Rodrigo Costa Leão Muñoz Miguez (born 15 October 1964), known professionally as Rodrigo Leão, is a Portuguese

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who w ...

and

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

. He became known in the 1980s as a member of the Portuguese groups

Sétima Legião Sétima Legião was a Portuguese rock band, active from 1982 when it was formed by friends Pedro Oliveira, Rodrigo Leão and Nuno Cruz until 2000. They named the band Sétima Legião after the Roman Seventh Legion sent to Lusitânia in the firs ...

and Madredeus. In the 1990s, Leão launched his career as a solo artist, with multiple albums reaching number-one in the Portuguese album charts.

Music career

In 1982, Leão was one of the founding members of

, one of the most successful bands in Portugal's 1980s rock scene. In 1985, he started Madredeus with Pedro Ayres Magalhães and Sétima Legião's Gabriel Gomes as a sideline acoustic project. Madredeus received national and international acclaim and became one of Portugal's most successful music groups internationally. In 1993, Rodrigo released a mostly instrumental solo album in a neo-classical, minimalist mode, titled ''Ave Mundi Luminar''. In 1994, with

on a long break, he left Madredeus to dedicate himself to his solo career. He has experimented with modern classical music and contemporary pop, joining electronics with string and horn sections. With the project Os Poetas, he composed music for poems from some of Portugal's greatest poets. Over the years Leão has worked with various singers and musicians. Singers who have participated in Leão's music include

Beth Gibbons Beth Gibbons (born 4 January 1965) is an English singer and songwriter. She is the singer and lyricist for the band Portishead, which has released three albums. She released an album with Rustin Man, '' Out of Season'', in 2002, followed by an ...

( Portishead), Neil Hannon (

The Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature an ...

), Stuart Staples ( Tindersticks), Joan Wasser (

Joan as Policewoman Joan Wasser (born July 26, 1970) is an American musician, singer-songwriter and producer who releases music as Joan As Police Woman. She began her career playing violin with the Dambuilders and played with Black Beetle, Antony and the Johnsons, ...

), Scott Matthew, Sónia Tavares ( The Gift), Lula Pena, Rosa Passos and Thiago Petit. Leão has also performed with Ryuichi Sakamoto or

Ludovico Einaudi Ludovico Maria Enrico Einaudi OMRI (; born 23 November 1955) is an Italian pianist and composer. Trained at the Conservatorio Verdi in Milan, Einaudi began his career as a classical composer, later incorporating other styles and genres such a ...

. Leão's music is also present in film and series soundtracks, including Lee Daniels’ Oscar-nominated historical drama '' The Butler'' (which won him an

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

award) and the TV documentary series ''Portugal – A Social Portrait'' by António Barreto. He has also composed the soundtracks for the mobile education apps Art Legacy and for the award-winning history app Back in Time.

Discography

With Sétima Legião

*'' A Um Deus Desconhecido'' (1984) *''

Mar d'Outubro Personnel *Rodrigo Leão Rodrigo Costa Leão Muñoz Miguez (born 15 October 1964), known professionally as Rodrigo Leão, is a Portuguese musician and songwriter. He became known in the 1980s as a member of the Portuguese groups Sétima Legião ...

'' (1987) *''De um Tempo Ausente'' (1989) *''O Fogo'' (1992) *''Auto de Fé'' (Live) (1994) *''Sexto Sentido'' (1999)

With Madredeus

*'' Os Dias da MadreDeus'' (1987) *'' Existir'' (1990) *''Lisboa'' (1992) *''

O Espírito da Paz ''O Espírito da Paz'' (English: "The Spirit of Peace") is the third studio album by Portuguese group Madredeus. It was released on 23 June 1994 by EMI-Valentim de Carvalho. Recording ''O Espírito da Paz'' was recorded and mixed between 27 Ma ...

'' (1994) *'' Ainda'' (1995)

With Os Poetas

*''Entre Nós e as Palavras'' (1997)

Solo albums

*''Ave Mundi Luminar'' (1993) *''Mysterium'' (EP) (1995) *''Theatrum'' (1996) *''Alma Mater'' (2000) *''Pasión'' (Live) (2001) *''Cinema'' (2004) *''O Mundo'' (compilation with new material) (2006) *''Portugal, um Retrato Social'' (soundtrack album) (2007) *''A Mãe'' (2009) *''In Memoriam'' (2010) (extra CD from Ave Mundi Luminar new edition) *''A Montanha Mágica'' (2011) *''Songs'' (compilation with new material) (2012) *''The Butler'' (soundtrack album) (2013) *''O Espírito De Um País'' (Ao Vivo Na Assembleia Da República) (2014) *''Florestas Submersas'' (2015) *''A Vida Secreta das Máquinas'' (2015) *''O Retiro'' (with Orquestra e Coro Gulbenkian) (2015) *''Life Is Long'' (with Scott Matthew) (2016) *''100 metros'' (soundtrack album) (2017) *''O Aniversário'' (compilation) (2018)

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leao, Rodrigo 1964 births Living people People from Lisbon Portuguese musicians Portuguese male musicians