Christopher Bochmann

Christopher Consitt Bochmann O.B.E. ComIH (born 8 November 1950) is a British-born composer, conductor, music teacher, arranger and orchestrator, who has lived and worked in Portugal since 1980.

Dividing his activities between composition, teaching and conducting, he has lived in England, Turkey, Brazil and Portugal. He is Professor Emeritus of the University of Évora in Portugal, from which he retired in 2020.

In 2004, Bochmann was awarded the Medal of Cultural Merit by the Ministry of Culture, Portugal. In 2005, he was decorated by the late Queen Elizabeth II as Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) "for services to UK-Portuguese cultural relations".

In 2023, President Marcelo of Portugal decorated Bochmann as Comendador da Ordem do Infante D. Henrique (Commander of the Order of Prince Henry), recognising more than 40 years spent teaching and performing music in Portugal. At the time, Bochmann said, "It is a special honour to be recognised not only by one’s country of origin [his OBE in 2005] but also by one’s country of adoption."Speaking on the radio programme Na Outra Margem with Manuela Paraíso on 4 November 2010, celebrating his 60th birthday, Bochmann commented: “I am a musician who feels no embarrassment in being moved, even to the extent of tears... Emotive flexibility in music results from the coexistence of intuition and technical rigour. It is the rigour that enables us to reach a richer intuitive expression.” Bochmann's official biography states he began composing aged 14, and between 1975 and 1985 worked in "post-serial modernism of considerable complexity with frequent aleatoric elements". Since then, an intention to 'close the gap' between compositional technique and aural perception has resulted in a simplification of style without recourse to neo-tonalities. Bochmann has made a particular study of contemporary vocal technique, especially through the use of phonetics.

His works cross multiple genres, with a detailed list provided on his website. Compositions (see also Awards and recognition below) include:

4 String Quartets

4 Wind Quintets

21 essays for solo instruments

8 Canzonas for various ensembles

8 Letters to composer friends for piano

Lament (2001)

Symphony (2005)

Cicero Dixit (2006)

Opera: Corpo e Alma (2008)

Um leve tremor (2019)

Concerto for orchestra (2019)

Opera: Astrolabe (2022)

Essay VIII - recording here

Tertúlia - recording here

His work and approach were described in 2022 by Ana Telles (Universidadede Évora/Centre for Studies of Musical Sociology and Aesthetics CESEM):"[his] pianistic language is based on a fairly conventional instrumental technique, inherited from the 19th century pianistic tradition, yet encompassing characteristic features developed by authors associated with the 2nd Viennese School and post-serialism, as well as significant experiences in the fields of free forms and aleatoric music."Examples of his work on YouTube include: Em Homenagem (1984), Sinfonia (2005), Canzona III (2010), Talking of Jasmine (2018), and Essay XXI (2021).

Many of Bochmann's scores are published by and are available for download from the Portuguese Music Research & Information Centre (MIC.PT).