Hermann Hudde | University of California, Riverside (original) (raw)
Papers by Hermann Hudde
Journal of the Society for American Music, 2022
Abstract Latin American and Latinx composers continue to contribute to music by bringing a subtle... more Abstract
Latin American and Latinx composers continue to contribute to music by bringing a subtle universe of
sounds shaped by their agency and cultural history. Composer Max Lifchitz (b. 1948) bridges his artistic
output with entrepreneurship and pedagogy. Since migrating from Mexico to the United States, Lifchitz
has constructed a multifaceted persona as a cultural broker. As a composer, Lifchitz’s self-defined eclecticism
forms the basis of his musical voice, which reconciles opposites and flows between contrasting compositional
aesthetics, cultures, and techniques. In 1980, he created the North/South Consonance organization, which has
been an open and anti-canonical space for composers from different aesthetics, traditions, and ethnic and
gender identities to share their works with new music audiences. In Lifchitz’s role as a pedagogue, he positions music as a pluriversal tool to generate epistemological equity and inclusion and a more intercultural
educational experience. Despite his contributions to contemporary Western art music, his impact on new
music has not yet been studied. Therefore, the article’s purpose is to examine Lifchitz’s extensive and complex
contributions from a transmodern theoretical perspective as postulated by philosopher Enrique Dussel (b.
1934) to demonstrate how the composer’s music and persona represent qualities of this philosophical theory
and promote the redefinition of art music and the musician’s role in the twenty-first century.
Diagonal: An Ibero-American Music Review, 2022
Latin American literature has an ancient connection to the genre of the chronicle. However, Latin... more Latin American literature has an ancient connection to the genre of the chronicle. However, Latin
American writers working in the contemporary chronicle genre have begun to rewrite history to refute
the representations made by European or Eurocentric chroniclers and contribute to the epistemological
decolonization of the American continent. Therefore, the question that arises concerns whether there
are works of art music by contemporary Latin American composers’ equivalent to contemporary Latin
American chronicles of literature? Thus, the purpose of this article is to study the interconnections that
relate Latin American art music with the genre of the literary chronicle in Latin America through Latin
American and Latin American cultural theory. From this perspective, this article focuses on the figure of
the composer Miguel del Águila (Uruguay, 1957) and analyzes three of his works: TOCCATA, op. 28
(1989), RETURN, op. 66 (1999), and THE FALL OF CUZCO, op. 99 (2009). In conclusion, it is possible to
identify that music, like literature, reconstructs facts, subjects, ideas, affections and becomes the
reference for the symbolic and subjective rewriting of identity and memory, which generates new
proposals of interdisciplinary artistic production.
Current Musicology, 2018
European art music was brought into the Euro-baptized American continent by the Spaniards and Por... more European art music was brought into the Euro-baptized American continent by the Spaniards and Portuguese as an art discipline that supported the conversion to Catholicism, and, in general, its colonization. Nevertheless, Latin American composers—using agency, creativity and the process of transculturation—appropriated and transformed this music tradition to produce their innovative and hybrid art music works according to their culture and history. The article examines a selection of composer Ricardo Lorenz (Venezuela, 1961) musical works, philosophy, and artistic persona. In order to understand how and why postcolonial/modern theories opened up new paths for Lorenz’ musical works, this article introduces Ricardo Lorenz as composer and cultural agent related to Latin American and Latino communities in the United States with his positions of Interim Director of the Latin American Music Center at Indiana University (1987-1992), Chicago Symphony Orchestra Composer-in-Residence, Armonía Musicians Residency Program (1998-2002) and Latin IS American (2013-?) at Michigan State University’s College of Music. Then it discusses some of the ideas, such as the cultural monopoly of constructing an art music canon; building a racial/cultural division of the “Self” and the “Others,” the global music industry’s imposition of marketing tastes and distribution channels, and the representation of Latin American art music works and composers as exotics, within Lorenz text “Voices in Limbo: Identity, Representation and Realities of Latin American Composers” (1999). This methodology prepares us to engage with a conceptual analysis of two works by Lorenz—Mambozart for piano (1995) and the Pataruco Concerto for maracas and orchestra (1999)—to demonstrate Lorenz’s musical language and aesthetic, which reflects his fluency in cultural diversity and political philosophy in addition to reminding us what the process of transculturation stands for in Western art music composition and sounds.
Revista de la Sociedad Venezolana de Musicología, 2017
El compositor Miguel del Águila (Uruguay, 1957) ha desarrollado una carrera internacional destaca... more El compositor Miguel del Águila (Uruguay, 1957) ha desarrollado una carrera internacional destacada, cuya música cosmopolita se ha difundido entre las audiencias y músicos alrededor del mundo. En este breve artículo se analizan, mayoritariamente, elementos no-musicales como la cultura sincrética en Uruguay, la Guerra Fría, la emigración, la modernidad y la orientación sexual, entre otros factores, que han moldeado las obras y el estilo del compositor. Este artículo tiene la intención de establecer una parte de la base para futuras investigaciones sobre la música de Miguel del Águila.
Composer Miguel del Águila (Uruguay, 1957) has developed an outstanding international career, whose cosmopolitan music has reached audiences and musicians around the world. This brief article analyzes, mainly, non-musical elements such as syncretic culture in Uruguay, the Cold War, Emigration, Modernity and Sexual orientation, among other factors, that have shaped the works and the style of the composer. This article intends to establish part of the basis for future research on the music by Miguel del Águila.
Musicaenclave: Revista de la Sociedad Venezolana de Musicología, 2018
Teresa Carreño, más que ser otra prodigio del piano, fue, gracias a su creatividad y agencia, un... more Teresa Carreño, más que ser otra prodigio del piano, fue, gracias a su creatividad y agencia, una destacada artista cosmopolita y polifacética durante el siglo XIX y los albores del siglo XX. Su rol de concertista de piano se complementó con el de compositora, pedagoga, empresaria y cantante de ópera. Teresa Carreño desafió las convenciones de la época para construir su legado. Este escrito acopia las opiniones de estudiosos e intérpretes vinculados con su obra y vida, así como una lista actual de la producción intelectual sobre la artista con el ánimo de seguir contribuyendo a su estudio y difusión.
Palabras Clave: Venezuela, música, decimonónico, piano, Latino América, compositoras.
Teresa Carreño, more than being another prodigy child, was, thanks to her creativity and agency, an outstanding cosmopolitan and all-round artist during the nineteenth-century and the beginning of the twentieth-century. Her role of concert pianist was complemented with those of composer, pedagogue, opera impresario and Singer. Teresa Carreño challenged the conventions of her time in order to built her legacy. This article collects the thoughts of scholars and performers related to her work and life as well as a current list of intellectual productions about the artist with the aims of continuing the contribution to its examination and promotion.
Keywords: Venezuela, Music, Nineteenth-Century, Piano, Latin America, Women composers.
América Latina es el más grande repositorio de energía musical. Lo que le da un toque muy especia... more América Latina es el más grande repositorio de energía musical. Lo que le da un toque muy especial al continente en la música es la coexistencia de diversas capas activas e históricas; simultáneamente con la superposición, mezcla y colisión de culturas, las cuales ni los medios de comunicación ni el centralismo han sido capaces de reducir y controlar. Centenares de géneros, subculturas en ámbitos con códigos comunes, colocan a América Latina al frente del escenario musical mundial. Juntos, compositores e intérpretes de la nueva música de concierto latinoamericana deben compartir la emoción y el proyecto de llevar estos sonidos estimulantes y estas expresiones a las audiencias que piden una verdadera renovación en la actitud y en la intensidad musical 2 .
Paul Desenne is a Latin American composer whose musical mestizaje is the essence of the richness ... more Paul Desenne is a Latin American composer whose musical mestizaje is the essence of the richness and creativity behind his music. This conversation is an invitation to Paul Desenne to reflect more on the experiences and philosophies that have shaped his artistic life. From a composer’s point of view, Desenne shares his opinions about magical realism, his radio program Alzheimer, urban music, Latin American musics, the employment of humor in music, and postmodernism in some of his works.
Resumen
Paul Desenne es un compositor latinoamericano cuyo mestizaje musical es la esencia de la riqueza y creatividad en su música. Este diálogo es una invitación para que Paul Desenne reflexione sobre las experiencias y filosofías que han contribuido con su vida artística y sus creaciones. Desde el punto de vista de un compositor, Desenne nos expresa sus opiniones acerca de lo real maravilloso, su programa de radio Alzheimer, la música urbana, las músicas de América Latina, el humor musical y el postmodernismo en sus de sus obras.
Book Chapters by Hermann Hudde
Bernstein in Context, 2024
The transcontinental musical relationship between Latin America and the United States has witness... more The transcontinental musical relationship between Latin America and the United States has witnessed the circulation of numerous musical genres, styles, and musicians widely and actively across the American continent. Leonard Bernstein is one such fascinating example. His transcultural relationship with Latin American music and culture has been an intimate one that marked the musical language and life of his works. 1 One of Bernstein's most captivating qualities was his capacity to absorb all the cultures that surrounded him and to transform those experiences into sound. He enthusiastically personified and communicated the notion that culture is everything and everywhere. For instance, in his college thesis, 'The Absorption of Race Elements into American Music' (1939), Bernstein explored the ways in which the synergies of race and ethnicity shaped the uniqueness of US music. 2 In his book The Latin Tinge: The Impact of Latin American Music on the United States, John S. Roberts explains the process of the Americanizing of Latin music. The scholar indirectly reaffirms the ideas expressed in Bernstein's thesis regarding Latin American music when he states, 'Black American music has 1 Transculturation is a concept created by Cuban cultural scholar Fernando Ortiz (1861-1969) and entails a 'complex transmutation of culture', in which transculturation permanently embraces 'the creation of new cultural phenomena'. Fernando Ortiz, Cuban Counterpoint: Tobacco and Sugar. Translated from Spanish by Harriet de Onís, introduction by Bronislaw Malinowski, prologue by Herminio Portell Vilá, and new introduction by Fernando Coronil (Durham and London: Duke University Press, 1995), 103. As additional and anecdotal biographical information, Bernstein married the Costa Rican/Chilean Felicia Cohn Montealegre (1922-78). 2 In his thesis, regarding Latin American music, Bernstein wrote: 'One of the most telling has been that of Latin America, where there are [a] greater number of Negroes. Through these interrelations, some of the features of Cuban and Mexican have entered the jazz along with the Negro music; and it is surprising that people tend to think of all these influences as mutually independent. .. The racial integration of Negro and Latin American, in fact, is remarkably advanced; and it is therefore no wonder that the Negroes themselves have introduced the Cuban and Mexican rhythms to America.'
Invited Contributions by Hermann Hudde
Oxford Bibliographies, 2024
Carlos Santana (b. 1947) is an international guitarist and songwriter whose music style embodies ... more Carlos Santana (b. 1947) is an international guitarist and songwriter whose music style embodies an intercultural approach often identified as Latin rock. He was born in Jalisco and raised in Tijuana, where he played violin in mariachi groups as a child with his violinist father in the mid-1950s. After becoming enamored with blues and rock ‘n’ roll, Santana embraced the guitar, which he played in the streets and dance club-strip circuit. In 1963, his family settled in San Francisco, with its diverse cultural and ethnic environment, which inspired him to create a boundary-blurring style rooted in blues, rock, and Afro-Caribbean music. In 1966, the guitarist formed the Santana Blues Band and performed at San Francisco counterculture clubs Fillmore West and Winterland, where the band caught Bill Graham’s attention. In 1969, because of this association, the band performed at Woodstock, appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show, and signed a contract with Columbia Records, resulting in the release of Santana (1969), Abraxas (1970), Santana III (1971), and Caravanserai (1972). Since the 1970s, Santana embarked on an international touring career, collaborated with several musicians including George Benson, Bob Dylan, Tito Puente, Miles Davis, Rubén Blades, José Feliciano, Buddy Guy, Herbie Hancock, B.B. King, John McLaughlin, and Los Lobos, and he embraced Sri Chimnoy’s spiritual teachings. The 1980s were a time of adopting pop music aesthetics with albums such as Zebop (1981) and Shangó (1982). A decade later, Santana won eight GRAMMY® awards for his album Supernatural (1999). Santana, who comes from humble origins and is a member of an underrepresented group in the United States, understands the barriers people must overcome to fulfill their potential. Consequently, he is a passionate activist for a wide range of humanitarian causes, including participation in Live Aid (1985), Amnesty International concert tours (1986), and “Blues for Salvador” (1988), while producing the documentaries Dolores (2017) and Fandango at the Wall: Bringing the United States and Mexico Together (2020) to promote civil rights consciousness. In 1988, Santana and his family established the Milagro Foundation to fund educational, health, and arts programs. Carlos Santana remains one of the few Latin American, Latino, and Chicano musicians to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (1998). As a performing artist, Santana continues to be significant.
Oxford Bibliographies, 2024
Celia Cruz (b. 1925–d. 2003) emblematizes one of the most remarkable artists of the second half o... more Celia Cruz (b. 1925–d. 2003) emblematizes one of the most remarkable artists of the second half of the twentieth century, enduring her place in Latin American music and the history of popular music worldwide. Growing up in Havana, Cuba, Cruz received accolades all through her teenage years for her abilities as a singer. In the last years of the 1940s, Cruz sang solo and with Las Mulatas de Fuego in radio stations, theaters, and cabarets, both within Cuba and abroad as part of the popular music circuit. In 1947–1948, Cruz—although a Catholic—recorded a 78-rpm recording for the Parnat label in Cuba, singing Santería chants accompanied by Batá drums and a Yoruba choir. In 1948, Cruz made her first recording abroad in Venezuela and joined the conjunto Sonora Matancera soon after. During the 1950s, this musical affiliation provided her with a solid platform to continue her artistic transformation. Nevertheless, the political climate in Cuba changed with the end of Fulgencio Batista’s authoritarian regime and the beginning of the Cuban Revolution regime in 1959. La Sonora Matancera’s tour of Mexico in 1960 led to the group’s decision to leave Cuba. Cruz’s music was immediately banned by the new autocratic regime and her reentry onto the island was prohibited. This experience changed “La Guarachera de Cuba,” who never fantasized about communism and whose life and music were defined by a love of freedom. Cruz worked in Mexico’s music and movie industries until she settled in the United States. Once in New York City, Cruz, who married fellow band member and boogaloo Pedro Knight in 1962, established a significant recording and performance collaborations with Tito Puente, and later with Willie Colón, Rubén Blades, Ray Barreto, Héctor Lavoe, and Johnny Pacheco, for the labels Tico, Fania, and Vaya. Aside from joining the Fania All-Stars, Cruz’s big break in the United States began with the album Celia & Johnny (1974), after which she grew into a celebrity musician—though always recognized for her humble personality, work ethic, and moral values. As a result, the “Queen of Salsa,” became a global icon in the world of popular music. With her famous “¡Azúcar!” and her musical art, Cruz impacted the salsa music scene and converted it into an international music genre. Over the course of her artistic path, Cruz—an Afro-Cuban woman who embraced and promoted Latinidad—constantly reinvented herself and adapted to new realities without losing sight of her artistic vision.
At the New England Conservatory of Music (NEC), I have had the wonderful opportunity to complete ... more At the New England Conservatory of Music (NEC), I have had the wonderful opportunity to complete a concentration in Music-in-Education. During my first internship I worked on a research project that involved observations and surveys of children, teachers, and parents from two schools in Venezuela that place music at the core of their curriculum. The results were amazing; the participants reported overwhelmingly that the focused study of music had greatly improved the children's concentration, their logic and problem-solving skills, their reading, language and math skills, their emotional intelligence and cultural understanding, and their interpersonal and intrapersonal abilities. Equally satisfying were the reports of how placing music at the center of the school culture enhanced the social life of the entire community. We—speaking for myself and others who consider themselves disciples of Venezuela's José Antonio Abreu—are prepared to assume our role as cultural entrepreneurs. That is, we are ready not only to write and perform music for audiences all over the world, but through the unique power of music, to play an important part in creating a better world for all of us to live in. We should not take this role lightly, nor think of it as mere rhetoric. I truly believe that we as teaching-artists have the responsibility of being the link not only between music and audiences, but between music and justice and the mutual respect that are essential in creating a peaceful society. Several years ago, the United Nations established the Millennium Goals, an agenda for achieving worldwide social transformation during the 21st century. I feel that at least two of these goals—the achievement of universal primary education and global partnership for development—relate directly to our own mission as cultural entrepreneurs. This past year we witnessed a marvelous example of global partnership. NEC not only invited the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra to play for and with the NEC community, but also held a seminar and symposium about El Sistema the astonishing 35-year-old Venezuelan music education program created by Abreu that has had an enormous impact in helping impoverished children and youth achieve a better life through the practice of music. The value of this unique system was recently acknowledged with the Principe de Asturias Award, which is granted to outstanding cultural projects throughout the world. Last year, Abreu met in Boston with fifty music educators and cultural leaders from all over the United States, to talk about this program as a successful model for both individuals and communities, and discuss how this phenomenon could possibly be adapted in the far more affluent culture of the United States. What the Seminar and Symposium participants noticed was that first and foremost, El Sistema features high-quality music instruction. Indeed, as Abreu suggests, when " music is no longer separated from daily life, but is in fact nourished by and nourishes all aspects of daily life, " then personal and social transformation become possible. El Sistema shows how the emotionally and intellectually positive environment of the orchestra system can help children apply the values that will make them complete human beings who can grow and progress as persons of high human and professional value, and who can thus take on significant roles in their communities and their country. Moreover, very recently I read an article describing how the system has been extended to the prisons in Venezuela. This is a serious answer to the general lack of will to transform the prisons of our country into places where people can be rehabilitated through education. In the prisons where the system has been introduced, inmates not only learn a skill they can use once they are released, but also that they are human beings who have a high value in the community. This example alone indicates the potential universality of this idea. Musicians can and must empower people in a positive way to know themselves better and to become eager to participate in making a better society. Hermann Hudde recently completed his master's degree at the New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) with a concentration in Music in Education. In Venezuela, he specialized in international affairs at the Universidad Central. He can be reached at hermann_hudde@yahoo.com.
CD Reviews by Hermann Hudde
Latin American Music Review 44, no. 1 (2023): 101-103., 2023
Diagonal: An Ibero-American Music Review Diagonal: An Ibero-American Music Review , 2018
The World of Music, 2017
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, a... more JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.
/ Revista Musical Chilena lo musical, dependen más bien de las escuchas previas del oyente, o del... more / Revista Musical Chilena lo musical, dependen más bien de las escuchas previas del oyente, o del compositor, o del intérprete? ¿y qué sucede con la gran diversidad de culturas musicales mexicanas en esa representación academicista de lo nacional? Aunque los más de 45 minutos que dura este disco son un tiempo brevísimo para contener respuestas definitivas, el programa es paradójicamente -pues las preguntas surgen de él-una escalera que nos conduce nada menos que a esos otros lugares de lo mexicano/nacional.
Journal of the Society for American Music, 2022
Abstract Latin American and Latinx composers continue to contribute to music by bringing a subtle... more Abstract
Latin American and Latinx composers continue to contribute to music by bringing a subtle universe of
sounds shaped by their agency and cultural history. Composer Max Lifchitz (b. 1948) bridges his artistic
output with entrepreneurship and pedagogy. Since migrating from Mexico to the United States, Lifchitz
has constructed a multifaceted persona as a cultural broker. As a composer, Lifchitz’s self-defined eclecticism
forms the basis of his musical voice, which reconciles opposites and flows between contrasting compositional
aesthetics, cultures, and techniques. In 1980, he created the North/South Consonance organization, which has
been an open and anti-canonical space for composers from different aesthetics, traditions, and ethnic and
gender identities to share their works with new music audiences. In Lifchitz’s role as a pedagogue, he positions music as a pluriversal tool to generate epistemological equity and inclusion and a more intercultural
educational experience. Despite his contributions to contemporary Western art music, his impact on new
music has not yet been studied. Therefore, the article’s purpose is to examine Lifchitz’s extensive and complex
contributions from a transmodern theoretical perspective as postulated by philosopher Enrique Dussel (b.
1934) to demonstrate how the composer’s music and persona represent qualities of this philosophical theory
and promote the redefinition of art music and the musician’s role in the twenty-first century.
Diagonal: An Ibero-American Music Review, 2022
Latin American literature has an ancient connection to the genre of the chronicle. However, Latin... more Latin American literature has an ancient connection to the genre of the chronicle. However, Latin
American writers working in the contemporary chronicle genre have begun to rewrite history to refute
the representations made by European or Eurocentric chroniclers and contribute to the epistemological
decolonization of the American continent. Therefore, the question that arises concerns whether there
are works of art music by contemporary Latin American composers’ equivalent to contemporary Latin
American chronicles of literature? Thus, the purpose of this article is to study the interconnections that
relate Latin American art music with the genre of the literary chronicle in Latin America through Latin
American and Latin American cultural theory. From this perspective, this article focuses on the figure of
the composer Miguel del Águila (Uruguay, 1957) and analyzes three of his works: TOCCATA, op. 28
(1989), RETURN, op. 66 (1999), and THE FALL OF CUZCO, op. 99 (2009). In conclusion, it is possible to
identify that music, like literature, reconstructs facts, subjects, ideas, affections and becomes the
reference for the symbolic and subjective rewriting of identity and memory, which generates new
proposals of interdisciplinary artistic production.
Current Musicology, 2018
European art music was brought into the Euro-baptized American continent by the Spaniards and Por... more European art music was brought into the Euro-baptized American continent by the Spaniards and Portuguese as an art discipline that supported the conversion to Catholicism, and, in general, its colonization. Nevertheless, Latin American composers—using agency, creativity and the process of transculturation—appropriated and transformed this music tradition to produce their innovative and hybrid art music works according to their culture and history. The article examines a selection of composer Ricardo Lorenz (Venezuela, 1961) musical works, philosophy, and artistic persona. In order to understand how and why postcolonial/modern theories opened up new paths for Lorenz’ musical works, this article introduces Ricardo Lorenz as composer and cultural agent related to Latin American and Latino communities in the United States with his positions of Interim Director of the Latin American Music Center at Indiana University (1987-1992), Chicago Symphony Orchestra Composer-in-Residence, Armonía Musicians Residency Program (1998-2002) and Latin IS American (2013-?) at Michigan State University’s College of Music. Then it discusses some of the ideas, such as the cultural monopoly of constructing an art music canon; building a racial/cultural division of the “Self” and the “Others,” the global music industry’s imposition of marketing tastes and distribution channels, and the representation of Latin American art music works and composers as exotics, within Lorenz text “Voices in Limbo: Identity, Representation and Realities of Latin American Composers” (1999). This methodology prepares us to engage with a conceptual analysis of two works by Lorenz—Mambozart for piano (1995) and the Pataruco Concerto for maracas and orchestra (1999)—to demonstrate Lorenz’s musical language and aesthetic, which reflects his fluency in cultural diversity and political philosophy in addition to reminding us what the process of transculturation stands for in Western art music composition and sounds.
Revista de la Sociedad Venezolana de Musicología, 2017
El compositor Miguel del Águila (Uruguay, 1957) ha desarrollado una carrera internacional destaca... more El compositor Miguel del Águila (Uruguay, 1957) ha desarrollado una carrera internacional destacada, cuya música cosmopolita se ha difundido entre las audiencias y músicos alrededor del mundo. En este breve artículo se analizan, mayoritariamente, elementos no-musicales como la cultura sincrética en Uruguay, la Guerra Fría, la emigración, la modernidad y la orientación sexual, entre otros factores, que han moldeado las obras y el estilo del compositor. Este artículo tiene la intención de establecer una parte de la base para futuras investigaciones sobre la música de Miguel del Águila.
Composer Miguel del Águila (Uruguay, 1957) has developed an outstanding international career, whose cosmopolitan music has reached audiences and musicians around the world. This brief article analyzes, mainly, non-musical elements such as syncretic culture in Uruguay, the Cold War, Emigration, Modernity and Sexual orientation, among other factors, that have shaped the works and the style of the composer. This article intends to establish part of the basis for future research on the music by Miguel del Águila.
Musicaenclave: Revista de la Sociedad Venezolana de Musicología, 2018
Teresa Carreño, más que ser otra prodigio del piano, fue, gracias a su creatividad y agencia, un... more Teresa Carreño, más que ser otra prodigio del piano, fue, gracias a su creatividad y agencia, una destacada artista cosmopolita y polifacética durante el siglo XIX y los albores del siglo XX. Su rol de concertista de piano se complementó con el de compositora, pedagoga, empresaria y cantante de ópera. Teresa Carreño desafió las convenciones de la época para construir su legado. Este escrito acopia las opiniones de estudiosos e intérpretes vinculados con su obra y vida, así como una lista actual de la producción intelectual sobre la artista con el ánimo de seguir contribuyendo a su estudio y difusión.
Palabras Clave: Venezuela, música, decimonónico, piano, Latino América, compositoras.
Teresa Carreño, more than being another prodigy child, was, thanks to her creativity and agency, an outstanding cosmopolitan and all-round artist during the nineteenth-century and the beginning of the twentieth-century. Her role of concert pianist was complemented with those of composer, pedagogue, opera impresario and Singer. Teresa Carreño challenged the conventions of her time in order to built her legacy. This article collects the thoughts of scholars and performers related to her work and life as well as a current list of intellectual productions about the artist with the aims of continuing the contribution to its examination and promotion.
Keywords: Venezuela, Music, Nineteenth-Century, Piano, Latin America, Women composers.
América Latina es el más grande repositorio de energía musical. Lo que le da un toque muy especia... more América Latina es el más grande repositorio de energía musical. Lo que le da un toque muy especial al continente en la música es la coexistencia de diversas capas activas e históricas; simultáneamente con la superposición, mezcla y colisión de culturas, las cuales ni los medios de comunicación ni el centralismo han sido capaces de reducir y controlar. Centenares de géneros, subculturas en ámbitos con códigos comunes, colocan a América Latina al frente del escenario musical mundial. Juntos, compositores e intérpretes de la nueva música de concierto latinoamericana deben compartir la emoción y el proyecto de llevar estos sonidos estimulantes y estas expresiones a las audiencias que piden una verdadera renovación en la actitud y en la intensidad musical 2 .
Paul Desenne is a Latin American composer whose musical mestizaje is the essence of the richness ... more Paul Desenne is a Latin American composer whose musical mestizaje is the essence of the richness and creativity behind his music. This conversation is an invitation to Paul Desenne to reflect more on the experiences and philosophies that have shaped his artistic life. From a composer’s point of view, Desenne shares his opinions about magical realism, his radio program Alzheimer, urban music, Latin American musics, the employment of humor in music, and postmodernism in some of his works.
Resumen
Paul Desenne es un compositor latinoamericano cuyo mestizaje musical es la esencia de la riqueza y creatividad en su música. Este diálogo es una invitación para que Paul Desenne reflexione sobre las experiencias y filosofías que han contribuido con su vida artística y sus creaciones. Desde el punto de vista de un compositor, Desenne nos expresa sus opiniones acerca de lo real maravilloso, su programa de radio Alzheimer, la música urbana, las músicas de América Latina, el humor musical y el postmodernismo en sus de sus obras.
Bernstein in Context, 2024
The transcontinental musical relationship between Latin America and the United States has witness... more The transcontinental musical relationship between Latin America and the United States has witnessed the circulation of numerous musical genres, styles, and musicians widely and actively across the American continent. Leonard Bernstein is one such fascinating example. His transcultural relationship with Latin American music and culture has been an intimate one that marked the musical language and life of his works. 1 One of Bernstein's most captivating qualities was his capacity to absorb all the cultures that surrounded him and to transform those experiences into sound. He enthusiastically personified and communicated the notion that culture is everything and everywhere. For instance, in his college thesis, 'The Absorption of Race Elements into American Music' (1939), Bernstein explored the ways in which the synergies of race and ethnicity shaped the uniqueness of US music. 2 In his book The Latin Tinge: The Impact of Latin American Music on the United States, John S. Roberts explains the process of the Americanizing of Latin music. The scholar indirectly reaffirms the ideas expressed in Bernstein's thesis regarding Latin American music when he states, 'Black American music has 1 Transculturation is a concept created by Cuban cultural scholar Fernando Ortiz (1861-1969) and entails a 'complex transmutation of culture', in which transculturation permanently embraces 'the creation of new cultural phenomena'. Fernando Ortiz, Cuban Counterpoint: Tobacco and Sugar. Translated from Spanish by Harriet de Onís, introduction by Bronislaw Malinowski, prologue by Herminio Portell Vilá, and new introduction by Fernando Coronil (Durham and London: Duke University Press, 1995), 103. As additional and anecdotal biographical information, Bernstein married the Costa Rican/Chilean Felicia Cohn Montealegre (1922-78). 2 In his thesis, regarding Latin American music, Bernstein wrote: 'One of the most telling has been that of Latin America, where there are [a] greater number of Negroes. Through these interrelations, some of the features of Cuban and Mexican have entered the jazz along with the Negro music; and it is surprising that people tend to think of all these influences as mutually independent. .. The racial integration of Negro and Latin American, in fact, is remarkably advanced; and it is therefore no wonder that the Negroes themselves have introduced the Cuban and Mexican rhythms to America.'
Oxford Bibliographies, 2024
Carlos Santana (b. 1947) is an international guitarist and songwriter whose music style embodies ... more Carlos Santana (b. 1947) is an international guitarist and songwriter whose music style embodies an intercultural approach often identified as Latin rock. He was born in Jalisco and raised in Tijuana, where he played violin in mariachi groups as a child with his violinist father in the mid-1950s. After becoming enamored with blues and rock ‘n’ roll, Santana embraced the guitar, which he played in the streets and dance club-strip circuit. In 1963, his family settled in San Francisco, with its diverse cultural and ethnic environment, which inspired him to create a boundary-blurring style rooted in blues, rock, and Afro-Caribbean music. In 1966, the guitarist formed the Santana Blues Band and performed at San Francisco counterculture clubs Fillmore West and Winterland, where the band caught Bill Graham’s attention. In 1969, because of this association, the band performed at Woodstock, appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show, and signed a contract with Columbia Records, resulting in the release of Santana (1969), Abraxas (1970), Santana III (1971), and Caravanserai (1972). Since the 1970s, Santana embarked on an international touring career, collaborated with several musicians including George Benson, Bob Dylan, Tito Puente, Miles Davis, Rubén Blades, José Feliciano, Buddy Guy, Herbie Hancock, B.B. King, John McLaughlin, and Los Lobos, and he embraced Sri Chimnoy’s spiritual teachings. The 1980s were a time of adopting pop music aesthetics with albums such as Zebop (1981) and Shangó (1982). A decade later, Santana won eight GRAMMY® awards for his album Supernatural (1999). Santana, who comes from humble origins and is a member of an underrepresented group in the United States, understands the barriers people must overcome to fulfill their potential. Consequently, he is a passionate activist for a wide range of humanitarian causes, including participation in Live Aid (1985), Amnesty International concert tours (1986), and “Blues for Salvador” (1988), while producing the documentaries Dolores (2017) and Fandango at the Wall: Bringing the United States and Mexico Together (2020) to promote civil rights consciousness. In 1988, Santana and his family established the Milagro Foundation to fund educational, health, and arts programs. Carlos Santana remains one of the few Latin American, Latino, and Chicano musicians to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (1998). As a performing artist, Santana continues to be significant.
Oxford Bibliographies, 2024
Celia Cruz (b. 1925–d. 2003) emblematizes one of the most remarkable artists of the second half o... more Celia Cruz (b. 1925–d. 2003) emblematizes one of the most remarkable artists of the second half of the twentieth century, enduring her place in Latin American music and the history of popular music worldwide. Growing up in Havana, Cuba, Cruz received accolades all through her teenage years for her abilities as a singer. In the last years of the 1940s, Cruz sang solo and with Las Mulatas de Fuego in radio stations, theaters, and cabarets, both within Cuba and abroad as part of the popular music circuit. In 1947–1948, Cruz—although a Catholic—recorded a 78-rpm recording for the Parnat label in Cuba, singing Santería chants accompanied by Batá drums and a Yoruba choir. In 1948, Cruz made her first recording abroad in Venezuela and joined the conjunto Sonora Matancera soon after. During the 1950s, this musical affiliation provided her with a solid platform to continue her artistic transformation. Nevertheless, the political climate in Cuba changed with the end of Fulgencio Batista’s authoritarian regime and the beginning of the Cuban Revolution regime in 1959. La Sonora Matancera’s tour of Mexico in 1960 led to the group’s decision to leave Cuba. Cruz’s music was immediately banned by the new autocratic regime and her reentry onto the island was prohibited. This experience changed “La Guarachera de Cuba,” who never fantasized about communism and whose life and music were defined by a love of freedom. Cruz worked in Mexico’s music and movie industries until she settled in the United States. Once in New York City, Cruz, who married fellow band member and boogaloo Pedro Knight in 1962, established a significant recording and performance collaborations with Tito Puente, and later with Willie Colón, Rubén Blades, Ray Barreto, Héctor Lavoe, and Johnny Pacheco, for the labels Tico, Fania, and Vaya. Aside from joining the Fania All-Stars, Cruz’s big break in the United States began with the album Celia & Johnny (1974), after which she grew into a celebrity musician—though always recognized for her humble personality, work ethic, and moral values. As a result, the “Queen of Salsa,” became a global icon in the world of popular music. With her famous “¡Azúcar!” and her musical art, Cruz impacted the salsa music scene and converted it into an international music genre. Over the course of her artistic path, Cruz—an Afro-Cuban woman who embraced and promoted Latinidad—constantly reinvented herself and adapted to new realities without losing sight of her artistic vision.
At the New England Conservatory of Music (NEC), I have had the wonderful opportunity to complete ... more At the New England Conservatory of Music (NEC), I have had the wonderful opportunity to complete a concentration in Music-in-Education. During my first internship I worked on a research project that involved observations and surveys of children, teachers, and parents from two schools in Venezuela that place music at the core of their curriculum. The results were amazing; the participants reported overwhelmingly that the focused study of music had greatly improved the children's concentration, their logic and problem-solving skills, their reading, language and math skills, their emotional intelligence and cultural understanding, and their interpersonal and intrapersonal abilities. Equally satisfying were the reports of how placing music at the center of the school culture enhanced the social life of the entire community. We—speaking for myself and others who consider themselves disciples of Venezuela's José Antonio Abreu—are prepared to assume our role as cultural entrepreneurs. That is, we are ready not only to write and perform music for audiences all over the world, but through the unique power of music, to play an important part in creating a better world for all of us to live in. We should not take this role lightly, nor think of it as mere rhetoric. I truly believe that we as teaching-artists have the responsibility of being the link not only between music and audiences, but between music and justice and the mutual respect that are essential in creating a peaceful society. Several years ago, the United Nations established the Millennium Goals, an agenda for achieving worldwide social transformation during the 21st century. I feel that at least two of these goals—the achievement of universal primary education and global partnership for development—relate directly to our own mission as cultural entrepreneurs. This past year we witnessed a marvelous example of global partnership. NEC not only invited the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra to play for and with the NEC community, but also held a seminar and symposium about El Sistema the astonishing 35-year-old Venezuelan music education program created by Abreu that has had an enormous impact in helping impoverished children and youth achieve a better life through the practice of music. The value of this unique system was recently acknowledged with the Principe de Asturias Award, which is granted to outstanding cultural projects throughout the world. Last year, Abreu met in Boston with fifty music educators and cultural leaders from all over the United States, to talk about this program as a successful model for both individuals and communities, and discuss how this phenomenon could possibly be adapted in the far more affluent culture of the United States. What the Seminar and Symposium participants noticed was that first and foremost, El Sistema features high-quality music instruction. Indeed, as Abreu suggests, when " music is no longer separated from daily life, but is in fact nourished by and nourishes all aspects of daily life, " then personal and social transformation become possible. El Sistema shows how the emotionally and intellectually positive environment of the orchestra system can help children apply the values that will make them complete human beings who can grow and progress as persons of high human and professional value, and who can thus take on significant roles in their communities and their country. Moreover, very recently I read an article describing how the system has been extended to the prisons in Venezuela. This is a serious answer to the general lack of will to transform the prisons of our country into places where people can be rehabilitated through education. In the prisons where the system has been introduced, inmates not only learn a skill they can use once they are released, but also that they are human beings who have a high value in the community. This example alone indicates the potential universality of this idea. Musicians can and must empower people in a positive way to know themselves better and to become eager to participate in making a better society. Hermann Hudde recently completed his master's degree at the New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) with a concentration in Music in Education. In Venezuela, he specialized in international affairs at the Universidad Central. He can be reached at hermann_hudde@yahoo.com.
Latin American Music Review 44, no. 1 (2023): 101-103., 2023
Diagonal: An Ibero-American Music Review Diagonal: An Ibero-American Music Review , 2018
The World of Music, 2017
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, a... more JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.
/ Revista Musical Chilena lo musical, dependen más bien de las escuchas previas del oyente, o del... more / Revista Musical Chilena lo musical, dependen más bien de las escuchas previas del oyente, o del compositor, o del intérprete? ¿y qué sucede con la gran diversidad de culturas musicales mexicanas en esa representación academicista de lo nacional? Aunque los más de 45 minutos que dura este disco son un tiempo brevísimo para contener respuestas definitivas, el programa es paradójicamente -pues las preguntas surgen de él-una escalera que nos conduce nada menos que a esos otros lugares de lo mexicano/nacional.
REVISTA de MUSICOLOGÍA Vol. XLVI No. 2, 2023
![Research paper thumbnail of "Cuban Zarzuela: Performing Race and Gender on Havana’s Lyric Stage" [Zarzuela cubana: Actuaciones de raza y género en el teatro lírico de La Habana] por Susan Thomas.](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/50245387/thumbnails/1.jpg)
](En el capítulo 10, "Contracultura de masas", se avanza hacia la década de 1980 en América Latina,... more En el capítulo 10, "Contracultura de masas", se avanza hacia la década de 1980 en América Latina, década caracterizada por la sombra de dictaduras que, no obstante, no impidieron los cruces valiosos entre cultura popular y vanguardia. Se aplica el concepto de contrafusión, análogo al de "contracultura", para explicar "prácticas culturales (musicales) que si bien celebran su propia condición contracultural, también ponen en juego el sinsentido y la violencia de la cultura de masas de la cual se alimentan. De este modo, la integración de lenguajes promovida por la fusión de fines de los sesenta, se transformó en choque; el diálogo devino en discusión; lo obvio se volvió extraño; y lo especial se hizo cotidiano. Como señala Omar Corrado (1999), la canción se transformó, finalmente, en "una operación crítica del conocimiento".
Dissertation, 2020
During the twentieth century, music festivals and organizations became places for composers to co... more During the twentieth century, music festivals and organizations became places for composers to construct identity, negotiate aesthetics, promote cultural exchange, and exercise agency on the American continent. The visionary American conductor Serge Koussevitzky (1874–1951) officially founded the Berkshire Music Center in 1940 and imagined a music festival that would serve as a music-education center of the highest level for musicians in the Western art-music tradition. He appointed eminent musicians to support him to achieve this educational and musical dream, especially Aaron Copland (1900–1990) as Head of the Faculty. During that time, Copland was fully invested in cultural diplomacy as a way of promoting U.S. culture and values internationally, sponsored by the Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs, the U.S. State Department, and U.S.-based private foundations (Rockefeller and Guggenheim). Thereby, the dissertation contends that Copland invited Latin American composers to Tanglewood to support the Good Neighbor Policy agenda during World War II (1939–1945), and later the Truman Doctrine within the inter-American system during the early Cold War era (1947–1997).
The dissertation similarly examines individuals, groups, and concepts, such as Grupo Renovación (Argentina, 1929–1944), Grupo de los cuatro (Mexico, 1936-1940), Música Viva (Brazil, 1939–1948), Grupo de Renovación Musical (Cuba, 1942–1948), and Francisco Curt Lange’s (1903-1997) Americanism musical, just to name a few, who fostered a vibrant and creative Modern- music scene in Latin America during the first half-century. Although some recent publications have discussed and reviewed the role of modern art music on the American continent and its intersection with U.S. cultural diplomacy during the periods of Pan-Americanism and Inter-Americanism, the impact of Latin American modern music at the Berkshire Music Center at Tanglewood remains unstudied. Throughout the dissertation, I examine how the geocultural and epistemological category of Latin American art music, despite possessing a musical/cultural history, must constantly negotiate aesthetics and politics vis-à-vis the ethnocentric and epistemological hierarchies of Western modernity. The purpose of the dissertation is to examine the intersection of Latin American modern music at the Berkshire Music Center at Tanglewood (1941-1951), U.S. cultural diplomacy, and Western modernity, thus shedding needed light on this untold episode from the Western hemisphere’s art-music history.