Carlos Chávez

From Wind Repertory Project
Carlos Chávez

Biography

Carlos Antonio de Pádua Chávez y Ramírez (13 June 1899, Mexico City – 2 August 1978), Coyoacán, Mexico) was a Mexican composer, conductor, music theorist, educator, journalist, and founder and director of the Mexican Symphonic Orchestra. He was influenced by native Mexican cultures.

He was the seventh child of a Mexican father and an Indian mother. He made rapid progress in his early musical studies and compositions and composed a symphony at the age of 20. In 1922, he went to Europe and later came to New York City. When returning to Mexico in 1928, he was appointed director of the National Conservatory and conductor of the Orquestra Sinfónica de Mexico.

Chavez's music had considerable influence on the modern music of Mexico. He wrote a book, Toward a New Music, and was the author of numerous articles in Mexican magazines. One of his works for band, Chapultepec, is a revision of a work composed in 1935 for orchestra entitled Obertura Republicana. His final work for band was Zandunga Serenade.


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