António Chainho
Musician and composer António Chainho died this Tuesday at his home precisely on the day he would have turned 88 years old.
It was at his residence, in Alfragide, on the outskirts of Lisbon, that António Chainho took his last breath.
O “Portuguese guitar master”as referred to by international specialized critics, died on the day he would have turned 88.
The news was passed on to Lusa by its artistic agent.
António Chainho ended his 60-year career in September 2024having released his last album that year, “The Embrace of the Guitar”in which he paid homage to those who were his teachers through radio.
Among the “masters” are the “celebrated” composers of the Portuguese guitar such as José Nunes, Francisco Carvalhinho, Armandinho and Jaime Santosas well as the “violas” with whom he shared the stage, such as José Elmiro, Carlos Silva, Carlos Manuel Proença and Tiago Oliveira.
“Looking back, I think I was lucky enough to reach 85 years of age and record this album”, he stated at the time, highlighting that “no fado guitarist” “recorded an album after the age of 60”, under his own name. “It was difficult, but I did it at 85.”
The eternal guitarist was born in S. Francisco da Serra, in the district of Setúbal, on January 27, 1938, and began playing in the fado community in the 1960s.
Upon leaving the stages and recording studios, at the end of 2024, the composer assured that he was “at peace” with himself and “happy” with the artistic path he had the “luck” to take: “I went around the world, played on every continent, and I think I feel happy.”
In 2022, the President of the Republic Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa decorated António Chainho with the degree of Commander of the Order of Infante D. Henriquewhich distinguishes those who provided “relevant services to Portugal, in the country and abroad, as well as services in the expansion of Portuguese culture or in the knowledge of Portugal, its History and its values”.
In 2023, his biography was published, “The Embrace of the Guitar”written by journalist Moema Silvawho defined the work in Lusa as “the diary of a trip through [sua] life and music.”
