Armando José Fernandes

Who was Armando José Fernandes?

Armando José Fernandes was a neoclassical Portuguese composer; with Jorge Croner de Vasconcelos, Fernando Lopes-Graça, and Pedro do Prado, one of the "group of four" who dominated mid-20th-century Portuguese music. After studying at the National Conservatory of Lisbon, he won a three-year scholarship to Paris and became a pupil of, among others, Nadia Boulanger.

Originally trained as a concert pianist, Fernandes came to concentrate more on composition and teaching. He composed, among other works, a cello sonata, a violin concerto, and numerous piano pieces. His work, usually of an intimate character, occasionally contains virtuosic passages. It has been described as "[pursuing] a more conventional neoclassical path, albeit with great finesse". Most of his works were written for the national broadcasting station.

From 1940 onwards he taught at the Academia de Amadores de Música in Lisbon, and from 1953 to 1976 at the Lisbon Conservatory.

He also produced editions of early music from Portugal.