Radamés Gnattali

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Radamés Gnattali (1950)

Radamés Gnattali (27 January 1906 – 3 February 1988) was a Brazilian composer of both classical and

arranger
.

Biography

Radamés Gnattali was born in

anarchist sympathies he also went on to organize a strike of the musicians' union in 1921).[2][3] The couple had five children, three of whom, including Radamés, were named after characters from Verdi operas (the others being Aida and Ernani).[2]

He began to play the

Brazilian national music dates from this period.[5] Back in Porto Alegre due to lack of money, Gnattali founded the Quarteto Henrique Oswald, in which he played first as a pianist and then as a violinist.[1]

A 1929 performance as soloist in Tchaikovsky's

radio serials and his clever arrangements of the tunes and dances of the day made him a successful figure.[4]

In parallel, he pursued a career as a self-taught composer of classical music. While beginning to compose music influenced by

Brazilian folk materials, he continued to dream of becoming a major concert artist. The chance of winning a post as piano professor at the National Music Institute in Rio de Janeiro, with the support of the newly installed President of Brazil, Getúlio Vargas (following the Revolution of 1930), who received the musician in person, disappointingly came to nothing (though Gnattali later commented that the encounter with Vargas changed his life).[1]

When a national radio station, Rádio Nacional, was inaugurated in 1936, Gnattali immediately became involved.[4] He remained an influential figure in the institution for 30 years, conducting and providing sophisticated arrangements of popular music.[2][4] He gradually developed the radio's house band, building it up to become a full orchestra.[2]

He died in Rio de Janeiro on 3 February 1988.

Music

Gnattali's musical career straddled popular and classical genres and their traditions. His arrangements of

tamborin and flute) exposed him to lifelong critical attacks from Brazilian musical traditionalists who resented the "jazzing up" of the genre.[1] Conversely, some of his serious concert pieces (música de concerto) attracted the opposite criticism of inappropriately introducing instruments such as the mandolin, marimba, accordion, mouth organ and electric guitar into the concert hall.[1] In doing this, he was inspired by his friends from the world of popular music, including Jacob do Bandolim (literally, "Mandolin Jacob"), Edu da Gaita ("Harmonica Edu") and Chiquinho do Acordeom ("Accordion Chiquinho"), for each of whom he composed dedicated concert pieces.[1][2]

By the 1930s he was composing concert music in a

Antonio Brasileiro
(1994).

References

  1. ^ . Retrieved 30 September 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Perdigão, Mateus de Oliveira; Martins, Mônica Dias (2006). "2. O itinerário musical de Rademés Gnattali" (PDF). Os arranjos brasileiros de Radamés Gnattali (graduation thesis, adapted) (in Portuguese). UECE – Universidade Estadual do Ceará (State University of Ceará). Retrieved 30 September 2013.
  3. ^ "Radamés Gnattali". Dicionário Cravo Albin da Música Popular Brasileira (in Portuguese). Instituto Cultural Cravo Albin. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
  4. ^
    Grove Music Online
    . Oxford Music Online, Oxford University Press. Retrieved 30 September 2013. (subscription required)
  5. ^ Neder, Alvaro. "Radamés Gnattali". AllMusic. Rovi. Retrieved 4 October 2013.

External links