Original text (portuguese) at the bottom:
25th August – 7th September 2021
JL
JORNALDELETRAS.PT
40 Years of JL – 40 ARTISTS
1.What are your main references?
2. Why did you choose your artistic and professional field? (How and when did you decide and why or what is the meaning)
3. Projects and objectives?
Vasco Dantas Rocha
PIANIST
29 YEARS, PORTO
He completed his degree, with “1st class & Distinction”, at the Royal College of Music, in London, and a master’s degree in Germany, with prof. Heribert Koch, at the University of Münster, where he is now doing his PhD. In 2015, he played with the Hong Kong Symphonia; in 2017, in Moscow, with the Kremlin Chamber Orchestra; in 2019, He performed solo at Carnegie Hall in New York. He has edited four albums: Promenade (2015), Golden Liszt (2016), Freitas Branco | Sonatas (2020) and Poetic Scenes (2020).
1. Professor Rosgard Lingardsson, from the conservatory in Porto, with whom I had classes for ten years, because it was she who, with all her dedication, prepared me for what was to come. And, of course, major piano references such as Horowitz, Brendel, Keith Jarrett. And all my colleagues: one thing I really like is exchanging impressions with other musicians and friends.
2. My dad sang in an amateur choir, rehearsals were on Saturday, and every now and then he would take me. He was about three years old, he would listen and sometimes, on a keyboard they had there, he would start trying to reproduce the melodies. The conductor, José Manuel Pinheiro, noticed and told my father that I had talent. And that’s how I started studying piano at the age of four. My younger sister, by the same age, started on the violin. She also wanted to experiment and until I was 18 I studied both instruments. And it was hard to choose.
In fact, the piano involves many hours of study alone, without much social interaction. With the violin it was different and I loved the prospect of playing together. But what made the piano less attractive in adolescence, as it was more solitary, would end up being ironically and paradoxically a reason for its choice: I felt it was a stronger form of expression. In addition, when I was admitted to the three universities in London, at the age of 17, I had some doubts dissipated and I froze the enrollment already made at FEUP in the Materials Engineering course, which I planned to follow, and then Nanotechnologies, in a future master’s degree.
3. I’ve just recorded a solo album, which will come out at the end of the year, with preludes by Debussy and Luís de Freitas Branco, a program that I presented in New York. And I will record, still in 2021, a CD with the concert of Mozart No. 9 with the Südwestdeutschland kammerorchestra, in Germany. I have several ongoing projects with other musicians. One of them with singers Bárbara Barradas and Cátia Moreso,, the Art Allurement, will involve a series of activities and concerts. Im also in the artistic direction of the Algarve Music Series — chamber music festival — with cellist Isabel Vaz, who created it, a constant struggle and a long-term investment. The goal is to complement my solo career, with chamber music projects and with an orchestra, in a wide openness to different repertoires and styles. And combine it with a pedagogical aspect.
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1.Quais as suas principais referências?
2. Por que escolheu a sua área artística e profissional? (Como e quando o decidiu e porquê ou qual o significado)
3. Projetos e objetivos?
Vasco Dantas Rocha
PIANISTA
29 ANOS, PORTO
Concluiu a licenciatura, com “1ª classe & Distinção”, no Royal College of Music, em Londres, e fez mestrado na Alemanha, com o prof. Heribert Koch, na Universidade de Münster, onde está agora a fazer o doutoramento. Em 2015 , tocou com a Hong Kong Symphonia; em 2017, em Moscovo, com a Orquestra de Câmara Kremlin; em 2019, apresentou-se a solo no Carnegie Hall, em Nova Iorque. Já editou quatro álbuns: Promenade (2015), Golden Liszt (2016), Freitas Branco | Sonatas (2020) e Poetic Scenes (2020).
1. A professora Rosgard Lingardsson, do conservatório do Porto, com quem tive aulas dez anos, porque foi ela que, com toda a sua dedicação, me preparou para o que viria a seguir. E, claro, referências maiores do piano, como Horowitz, Brendel, Keith Jarrett. E todos os meus colegas: uma coisa de que gosto muito é trocar impressões com outros músicos e amigos.
2. O meu pai cantava num coro amador, os ensaios eram ao sábado e, de vez em quando, levava-me. Tinha uns três anos, ficava a ouvir e, por vezes, num teclado que lá tinham, começava a tentar reproduzir as melodias. O maestro, José Manuel Pinheiro, reparou e disse ao meu pai que eu tinha talento. E foi assim que comecei a estudar piano com quatro anos. A minha irmã mais nova, pela mesma idade, começou no violino. Também quis experimentar e até aos 18 anos estudei os dois instrumentos. E foi difícil escolher.
Na verdade, o piano implica muitas horas de estudo sozinho, sem grande interação social. Com o violino era diferente e eu adorava a perspetiva de tocar em conjunto. Mas o que na adolescência tornava o piano menos atrativo, por ser mais solitário, acabaria por ser irónica e paradoxalmente uma razão para a sua escolha: senti que era uma forma de expressão mais forte. Além disso, quando fui admitido nas três universidades em Londres, aos 17 anos, vi dissipadas algumas dúvidas e congelei a matrícula já efetuada na FEUP no curso de Engenharia de Materiais, que planeava seguir, e depois Nanotecnologias, num mestrado futuro.
3. Acabei de gravar um disco a solo, que sairá no final do ano, com prelúdios de Debussy e de Luís de Freitas Branco, programa que apresentei em Nova Iorque. E gravarei, ainda em 2021, um CD com o concerto de Mozart n 9 com a Südwestdeutschland kammerorchestra, na Alemanha. Tenho vários projetos em curso com outros músicos. Um deles com as cantoras Bárbara Barradas e Cátia Moreso, o Art Allurement, envolverá uma série de atividades e concertos. Também estou na direção artística do Algarve Music Series — festival de música de câmara – com a violoncelista Isabel Vaz, que o criou, uma constante luta e um investimento a longo prazo. O objetivo é complementar a minha carreira a solo, com projetos de música de câmara e com orquestra, numa grande abertura a repertórios e estilos diferentes. E aliar a uma vertente pedagógica.