULO FERREIRA-LOPES (Portugal, 1964)
Three Short Pieces from The Darkness Book (2007), 8’
JONATHAN NANGLE (Ireland, 1981)
Artificial Blissful State (2016), 6’
ISCM Irish Section submission
Tickets
€10. Booking here.
There will be a pre-concert "Meet the Composers" talk from 17h30–18h00 with Christopher Bochmann, Dániel Péter Biró, Tilen Lebar, Diogo Alvim, Paulo Ferreira-Lopes and Jonathan Nangle. "Meet the Composers" provides a platform for creators to share their perspectives and shed light on their works.