Prelude 21. Seven composers met in 1998 to publicize their music and contemporary classical music in general through the organization of recitals and lectures open to the public with Brazilian and foreign composers to present their work, aiming at the exchange of experiences. Since then, the group has matured and established itself as one of the most important contemporary music groups in the country, becoming an international reference.
Since 2008, Prelude 21 has held its concert series at the Theater of the Federal Justice Cultural Center, with an average audience of 70 people per concert, with a total of over 600 spectators per season. The series was established as the most important of contemporary Brazilian music. This year, the series will have another eight concerts, always on the last Saturday of each month, at 15h, until November. In December, the closing concert will be on the second Saturday of the month, the 10th.
The series stands out as the only permanent of contemporary music in the city of Rio de Janeiro, and has been considered one of the most important in Brazil. The group has already been the subject of an article in the scientific magazine Música Hodie Prelude Group 21 – A PerspectivePrelude 21 – String Quartets), which studies precisely its series, which has been going on for eight uninterrupted years at the Centro Cultural Justiça Federal. In 2012, the group was nominated for a Latin Grammy Award for their CD Prelude 21 – String Quartets, in the “Best Classical Album” category.
The group follows its trajectory with important results, like the already presented seasons with more than 1000 spectators and concerts in venues such as the Rio de Janeiro Municipal Theater, Sala Cecília Meireles and Oi futuro, in addition to the already established series at the Federal Justice Cultural Center.