This recording presents two major orchestral works by Nuno Côrte-Real, a composer whose music occupies a unique space between imagination and reflection. Rejecting both rigid formalism and explicit programme music, Côrte-Real creates sound worlds that invite listeners into an active experience of discovery, where meaning emerges through listening itself.

At the centre of the album stands Sinfonia 2022, Op. 70, a powerful meditation on war, uncertainty and the fragility of civilisation. Inspired by the invasion of Ukraine, the symphony unfolds as an emotional and philosophical journey, moving from darkness and conflict to a final state of suspended contemplation. Through vivid orchestral colours, grotesque marches, moments of profound stillness and references to Fernando Pessoa’s final words, the work explores the tension between destruction and hope, violence and human resilience.

Complementing the symphony is Banksters Suite, Op. 75, an independent orchestral work derived from the composer’s opera Banksters. Drawing on themes of financial power, corruption and redemption, the suite transforms the opera’s dramatic material into a compelling narrative without words. Across six contrasting movements, listeners encounter confrontation, ambition, deception, collapse and, ultimately, the possibility of transformation.

Though rooted in different subject matter, both works confront the presence of evil in contemporary society. War and financial corruption emerge as interconnected expressions of power and responsibility, inviting reflection on the ethical challenges of our time. Yet Côrte-Real’s music never yields to despair. Instead, it transforms conflict into artistic expression, offering a space where beauty, thought and human awareness can coexist.

This recording reveals a composer for whom music is more than sound: it is an act of resistance, a search for clarity, and an invitation to listen more deeply to ourselves and the world around us.