Toponímia Musical

There are more than 90 place names honouring musicians (composers, singers, singers, instrumentalists, conductors, musicologists and pedagogues), almost all of them Portuguese, spread across four parishes in the city of Lisbon. Every day, we Lisboetas walk through streets, boulevards, lanes, gardens, squares and pracetas that honour figures who are mostly unknown to us.
How many times have you walked past Travessa Guilherme Cossoul without wondering who this violinist and composer was? Did you know that Praça da Alegria is also called Jardim Alfredo Keil and that he was a painter and composer who composed the national anthem? Do you know the story of Carlos Seixas, a great Portuguese Baroque composer who lived near Lisbon Cathedral and was Lisbon’s Almotacé for six years? Did you know that Alto do Lumiar is home to a toponymic centre linked to music where you can find seven streets named after Portuguese musicians around a main artery called Alameda da Música? Do you know the story of the great opera singer Luísa Todi, who, despite being from Setúbal, lived in at least six different places in the capital, all of them in Bairro Alto, namely at no. 2 of what was then known as Travessa da Estrela, the street where she was perpetuated?
During the Estado Novo period, many toponyms related to music were attributed, especially in areas of urban growth, such as Alvalade. This programme is an invitation to take a stroll through the parish of Alvalade with the aim of discovering the streets and, at the same time, the life and work of the fifteen musicians enshrined on their toponymic plaques. There are ten episodes to cover an itinerary of approximately five kilometres to the sound of the most varied music, as crossing each street will take us on a journey through its own very special soundtrack.

Joana Rolo comes from a family of architects, but she is also a pianist with a degree in Art History and has dedicated her life to music and art education. She lives between Rotterdam and Lisbon and continues to stubbornly do too many things at once. Toponímia Musical is his second radio adventure, after ‘As Notáveis’ for Antena 2.

This programme is soundtracked by Miguel Serrão.