The composer, speaking to Lusa, was “immensely happy and surprised” to know that his name deserved the jury’s preference this year, in a country that, “between the areas of Arts, Sciences and Letters is full of people who deserve this award.”
Composer Luís Tinoco was “immensely happy and surprised” to have won the and hopes that this distinction can contribute to “revitalizing and strengthening” the area of classical and classical music in Portugal.
The composer, speaking to Lusa, was “immensely happy and surprised” to know that his name deserved the jury’s preference this year, in a country that, “between the areas of Arts, Sciences and Letters is full of people who deserve this award.”
“It’s a huge vote of confidence. It makes me very happy, not only on a personal level, but also in terms of the professional area in which I work, which is the area of Music, classical music, classical music” , he stated.
Luís Tinoco recalled that the The area of Music “has been very little present” in the Pessoa Prize. This is the third time that someone from that area has received the distinction.
The Pessoa Prize was awarded for the first time in 1987. Pianist Maria João Pires was distinguished in 1989 and composer Emmanuel Nunes in 2000.
“In addition to the personal joy I feel, I hope that this is also a way of putting Portuguese music and musicians on the map of people’s interests. And that this contributes to revitalizing and strengthening this professional area in which I work”, he stated.
Future projects
The announcement of the Pessoa 2024 Prize took place on the eve of a new piece by the composer being premiered.
“Tomorrow [sexta-feira] at the Coliseu dos Recreios, in Lisbon, [os pianistas] Pedro Burmester and Mário Laginha premiere a piece of mine for two pianos”, revealed Luís Tinoco, who in 2025 will be focusing mainly on two projects.
In March, the music he is creating for a chamber ensemble premieres in the United States of America. At the end of the year, in December, he plans to premiere a ballet, by the Paulo Ribeiro company, for which he will write an orchestral piece. The premiere will take place at the Cannes festival in France.
Prize value?” Will there be Lots of ways to make it disappear”
The winner of the Pessoa 2024 Prize receives R$70,000.
Luís Tinoco has not yet thought about what will happen to the money, but “there will certainly be many ways to make it disappear quickly.”
The Pessoa Prize is an initiative by the weekly Expresso and Caixa Geral de Depósitos that “aims to recognize the activity of Portuguese people with a significant role in the country’s cultural and scientific life”. The value of the prize increased this year from R$60,000 to R$70,000.
This year the jury was composed of Ana Pinho, António Barreto, Clara Ferreira Alves, Diogo Lucena, Eduardo Souto de Moura, Emílio Rui Vilar, José Luís Porfírio, Maria Manuel Mota, Pedro Norton, Rui Magalhães Baião, Rui Vieira Nery and Viriato Soromenho -Marques, with Francisco Pedro Balsemão presiding and Paulo Macedo as vice-president.
