Composer Jimmy López Bellido’s work explores olfactory synesthesia, where the music evokes “a spectrum of perfumes”

Earlier this month, the Philadelphia Orchestra gave the U.S. premiere of Peruvian composer Jimmy López Bellido’s Ephemerae for piano and orchestra, which explores his interest in synesthesia and the sensory effects of music. 

Ephemerae was written especially for the Spanish pianist Javier Perianes, who also worked with Bellido on the possibilities of the work. 

Having learned that perfumers categorize smells in a way similar to ranges of music — from high, middle, to low — Bellido wrote his concerto in three movements.

The first movement, “Bloom,” evokes citrus floral tone; the second movement, “Primal Forest,” calls up pine and lavender; and the the third is titled “Spice Bazaar.”

“You have the feeling that you’re walking within a bazaar full of spices somewhere in the world, in an open-air market full of merchants and you’re infused with all these smells,” Bellido said of the third movement, as reported in WHYY.

Long fascinated by synesthesia — a neurological condition where one sense is triggered by an unrelated sense, such as certain sounds triggering a perception of color — Bellido wrote Synesthésie for symphony orchestra in 2011 as five movements (one for each of the five senses).

Olfactory synesthesia is a variation of synesthesia, where sounds (including music) can trigger perceptions of smell. While Bellido does not personally experience any synesthesia, he explained that a recent sinus surgery made him receptive to more smells around him.

“That was around the time I was writing this concerto,” he explained about the surgery. “It was part of the motivation, because I have been deprived from experiencing lots of smells, and all of a sudden I was able to perceive some of them.”

Other commissioners of the work included the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic, and the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra — all of which have performed the work with Perianes as soloist. Bellido also plans to make a recording with Perianes soon.

“The U.S. premiere of Ephemerae in the masterful hands of Javier Perianes, Rafael Payare and The Philadelphia Orchestra was sensational. A luxury to be able to work with artists of this caliber,” Bellido posted on Facebook. “Many thanks to CEO Matias Tarnopolsky & Music Director Yannick Nezet-Seguin for supporting and believing in this project, and to the entire Philadelphia Orchestra family for welcoming us so warmly.”

A short video about the world-premiere performance of the work in 2022 can be viewed below. 

Bellido’s work has been performed at Carnegie Hall, Sydney Opera House, Gewandhaus Leipzig, Kennedy Center, Vienna’s Musikverein, Concertgebouw, Konzerthaus Berlin, Nordic Music Days, the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games, the Lima 2019 Pan American Games, and the Aspen, Tanglewood, and Grant Park music festivals. 

In 2020, he completed his three-year tenure as the Houston Symphony’s Composer-in-Residence. In 2022, his work Aurora was nominated for a Latin GRAMMY in the “Best Classical Contemporary Composition” category. 

Bellido is a graduate of Lima’s National Conservatory of Music, the Sibelius Academy, and the University of California-Berkeley. His music is published by Filarmonika and Birdsong.