Revolução e Liberdade: Quinteto de Sopros do Vale and the Voices of Freedom in Portuguese Music
- WOMCO
- 12 hours ago
- 6 min read
The Portuguese ensemble Quinteto de Sopros do Vale, comprising Sara Silva (flute), Andreia Pereira (oboe), Mariana Cardoso (clarinet), Cristiano Pinho (horn), and Beatriz Cunha (bassoon), was awarded the Diamond Prize for their CD album Revolução e Liberdade: Portuguese Works for Woodwind Quintet at the Best Classical Musicians Awards – 2025 Season 4. The competition season ran from 15 July to 15 October 2025, with the results announced on 5 November.
Awarded the Diamond Prize at the Best Classical Musicians Awards 2025 Season 4, Revolução e Liberdade: Portuguese Works for Woodwind Quintet is more than a recording—it is a powerful artistic statement rooted in history, memory, and cultural identity. Through this album, the Portuguese ensemble Quinteto de Sopros do Vale revives long-silenced voices of 20th-century Portuguese composers, transforming archival repertoire into a living testament to artistic freedom and resistance. In the following interview, the ensemble shares the story behind the project, reflecting on its origins, artistic vision, recording challenges, and their experience participating in the international competition.
When and why did you form your quintet, and does playing music together hold a special meaning for you?
Quinteto De Sopros Do Vale:
"Quinteto de Sopros do Vale was formed in 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the severe restrictions in place at the time, performing in large ensembles became impossible. As a result, the five of us, professional musicians, decided to come together in a chamber formation that would allow us to continue our artistic activity.
At the same time, a unique opportunity arose to collaborate with the doctoral research of Dr. Ana Margarida Cardoso, whose work focuses on Portuguese composers from the second half of the 20th century whose contributions were largely erased from Portugal’s musical history. Through this collaboration, we gained access to a remarkable body of repertoire that had remained archived and unperformed for more than 50 years.
This partnership gave profound meaning to the quintet’s mission and helped define our core artistic objective: the rediscovery, promotion, and international dissemination of Portuguese music and its composers, ensuring their artistic legacy is finally heard and valued."
Could you share the background of your award-winning CD Album Revolução e Liberdade: portuguese works for woodwind quintet? When and where did you record it, and how did you choose the repertoire?
Quinteto De Sopros Do Vale:
"The repertoire recorded on Revolução e Liberdade: portuguese works for woodwind quintet focuses on composers who lived and worked during the period of the Estado Novo dictatorship in Portugal, whose artistic and professional lives were deeply affected by the corporatist and authoritarian regime. Through their compositions, these composers expressed resistance to censorship, repression, and political control. This project is particularly significant as it serves not only as a musical recording but also as an act of historical memory, shedding light on composers who opposed the Salazar regime and defended artistic freedom, democracy, and human dignity through their work.
The album includes works for woodwind quintet by Fernando Lopes Graça, Marcos Romão, Gualtério Armando, and António Victorino d’Almeida, composers who often placed their own freedom at risk in order to uphold the right to creative expression.
The CD was recorded in the final days of December 2024 by sound engineer José Lourenço (Editora Grafonola) in the Grande Auditório do Conservatório de Música do Porto, a venue renowned for its exceptional acoustic qualities."
Recording a CD is very different from live performance — it becomes a lasting artistic statement. What were the biggest artistic or technical challenges you encountered while recording your award-winning CD album, how did you collaborate with each other, and how do you hope listeners will connect with it in the digital era?
Quinteto De Sopros Do Vale:
"The repertoire we selected is highly demanding, not only from a technical and musical standpoint, but also in terms of balance, blend, and cohesion between the five voices of the ensemble. Achieving clarity and expressive unity was a constant artistic challenge throughout the recording process. On an emotional level, we became deeply aware of the heavy historical and psychological weight embedded in these works. Many of the pieces reflect themes of repression, psychological and physical torture, and the lived experiences of artists under Salazar’s dictatorship. A powerful example is the music of Fernando Lopes Graça, whose works were confiscated by the regime. He was banned from teaching, imprisoned, and forced into exile in Paris, where he stayed with his friend, the painter Vieira da Silva. He dedicated the piece recorded on this album, Sete Lembranças para Vieira da Silva, to her.
Because of this, we felt a strong responsibility to share this music with today’s audiences, not only for its artistic quality, but also for the historical narratives and human struggles it represents. In the digital era, we hope listeners will connect with the album as both a musical experience and a reflection on freedom, memory, and resistance.“
Would you like to share your experience participating in our competition and anyone you'd like to thank?
Quinteto De Sopros Do Vale:
"One of the central goals of this CD was internationalization, bringing this rich and largely unknown Portuguese repertoire to audiences beyond Portugal. Receiving this award has allowed us to achieve exactly that.
This competition holds a prestigious place in the international music world, and winning the Diamond Prize is a tremendous honor for us. It reinforces our belief that Portuguese music can cross borders, resonate globally, and tell powerful stories that remain relevant today.
This project would not have been possible without the invaluable support of our partners: Fundação GDA, Conservatório de Música do Porto, Museu Nacional da Liberdade e Resistência and Banda Marcial do Vale. We are deeply grateful for their trust and commitment to preserving and promoting Portugal’s musical and cultural heritage."
Biography
Quinteto de Sopros do Vale is a chamber music ensemble formed by Sara Silva (flute), Andreia Pereira (oboe), Mariana Cardoso (clarinet), Cristiano Pinho (horn), and Beatriz Cunha (bassoon). In collaboration with ethnomusicologist Dra. Ana Margarida Cardoso, the quintet has developed several artistic and educational projects in Santa Maria da Feira, notably Discovering the History and Music of the Bandstands of Santa Maria da Feira (2021), Circumnavigation of 20th-Century Portuguese Music (2022), and The Quintet Explained to Children (2022).
In 2022, they released the CD “Músicos Ocultos: ao Quinteto Nacional de Sopro” (Hidden Musicians: Homage to the National Wind Quintet), featuring works by Portuguese composers from the second half of the 20th century. The following year, they published the children’s book-CD “A História da Maria Frederica” (The Story of Maria Frederica), based on an arrangement by Carlos Saraiva of a work by Frederico de Freitas. More recently, they presented their third recording, Revolução & Liberdade (Revolution and Freedom – Portuguese Works for Woodwind Quintet), focused on repertoire by composers shaped by the political context of the Estado Novo. This album was awarded the Diamond Prize at the Best Classical Musicians Awards (WOMCO, 2025) and First Prize in the CD Album category at the World’s Best Musicians Competition (Warsaw, 2025).
The group has performed extensively throughout Portugal and also in Spain, with the aim of promoting music by Portuguese composers written for wind quintet. In 2021, they performed live on Rádio Antena 2, and in 2022 they were featured in the São Roque Music Season 2022 and the 45th edition of the Paços de Brandão International Music Festival (FIMUV). In recognition of their mission to preserve and disseminate Portuguese musical heritage, the ensemble has been recommended and commended by several prominent national institutions and figures in the music world.
