Cândido Lima (Viana do Castelo,1939) began his general and musical studies in Braga. In 1963 he enters the Conservatory of this city and, a year later, he is admitted to the Conservatory of Lisbon, having obtained the diplomas of the Superior Courses of Piano and Composition by the Conservatories of Lisbon and Porto, and of Philosophy in the Faculty of Philosophy of Braga, between 1968 and 1973.
He received his PhD in Aesthetics from the University of Paris I – Sorbonne. For several years, he studied in private and at the Institute of Aesthetics and Art Sciences, Sorbonne, with the composer Iannis Xenakis. He attended several international courses in Portugal, Spain, Holland, Germany and France. He was a fellow of Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian and of the Secretary of State for Culture from 1975 to 1978.
He has written works for orchestra, chamber groups, choir, theatre, electronics, electroacoustics and computer, and his music has been played in several countries. He also wrote numerous essays and held conferences and seminars in and outside the country.
He founded the Grupo Música Nova (1973) and participated in music education reforms. He has collaborated with Radio and Television, since 1963, as a pianist, composer, author and presenter, creating several series of programs for RTP: “Sons e Mitos”, “Fronteiras da Música” e “No ventre da Música”.
He was professor of composition at the Escola Superior de Música do Porto and was the first Portuguese composer to approach musical computing at the Universities of Paris II and Paris VII, as well as to use the computer in musical composition.
He pursues personal studies on audiovisual media in theoretical, technical and compositional works, related to aspects of Philosophy, Anthropology and the theories and techniques of communication.
He is a professor-researcher at INET-MD, at Universidade Nova, Núcleo da Universidade de Aveiro.