Andante Cantabile
Composer: Henrique Coe
Year of composition: 2021
Orchestral version: 2026
Duration: approximately 5’40’’
Video: Premiere of the orchestral version by Orquestra Sinfônica do Teatro Nacional Claudio Santoro, conducted by Tyler Austin, in Brasília.
Audio and Video Engineer: Emânuel Camarão – EVIOLÃO Produções Musicais
Program Note:
Andante Cantabile is the second movement of my Sonata No. 2, entitled Victorine Sonata, composed for piano solo. This movement has a duration of approximately 5’45’’, and its orchestral version was written in 2026. The title Victorine is a homage to the Victorine Fathers of the 11th century, notably Hugh of Saint Victor and Richard of Saint Victor, as I had studied some of their writings not long before composing the sonata.
Andante Cantabile has a melodious character, like a song. The melody and harmony were composed in 2006 and used as my final project in the Functional Harmony course at the Conservatório de Música de Niterói. In 2021, this composition, which only featured melody and chords, was adapted to piano, becoming the second movement of the sonata. The orchestral version, written in 2026, is based on this second movement of the piano sonata.
The original piano version of the Victorine Sonata was premiered by Pablo Marquine on 30 July 2025 at Sala Martins Pena of the Teatro Nacional Claudio Santoro, in Brasília, Brazil, during the Brasília Orchestral Summit. The orchestral version of Andante Cantabile was performed for the first time on 31 July 2026 by the Orquestra Sinfônica do Teatro Nacional Claudio Santoro, conducted by Tyler Austin, also at Sala Martins Pena of the Teatro Nacional Claudio Santoro, in Brasília, during the Brasília Orchestral Summit.