Tag Archives: 2023

The expression “contemporary music” has been used in many different ways. In its strictest sense, it can refer to music that is contemporary with its reception, but it can also allude to music composed since 1945. The present work starts from the question: how do performers interpreters relate to the concept of “contemporary music”‘ in Portugal between 2007 and 2021? Methodologically, a case study of four musical groups dedicated to contemporary music is used: Drumming Grupo de Percussao, Sintese – Grupo de Musica Contemporanea, Sond’Arte Electric Ensemble, and Performa Ensemble. First, the content of the biographies of each group is analysed through the MAXQDA program. This analysis allows us to understand which terminologies are used by the groups, critics, and other actors to describe their repertoire. Second, the repertoire interpreted by the groups is chronologically located. To do this, I use an analysis of the years in which the works performed in the concerts of each ensemble were composed, using measures of central tendency and dispersion, with the help of the software Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. Finally, triangulation of the data shows that the expression “contemporary music” reflects an alliance between a chronological approach, the historical musical heritage of the ensembles, the promotion of cultural diversity, and innovation.