Synopses & Reviews
Carlos Chávez (1899-1978) is the central figure in Mexican music of the twentieth century and among the most eminent of all Latin American modernist composers. An
enfant terrible in his own country, Chávez was an integral part of the emerging music scene in the United States in the 1920s. His highly individual style--diatonic, dissonant, contrapuntal--addressed both modernity and Mexico's indigenous past. Chávez was also a governmental arts administrator, founder of major Mexican cultural institutions, and conductor and founder of the Orquesta Sinfónica de México.
Carlos Chávez and His World brings together an international roster of leading scholars to delve into not only Chávez's music but also the history, art, and politics surrounding his life and work.
Contributors explore Chávez's vast body of compositions, including his piano music, symphonies, violin concerto, late compositions, and Indianist music. They look at his connections with such artistic greats as Aaron Copland, Miguel Covarrubias, Henry Cowell, Silvestre Revueltas, and Paul Strand. The essays examine New York's modernist scene, Mexican symphonic music, portraits of Chávez by major Mexican artists of the period, including Diego Rivera and Rufino Tamayo, and Chávez's impact on El Colegio Nacional. A quantum leap in understanding Carlos Chávez and his milieu, this collection will stimulate further work in Latin American music and culture.
The contributors are Ana R. Alonso-Minutti, Amy Bauer, Leon Botstein, David Brodbeck, Helen Delpar, Christina Taylor Gibson, Susana González Aktories, Anna Indych-López, Roberto Kolb-Neuhaus, James Krippner, Rebecca Levi, Ricardo Miranda, Julián Orbón, Howard Pollack, Leonora Saavedra, Antonio Saborit, Stephanie Stallings, and Luisa Vilar Payá.
Bard Music Festival 2015:
Carlos Chávez and His World
Bard College
August 7-9 and August 14-16, 2015
Review
"An insightful volume."--William Robin, The New York Times
Synopsis
The Description for this book, Carlos Chávez and His World, will be forthcoming.
About the Author
Leonora Saavedra is associate professor of music at the University of California, Riverside.
Table of Contents
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xvii
Permissions and Credits xviii
PART 1 CHÁVEZ'S MUSICAL WORLD
Chávez, Modern Music, and the New York Scene 2
CHRISTINA TAYLOR GIBSON
The Pan/American Modernisms of Carlos Chávez and Henry Cowell 28
STEPHANIE N. STALLINGS
"The heartbeat of an intense life": Mexican Music and Carlos Chávez's Orquesta Sinfónica de México, 1928-1948 46
RICARDO MIRANDA
Carlos Chávez's Symphonies 62
JULIÁN ORBÓN, TRANSLATED, INTRODUCED, AND ANNOTATED BY LEONORA SAAVEDRA
Carlos Chávez and Silvestre Revueltas: Retracing an Ignored Dialogue 76
ROBERTO KOLB-NEUHAUS
Aaron Copland, Carlos Chávez, and Silvestre Revueltas 99
HOWARD POLLACK
PART II BIOGRAPHICAL AND ANALYTICAL PERSPECTIVES
Chávez and the Autonomy of the Musical Work: The Piano Music 112
LUISA VILAR-PAYÁ
Carlos Chávez and the Myth of the Aztec Renaissance 134
LEONORA SAAVEDRA
Non-Repetition and Personal Style in the Inventions and Solis 165
AMY BAUER
Music and the Marketplace: On the Backstory of Carlos Chávez's Violin Concerto178
DAVID BRODBECK
PART III CHÁVEZ'S GREATER WORLD
Carlos Chávez and the Mexican "Vogue," 1925-1940 204
HELEN DELPAR
Carlos Chávez and Paul Strand 220
JAMES KRIPPNER
Masters Carlos Chávez and Miguel Covarrubias: A Puppet Show 237
ANTONIO SABORIT, TRANSLATED BY REBECCA LEVI
The Literary Affinities and Poetic Friendships of Carlos Chávez 255
SUSANA GONZÁLEZ AKTORIES, TRANSLATED BY REBECCA LEVI
The Composer as Intellectual: Carlos Chávez and El Colegio Nacional 273
ANA R. ALONSO-MINUTTI
Portraits of Carlos Chávez: Testimonies of Collaboration 295
ANNA INDYCH-LÓPEZ
The Modernist Invention of Mexico: Carlos Chávez, the Mexican Revolution, and the Cultural Politics of Music 306
LEON BOTSTEIN
Index 339
Notes on the Contributors 357