Alberto Guerrero
Encyclopedia
Antonio Alberto García Guerrero (February 6, 1886 – November 7, 1959) was a Chile
an-Canadian composer, pianist, and teacher. While he is most famously remembered as the mentor of Canadian pianist Glenn Gould
, Guerrero influenced several generations of musicians through his many years of teaching at the Toronto Conservatory of Music.
in the early 1890s, he became part of a group of artists and intellectuals who called themselves Los Diez. As a resourceful composer and talented concert pianist, Guerrero would have a reform-minded influence on Chilean musical life. His brother Eduardo became a music critic and Alberto contributed articles and reviews to the newspaper El diario ilustrado. He published a treatise in 1915 entitled La armonia moderna (now lost).
Guerrero introduced audiences to the modern music of his day, including works by Debussy, Ravel, Cyril Scott
, Scriabin, and Schoenberg
. He founded and conducted Santiago’s first symphony orchestra and was active in founding the Sociedad Bach in 1917.
In 1918, during a honeymoon trip to New York
, Guerrero came in contact with members of the Hamburg family, who invited him to teach at the recently established Hambourg Conservatory in Toronto
. Guerrero accepted this position and emigrated to Canada
with his wife and daughter the following year.
In Toronto, Guerrero performed for a few years with the Hambourg Trio (having replaced pianist Mark Hambourg
). While he shifted his focus to piano technique and pedagogy, he expanded his performing repertory to include works from Purcell
through Les Six
. As one of Canada’s most active pianists, he played regular radio recitals (a highly innovative move at the time) beginning in the mid-1920s and through to the early 1950s. He also initiated a subscription series of solo recitals from 1932-1937. Each season’s four or five recitals would cover often neglected works by Bach
, Scarlatti
, Haydn, Mozart, 18th-century Spanish composers, 20th-century French composers, and Stravinsky. Bach pieces included the complete inventions and sinfonias as well as the Goldberg Variations
, all of which would be later popularized by his pupil Glenn Gould
. Guerrero performed in various chamber ensembles with musicians such as with Frank Blachford (violin), Leo Smith (cello), Harold Sumberg
(violin), and Cornelius Ysselstyn (cello). For over a decade, he was also a member of the Five Piano Ensemble.
In 1922, Guerrero left the Hamburg Conservatory and joined the Toronto Conservatory of Music (Royal Conservatory of Music), where he remained until his death in Toronto
in 1959, establishing himself one of the preeminent music teachers in Canada.
Guerrero was known to be quiet and concentrated. His near self-effacement instead gave rise to the most prominent Canadian musicians of the late 20th century. He had a decisive technical and aesthetic influence on Glenn Gould
, whom he mentored for 10 years, even though the latter would later claim to be self-taught. Guerrero was also known for his keen intellect and ably discussed painting, poetry, and philosophy (Comte
, Husserl, Sartre). "He was one of the few musicians from whom a student would get a vista of ideas beyond music," recalls composer R. Murray Schafer
, who wrote In Memoriam Alberto Guerrero a few months after his teacher’s death.
. In addition to a number of chamber works and piano solos, he wrote music for 4 or 5 operettas and zarzuelas (now lost) which were produced in Chile
between 1908-15. However, after moving to Canada
, Guerrero focused more on teaching, though a couple of piano works (Tango and Southern Seas) were published in 1937. He also collaborated with his wife Myrtle Rose Guerrero to co-author The New Approach to the Piano (2 vols., 1935–36).
As a prominent member of the music circles in Santiago
and later at the Toronto Conservatory of Music, Guerrero influenced generations of students who would go on to shape the musical life of Chile
, Canada
, and beyond. What follows is an incomplete list:
.
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
an-Canadian composer, pianist, and teacher. While he is most famously remembered as the mentor of Canadian pianist Glenn Gould
Glenn Gould
Glenn Herbert Gould was a Canadian pianist who became one of the best-known and most celebrated classical pianists of the 20th century. He was particularly renowned as an interpreter of the keyboard music of Johann Sebastian Bach...
, Guerrero influenced several generations of musicians through his many years of teaching at the Toronto Conservatory of Music.
Biography
Born in La Serena, Chile, Guerrero first studied piano with his mother and older brother Daniel; he was otherwise self-taught. After the family moved to SantiagoSantiago, Chile
Santiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...
in the early 1890s, he became part of a group of artists and intellectuals who called themselves Los Diez. As a resourceful composer and talented concert pianist, Guerrero would have a reform-minded influence on Chilean musical life. His brother Eduardo became a music critic and Alberto contributed articles and reviews to the newspaper El diario ilustrado. He published a treatise in 1915 entitled La armonia moderna (now lost).
Guerrero introduced audiences to the modern music of his day, including works by Debussy, Ravel, Cyril Scott
Cyril Scott
Cyril Meir Scott was an English composer, writer, and poet.-Biography:Scott was born in Oxton, England to a shipper and scholar of Greek and Hebrew, and Mary Scott , an amateur pianist. He showed a talent for music from an early age and was sent to the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt, Germany to...
, Scriabin, and Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg was an Austrian composer, associated with the expressionist movement in German poetry and art, and leader of the Second Viennese School...
. He founded and conducted Santiago’s first symphony orchestra and was active in founding the Sociedad Bach in 1917.
In 1918, during a honeymoon trip to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Guerrero came in contact with members of the Hamburg family, who invited him to teach at the recently established Hambourg Conservatory in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
. Guerrero accepted this position and emigrated to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
with his wife and daughter the following year.
In Toronto, Guerrero performed for a few years with the Hambourg Trio (having replaced pianist Mark Hambourg
Mark Hambourg
Mark Hambourg was a distinguished Russian-British concert pianist, among the most famous of his age.- Life :Mark Hambourg was the eldest son of the pianist Michael Hambourg , and was brother of the cellist Boris Hambourg and the violinist Jan Hambourg , and of the musical organiser Clement...
). While he shifted his focus to piano technique and pedagogy, he expanded his performing repertory to include works from Purcell
Henry Purcell
Henry Purcell – 21 November 1695), was an English organist and Baroque composer of secular and sacred music. Although Purcell incorporated Italian and French stylistic elements into his compositions, his legacy was a uniquely English form of Baroque music...
through Les Six
Les Six
Les six is a name, inspired by The Five, given in 1920 by critic Henri Collet in an article titled "" to a group of six composers working in Montparnasse whose music is often seen as a reaction against the musical style of Richard Wagner and impressionist music.-Members:Formally, the Groupe des...
. As one of Canada’s most active pianists, he played regular radio recitals (a highly innovative move at the time) beginning in the mid-1920s and through to the early 1950s. He also initiated a subscription series of solo recitals from 1932-1937. Each season’s four or five recitals would cover often neglected works by Bach
Bạch
Bạch is a Vietnamese surname. The name is transliterated as Bai in Chinese and Baek, in Korean.Bach is the anglicized variation of the surname Bạch.-Notable people with the surname Bạch:* Bạch Liêu...
, Scarlatti
Alessandro Scarlatti
Alessandro Scarlatti was an Italian Baroque composer especially famous for his operas and chamber cantatas. He is considered the founder of the Neapolitan school of opera. He was the father of two other composers, Domenico Scarlatti and Pietro Filippo Scarlatti.-Life:Scarlatti was born in...
, Haydn, Mozart, 18th-century Spanish composers, 20th-century French composers, and Stravinsky. Bach pieces included the complete inventions and sinfonias as well as the Goldberg Variations
Goldberg Variations
The Goldberg Variations, BWV 988, is a work for harpsichord by Johann Sebastian Bach, consisting of an aria and a set of 30 variations. First published in 1741, the work is considered to be one of the most important examples of variation form...
, all of which would be later popularized by his pupil Glenn Gould
Glenn Gould
Glenn Herbert Gould was a Canadian pianist who became one of the best-known and most celebrated classical pianists of the 20th century. He was particularly renowned as an interpreter of the keyboard music of Johann Sebastian Bach...
. Guerrero performed in various chamber ensembles with musicians such as with Frank Blachford (violin), Leo Smith (cello), Harold Sumberg
Harold Sumberg
Harold Sumberg was an American-born Canadian violinist, teacher, conductor, and adjudicator.Born in Rochester, New York, he studied violin with Carl Markees, Henry Holst, and Willy Hess at the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin...
(violin), and Cornelius Ysselstyn (cello). For over a decade, he was also a member of the Five Piano Ensemble.
In 1922, Guerrero left the Hamburg Conservatory and joined the Toronto Conservatory of Music (Royal Conservatory of Music), where he remained until his death in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
in 1959, establishing himself one of the preeminent music teachers in Canada.
Guerrero was known to be quiet and concentrated. His near self-effacement instead gave rise to the most prominent Canadian musicians of the late 20th century. He had a decisive technical and aesthetic influence on Glenn Gould
Glenn Gould
Glenn Herbert Gould was a Canadian pianist who became one of the best-known and most celebrated classical pianists of the 20th century. He was particularly renowned as an interpreter of the keyboard music of Johann Sebastian Bach...
, whom he mentored for 10 years, even though the latter would later claim to be self-taught. Guerrero was also known for his keen intellect and ably discussed painting, poetry, and philosophy (Comte
Auguste Comte
Isidore Auguste Marie François Xavier Comte , better known as Auguste Comte , was a French philosopher, a founder of the discipline of sociology and of the doctrine of positivism...
, Husserl, Sartre). "He was one of the few musicians from whom a student would get a vista of ideas beyond music," recalls composer R. Murray Schafer
R. Murray Schafer
Raymond Murray Schafer is a Canadian composer, writer, music educator and environmentalist perhaps best known for his World Soundscape Project, concern for acoustic ecology, and his book The Tuning of the World...
, who wrote In Memoriam Alberto Guerrero a few months after his teacher’s death.
Compositions
Guerrero had been known as a versatile composer in SantiagoSantiago, Chile
Santiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...
. In addition to a number of chamber works and piano solos, he wrote music for 4 or 5 operettas and zarzuelas (now lost) which were produced in Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
between 1908-15. However, after moving to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Guerrero focused more on teaching, though a couple of piano works (Tango and Southern Seas) were published in 1937. He also collaborated with his wife Myrtle Rose Guerrero to co-author The New Approach to the Piano (2 vols., 1935–36).
Students
Santiago, Chile
Santiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...
and later at the Toronto Conservatory of Music, Guerrero influenced generations of students who would go on to shape the musical life of Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and beyond. What follows is an incomplete list:
- William Aide
- John BeckwithJohn Beckwith (composer)John Beckwith, CM is a Canadian composer, writer, pianist, teacher, and administrator.Born in Victoria, British Columbia, he studied piano with Alberto Guerrero at the Toronto Conservatory of Music in 1945. He received a Mus.B. in 1947 and a Mus.M. in 1961 from the University of Toronto...
- Helmut Blume
- Gwendoly Duchemin
- Ray Dudley
- Dorothy Sandler Flick
- Jeanette Fujarczuk
- Glenn GouldGlenn GouldGlenn Herbert Gould was a Canadian pianist who became one of the best-known and most celebrated classical pianists of the 20th century. He was particularly renowned as an interpreter of the keyboard music of Johann Sebastian Bach...
- Myrtle Rose Guerrero (2nd wife)
- Stuart Hamilton
- Paul Helmer
- Horace Lapp
- Edward Laufer
- Gordana Lazarevich
- Pierrette LePage
- Jean Lyons
- Edward Magee
- Ursula Malkin
- Bruce MatherBruce MatherBruce Mather is a Canadian composer, pianist, and writer who is particularly known for his contributions to contemporary classical music. One of the most notable composers of microtonal music, he was awarded the Jules Léger Prize twice, first in 1979 for his Musique pour Champigny and again in...
- John McIntyre
- Gordon McLean
- Gerald MooreGerald MooreGerald Moore CBE was an English pianist best known for his career as one of the most in-demand accompanists of his day, accompanying many of the world's most famous musicians...
- Oscar Morawetz
- Arthur Ozolins
- George Ross
- Domingo Santa Cruz
- R. Murray SchaferR. Murray SchaferRaymond Murray Schafer is a Canadian composer, writer, music educator and environmentalist perhaps best known for his World Soundscape Project, concern for acoustic ecology, and his book The Tuning of the World...
- Oleg Telizyn
- Malcolm Troup
- Neil Van Allen
- Ruth Watson HendersonRuth Watson HendersonRuth Louise Watson Henderson is a Canadian composer, pianist, and music educator. She has been the accompanist for the Toronto Children's Chorus since its inception in 1978 and is currently on the faculty of The Royal Conservatory of Music where she has taught for many years...
Recordings
Glenn Gould: His First Recordings (1947–1952). Video Artists International 1198 (2001).Other Resources
An archive collection of Guerrero’s manuscripts and papers is located at the faculty of music library of the University of TorontoUniversity of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
.