Eurico Tomás de Lima

Eurico Tomás de Lima (Ponta Delgada, Açores, – Maia, ) was a Portuguese pianist, composer and pedagogue.

Life Eurico Tomás de Lima was the son of António Tomás de Lima, a violinist, composer, conductor and professor at the National Conservatory in Lisbon. He also studied at the National Conservatory, from 1921 to 1929. He studied piano with Alexandre Rey Colaço and José Viana da Mota, aesthetics and music history with Luís de Freitas Branco, and composition with Hermínio do Nascimento. In 1929, he finished the Virtuosity degree, graduating summa cum laude ("Distinção e Louvor").

In 1932, he presented for the first time a solo piano recital playing only his own compositions. Apart from his own works, his preferences in piano music lean towards "Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt and all of the masters of the slavic school."

In 1940 and 1941, he took part in the Cultural Missions of the Secretariat for National Propaganda, at the invitation of the minister António Ferro. In these chamber music recitals throughout the country, he collaborated with cellist Madalena Moreira de Sá e Costa, violinist Paulo Manso and soprano Leonor Bívar Viana da Mota. Also in 1941, he was awarded a composition prize from National Radio (Emissora Nacional de Radiodifusão): the First Prize – Golden Poppy, in the Flower Games (Jogos Florais) competition.

In 1949, and again 1952, he toured Brazil to great acclaim.

Between 1956 and 1973, he regularly recorded piano recitals for Emissora Nacional, playing mainly his own works. However, he also gave special attention to Portuguese piano music, as seen in a recital, recorded in 1970, devoted in its entirety to works by Óscar da Silva (1870–1958), a Portuguese pianist and composer who studied in Germany with Carl Reinecke and Clara Schumann. Eurico Tomás de Lima met Óscar da Silva in childhood, and reconnected with him in São Paulo, during his first tour in Brazil. "Tomás de Lima advised [Óscar da Silva] to return to Porto and offered his house to stay, so that his situation wouldn't be a repeat of the fate of Marcos Portugal: it took a hundred years after his death for his remains to return to the motherland!"

Eurico Tomás de Lima was also active as a piano pedagogue. He taught at the following schools: Academia de Amadores de Música (Lisbon), Academia Mozart (Porto), Academia Beethoven (Porto), Academia Parnaso (Porto), Academia de Música e Belas-Artes da Ilha da Madeira, Conservatório Calouste Gulbenkian de Braga. The composer is side by side with the pedagogue, as a large part of Eurico Tomás de Lima's piano compositions (especially his four-hands and two-pianos repertoire) was written for his students. As a testimony of the reach of his didactic works: the Portuguese pianist Artur Pizarro, in his first public appearance in 1971, played a piece by Eurico Tomás de Lima.

Works for Solo Piano Eurico Tomás de Lima has a substantial catalogue of compositions for solo piano, one of the largest of Portuguese twentieth century. The only Portuguese composers with more works for piano solo are Fernando Lopes Graça, Óscar da Silva and António Victorino d'Almeida. Eurico Tomás de Lima was always very methodical in writing and cataloguing his works: he always wrote down in his manuscripts the place and date of his compositions.

Recordings

Canções. Canção sem Palavras. Sonatina No. 2. Sara Braga Simões, soprano and Luís Pipa, piano. Câmara Municipal da Maia, 2008.

This CD contains Eurico Tomás de Lima's complete works for voice and piano, paired with two solo piano works: Canção sem palavras e Sonatina n.º 2.

Canção sem palavras Por tuas próprias mãos Este lenço em que chorei És tu! Dorme, dorme, meu menino Triste cantiga de amor Balada dos olhos verdes Canção da vida e da morte Mors-Amor Duas canções para canto e piano: Com calma e docemente – Vivo Duas canções para canto e piano: Moderato Brasil Trovas satíricas Ó ribeira, ribeirinha Senhora quintaneira Marianita Vira Sonatina n.º 2: I. Allegro deciso Sonatina n.º 2: II. Pastoral - Andante Sonatina n.º 2: III. Vira - Vivo

Saber Ouvir - Eurico Thomaz de Lima (1908–1989), Vol. 1. João Lima, piano. Numérica, 2010. NUM1210.

"The current CD has chosen to include a diverse group of works for piano, which will allow the general public to witness the progressive evolution of the composer's oeuvre throughout nearly forty years of productivity."

Estudo Prelúdio Nocturno Fantasia Dança Negra n.º 1 Dança Negra n.º 2 Dança Negra n.º 3 Dança Negra n.º 4 Buchenwald - Protesto Musical Suite Portuguesa n.º 1: Vira Suite Portuguesa n.º 1: Coral Alentejano Suite Portuguesa n.º 1: Fandango Suite Portuguesa no. 2: Prelúdio Suite Portuguesa no. 2: Burlesca Suite Portuguesa no. 2: Fandango Barcarola

Música Portuguesa para piano, vol. 3. Nancy Lee Harper, piano. Numérica, 2012. NUM1228. "This CD is the third of a series of recordings of Portuguese Piano Music that I have researched and made since 1999. This particular volume is produced to accompany my own book PORTUGUESE PIANO MUSIC: AN INTRODUCTION AND ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY (Scarecrow Press, USA, 2012). [...] The main objective here is to bring a wide variety of styles and composers to the listener in order to show the richness of the pianistic repertoire of Portugal, including didactic piano music."

This CD contains a vast collection of Portuguese piano music, including Eurico Tomás de Lima's Valsa Caprichosa, no. 25 from Gradual.

Saber Ouvir - Eurico Tomás de Lima (1908–1989), Vol. 2. Miguel Campinho, piano. Numérica, 2013. NUM1249.

This double CD contains the complete solo piano sonatas e sonatinas of Eurico Tomás de Lima.

CD1 Sonata n.º 1, in C-sharp Minor: I. Allegro Maestoso Sonata n.º 1, in C-sharp Minor: II. Andante sostenuto ed molto doloroso Sonata n.º 1, in C-sharp Minor: III. Finale. Allegro con fuoco Sonata n.º 2, in E Minor: I. Allegro appassionato Sonata n.º 2, in E Minor: II. Scherzo. Allegro deciso - Molto piu lento - Tempo primo Sonata n.º 2, in E Minor: III. Andante cantabile Sonata n.º 2, in E Minor: IV. Finale. Allegro impetuoso Sonatina n.º 1, in A Major: I. Allegro moderato Sonatina n.º 1, in A Major: II. Andante Sonatina n.º 1, in A Major: III. Allegro assai Algarve (Suite for Piano): I. Aben-Afan Algarve (Suite for Piano): II. Praia da Rocha Algarve (Suite for Piano): III. D. Paio Péres Correia Algarve (Suite for Piano): IV. Ponta da Piedade Algarve (Suite for Piano): V. Olhão, Vila Cubista Algarve (Suite for Piano): VI. Jardins de Estói Algarve (Suite for Piano): VII. Bailarico Algarve (Suite for Piano): VIII. Sagres

CD2 Sonata n.º 3, in A minor: I. Allegro risoluto Sonata n.º 3, in A minor: II. Andante Sonata n.º 3, in A minor: III. Vivo Sonatina n.º 2, in C Major: I. Allegro deciso Sonatina n.º 2, in C Major: II. Pastoral - Andante Sonatina n.º 2, in C Major: III. Vira - Vivo Sonata n.º 4, in F Major: I. Allegro giocoso Sonata n.º 4, in F Major: II. Andante Sonata n.º 4, in F Major: III. Vivace Ilha do Paraíso (Suite in six tableaux): I. Nossa Senhora do Monte Ilha do Paraíso (Suite in six tableaux): II. Funchal ao Luar Ilha do Paraíso (Suite in six tableaux): III. Penha d’Águia Ilha do Paraíso (Suite in six tableaux): IV. Ribeiro Frio Ilha do Paraíso (Suite in six tableaux): V. “Bailhos” Cruzados Ilha do Paraíso (Suite in six tableaux): VI. Cabo Girão