Walter Burle Marx's "Cello Concerto"

• Main Author: Huff, Pedro Augusto
• Other Authors: Anselmo, Frank
• Format: Others
• Language: en
• Published: LSU 2013
• Subjects: Music
• Online Access: http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-04112013-035412/

Abstract Brazilian pianist, conductor, and composer Walter Burle Marx (1902-1990) is an important musical personality from Brazil whose works and contributions to the introduction of Latin American concert music throughout the world have yet to be fully recognized. In addition to providing a brief biography of Walter Burle Marx, this monograph focuses on his Violoncello Concerto. The concerto is dated 1984, and dedicated to his cellist daughter, Madalena. It was premiered in July 18th, 2006 by cellist Dennis Parker in Brasília (Brazil), with the Orquestra Sinfônica do Teatro Nacional, conducted by João Guilherme Ripper. I was introduced to this piece when the LSU Orchestra performed it in 2009 while I was in my first year at this institution as a DMA candidate. My cello Professor, Dennis Parker, played the work, and I had the privilege of being part of the orchestra on this occasion. The writing for the cello is virtuosic, the orchestration brilliant and creative; the themes and lines are based on the principles of counterpoint, and as a whole the piece has a well-founded formal organization. This monograph analyzes the piece and discusses its most important compositional and stylistic characteristics. The Violoncello Concerto is still largely unknown by audiences around the world; however, a first recording is forthcoming, with the LSU Symphony, Carlos Riazuelo conducting, and Dennis Parker as soloist.