Alberto Nepomuceno
Encyclopedia
Alberto Nepomuceno was a Brazil
ian composer
and conductor
Alberto Nepomuceno was born in city of Fortaleza, capital of the state of Ceará
in northeastern Brazil. He was the son of Vitor Augusto Nepomuceno and Maria Virginia de Oliveira Paiva. He started studying music with his father, who was a violinist, organist, teacher and chapel-master of the Cathedral of Fortaleza, Brazil. In 1872, he moved with his family to Recife (Brazil), where he started studying piano and violin. Later on, he became one of the most important defenders of the republican and abolitionist causes in Brazil, being very active in several campaigns over that time period. However, he did not stop being a musician, and at the age of eighteen, he became the director of the Carlos Gomes Club where all the important music concerts happened in Recife, Brazil.
In 1885, he presented his compositions for the first time at the Musical National Institute, a series of songs all in Portuguese. The main objective of the concert was to achieve those who thought Portuguese was inappropriate for the "bel canto". He was very criticised for doing that and he started a true battle against several newspapers and music critics. His battle for the nationalisation of the classical music was extended by his work at the Popular Concert Association from 1896–1906, where he promoted the recognition of several Brazilian Composers.
In 1888, he was able to leave for Europe to further his musical studies. In Rome he studied with Giovanni Sgambati
. In 1890, he moved to Berlin where he studied composition with Heinrich von Herzogenberg
and continued his piano studies with the famous teacher Teodor Leszetycki
at the Stern conservatory
. In Lechetitzky’s class, he met a Norwegian student whom he married in 1893. She had been a student and friend of Edvard Grieg
and Nepomuceno moved to Bergen after his wedding and lived in Grieg’s house. Grieg, of course, was a proponent of nationalism in composition. Nepomuceno’s friendship with Grieg was instrumental in convincing him to write music which reflected Brazilian culture. Before leaving Europe he visited Paris where he met such luminaries as Camille Saint-Saëns
and Vincent d'Indy
.
He subsequently returned to Brazil where he taught at the Institutio Nacional de Musica in Rio de Janeiro. Later Gustav Mahler
engaged him to conduct at the Vienna Opera but illness prevented this. He eventually returned to Europe in 1910 for a series of concerts in Brussels, Geneva and Paris. During this trip he became good friends with Debussy. Back in Brazil, he fought for the use of Portuguese in opera and song and remained the leading musical personality there until his death. Heitor Villa-Lobos
was among his many students.
Among his most important works is his third string quartet
, subtitled by him “Brasileiro”—the Brazilian. It is dated in his own hand, Berlin 1890. It is probably the first example of the integration of Brazilian folk melody with the Central European romantic idiom. Though performed in Brazil on rare occasions from manuscript copy, String Quartet No.3 remained unpublished until 2005.
Among his other works are the operas "Abul" (1905), "Artemis" (1898), "Electra" (1894) and the unfinished "O Guaratuja", the "Orchestral Pieces" (1888) and the "Sinfonia in G minor" (1893).
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
Alberto Nepomuceno was born in city of Fortaleza, capital of the state of Ceará
Ceará
Ceará is one of the 27 states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic coast. It is currently the 8th largest Brazilian State by population and the 17th by area. It is also one of the main touristic destinations in Brazil. The state capital is the city of...
in northeastern Brazil. He was the son of Vitor Augusto Nepomuceno and Maria Virginia de Oliveira Paiva. He started studying music with his father, who was a violinist, organist, teacher and chapel-master of the Cathedral of Fortaleza, Brazil. In 1872, he moved with his family to Recife (Brazil), where he started studying piano and violin. Later on, he became one of the most important defenders of the republican and abolitionist causes in Brazil, being very active in several campaigns over that time period. However, he did not stop being a musician, and at the age of eighteen, he became the director of the Carlos Gomes Club where all the important music concerts happened in Recife, Brazil.
In 1885, he presented his compositions for the first time at the Musical National Institute, a series of songs all in Portuguese. The main objective of the concert was to achieve those who thought Portuguese was inappropriate for the "bel canto". He was very criticised for doing that and he started a true battle against several newspapers and music critics. His battle for the nationalisation of the classical music was extended by his work at the Popular Concert Association from 1896–1906, where he promoted the recognition of several Brazilian Composers.
In 1888, he was able to leave for Europe to further his musical studies. In Rome he studied with Giovanni Sgambati
Giovanni Sgambati
Giovanni Sgambati was an Italian composer.Born to an Italian father and an English mother, Sgambati, who lost his father early, received his early education at Trevi, in Umbria, where he wrote some church music and obtained experience as a singer and conductor...
. In 1890, he moved to Berlin where he studied composition with Heinrich von Herzogenberg
Heinrich von Herzogenberg
Heinrich Picot de Peccaduc, Freiherr von Herzogenberg was an Austrian composer and conductor descended from a French aristocratic family....
and continued his piano studies with the famous teacher Teodor Leszetycki
Teodor Leszetycki
Theodor Leschetizky was a Polish pianist, professor and composer.-Life:Theodor Leschetizky was born on the estate of the family of Count Potocki in Łańcut. His father was a gifted pianist and music teacher of Viennese birth. His mother Therèse Ulmann was a gifted singer of German origin...
at the Stern conservatory
Stern conservatory
The Stern Conservatory was a private music school in Berlin with many notable tutors and alumni.-History:It was originally founded in 1850 as the Berliner Musikschule by Julius Stern, Theodor Kullak and Adolf Bernhard Marx. Kullak withdrew from the conservatory in 1855 in order to create a new...
. In Lechetitzky’s class, he met a Norwegian student whom he married in 1893. She had been a student and friend of Edvard Grieg
Edvard Grieg
Edvard Hagerup Grieg was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is best known for his Piano Concerto in A minor, for his incidental music to Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt , and for his collection of piano miniatures Lyric Pieces.-Biography:Edvard Hagerup Grieg was born in...
and Nepomuceno moved to Bergen after his wedding and lived in Grieg’s house. Grieg, of course, was a proponent of nationalism in composition. Nepomuceno’s friendship with Grieg was instrumental in convincing him to write music which reflected Brazilian culture. Before leaving Europe he visited Paris where he met such luminaries as Camille Saint-Saëns
Camille Saint-Saëns
Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns was a French Late-Romantic composer, organist, conductor, and pianist. He is known especially for The Carnival of the Animals, Danse macabre, Samson and Delilah, Piano Concerto No. 2, Cello Concerto No. 1, Havanaise, Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, and his Symphony...
and Vincent d'Indy
Vincent d'Indy
Vincent d'Indy was a French composer and teacher.-Life:Paul Marie Théodore Vincent d'Indy was born in Paris into an aristocratic family of royalist and Catholic persuasion. He had piano lessons from an early age from his paternal grandmother, who passed him on to Antoine François Marmontel and...
.
He subsequently returned to Brazil where he taught at the Institutio Nacional de Musica in Rio de Janeiro. Later Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler was a late-Romantic Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. He was born in the village of Kalischt, Bohemia, in what was then Austria-Hungary, now Kaliště in the Czech Republic...
engaged him to conduct at the Vienna Opera but illness prevented this. He eventually returned to Europe in 1910 for a series of concerts in Brussels, Geneva and Paris. During this trip he became good friends with Debussy. Back in Brazil, he fought for the use of Portuguese in opera and song and remained the leading musical personality there until his death. Heitor Villa-Lobos
Heitor Villa-Lobos
Heitor Villa-Lobos was a Brazilian composer, described as "the single most significant creative figure in 20th-century Brazilian art music". Villa-Lobos has become the best-known and most significant Latin American composer to date. He wrote numerous orchestral, chamber, instrumental and vocal works...
was among his many students.
Among his most important works is his third string quartet
String quartet
A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group...
, subtitled by him “Brasileiro”—the Brazilian. It is dated in his own hand, Berlin 1890. It is probably the first example of the integration of Brazilian folk melody with the Central European romantic idiom. Though performed in Brazil on rare occasions from manuscript copy, String Quartet No.3 remained unpublished until 2005.
Among his other works are the operas "Abul" (1905), "Artemis" (1898), "Electra" (1894) and the unfinished "O Guaratuja", the "Orchestral Pieces" (1888) and the "Sinfonia in G minor" (1893).
External links
- Alberto Nepomuceno's String Quartet No. 3 with brief biography & soundbites
- Alberto Nepomuceno String Quartet No.1 Soundbites Short biography at National Library of Brazil (FBN).