Juan Carlos Paz
Encyclopedia
Juan Carlos Paz was an Argentine
composer
and music theorist
.
Paz was born in Buenos Aires
, where he studied piano with Roberto Nery and composition with Constantino Gaito and Fornarini. He also studied organ with Jules Beyer, and then travelled to Paris to work with Vincent d'Indy
at the Schola Cantorum
(Salgado 2001).
On 22 October 1929, a shared enthusiasm for new musical developments caused him, together with Juan José
and José María Castro, Gilardo Gilardi
, and Jacobo Ficher, to form the Grupo Renovación, with the aim of promoting the cause of modern music in Argentina. In 1936, Paz left the group to found his own concert series, the Conciertos de la Nueva Música (Slonimsky 1945, 80–81).
Paz was firmly opposed to the folkloristic approach to music that widespread in Latin America in the 1930s, and 1940s (Slonimsky 1945, 97). Opinions differ about his earliest compositional styles. According to one authority, in the 1920s and early 1930s, his music was post-Romantic, with influences from César Franck
and Richard Strauss
(Salgado 2001); another writer describes this same period (1920–27) as characterized by neoclassical polyphony (Slonimsky 1945, 97). The former author regards Igor Stravinsky
's neoclassicism and jazz
as Paz's focus in the 1930s, whereas the latter describes his second period (1927–1934) as "marked by atonal melodic idiom and polytonal harmony" (Slonimsky 1945, 97). Both authors agree that in the 1930s he was investing the diverse styles and techniques prevalent worldwide at that time, and particularly Arnold Schoenberg
's twelve-tone technique
, which Paz introduced to Argentina (Slonimsky 1945, 97; Salgado 2001). He was particularly attracted by Anton Webern
's music, and from 1934 adopted twelve-tone writing, which he continued to use until 1950. Though he continued to maintain that Schoenberg's methods deserved to be better-known known and understood, publishing in 1954 a book Arnold Schoenberg, o el fin de la era tonal, he abandoned the technique in his own compositions, evolving a new experimental, highly structured idiom. In the mid-1960s, however, he gave up composing altogether (Salgado 2001).
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
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 music theorist
Music theory
Music theory is the study of how music works. It examines the language and notation of music. It seeks to identify patterns and structures in composers' techniques across or within genres, styles, or historical periods...
.
Paz was born in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, where he studied piano with Roberto Nery and composition with Constantino Gaito and Fornarini. He also studied organ with Jules Beyer, and then travelled to Paris to work with 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...
at the Schola Cantorum
Schola Cantorum
The Schola Cantorum de Paris is a private music school in Paris. It was founded in 1894 by Charles Bordes, Alexandre Guilmant and Vincent d'Indy as a counterbalance to the Paris Conservatoire's emphasis on opera...
(Salgado 2001).
On 22 October 1929, a shared enthusiasm for new musical developments caused him, together with Juan José
Juan José Castro
Juan José Castro was an Argentine composer and conductor.Born in Avellaneda, Castro studied piano and violin under Manuel Posadas and composition under Eduarno Fornarini, in Buenos Aires. In the 1920s he was awarded the Europa Prize, and then went on to study in Paris at the Schola Cantorum under...
and José María Castro, Gilardo Gilardi
Gilardo Gilardi
Gilardo Gilardi was an Argentine composer, pianist, and conductor who was the eponym of the Gilardo Gilardi Conservatory of Music in La Plata, Buenos Aires....
, and Jacobo Ficher, to form the Grupo Renovación, with the aim of promoting the cause of modern music in Argentina. In 1936, Paz left the group to found his own concert series, the Conciertos de la Nueva Música (Slonimsky 1945, 80–81).
Paz was firmly opposed to the folkloristic approach to music that widespread in Latin America in the 1930s, and 1940s (Slonimsky 1945, 97). Opinions differ about his earliest compositional styles. According to one authority, in the 1920s and early 1930s, his music was post-Romantic, with influences from César Franck
César Franck
César-Auguste-Jean-Guillaume-Hubert Franck was a composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher who worked in Paris during his adult life....
and Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
(Salgado 2001); another writer describes this same period (1920–27) as characterized by neoclassical polyphony (Slonimsky 1945, 97). The former author regards Igor Stravinsky
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
's neoclassicism and jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
as Paz's focus in the 1930s, whereas the latter describes his second period (1927–1934) as "marked by atonal melodic idiom and polytonal harmony" (Slonimsky 1945, 97). Both authors agree that in the 1930s he was investing the diverse styles and techniques prevalent worldwide at that time, and particularly Arnold 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...
's twelve-tone technique
Twelve-tone technique
Twelve-tone technique is a method of musical composition devised by Arnold Schoenberg...
, which Paz introduced to Argentina (Slonimsky 1945, 97; Salgado 2001). He was particularly attracted by Anton Webern
Anton Webern
Anton Webern was an Austrian composer and conductor. He was a member of the Second Viennese School. As a student and significant follower of Arnold Schoenberg, he became one of the best-known exponents of the twelve-tone technique; in addition, his innovations regarding schematic organization of...
's music, and from 1934 adopted twelve-tone writing, which he continued to use until 1950. Though he continued to maintain that Schoenberg's methods deserved to be better-known known and understood, publishing in 1954 a book Arnold Schoenberg, o el fin de la era tonal, he abandoned the technique in his own compositions, evolving a new experimental, highly structured idiom. In the mid-1960s, however, he gave up composing altogether (Salgado 2001).