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Lecture-Recital: “Stylistic Characteristics of Francisco Mignone’s Valsas Brasileiras”
October 24, 2019 @ 2:45 pm - 3:15 pm
Francisco Mignone (1897-1986) was one of Brazil’s most versatile artists. He was a composer of the first rank, as well as a teacher, accompanist, piano virtuoso, chamber musician, conductor, and an accomplished wind instrumentalist. Mignone was a prolific composer who wrote in all major genres and for a wide variety of instruments. The piano works constitute a large part of his entire output and range from large-scale works, such as the four piano sonatas and nine sonatinas, to smaller pieces, such as the etudes, preludes and waltzes.
The compositions of Mignone, like much of the Brazilian art music of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, show the influence of the three cultures that form the country’s complex heritage. European music, Amerindian music, and African music collided, mixed, and gave rise –over the course of centuries–to a uniquely Brazilian idiom. Mignone’s life as a composer contains well-defined periods that demonstrate a microcosm of this cultural history: his earliest works showcase his Italian-French training, while his mature output gives voice to a new genre of Brazilian art music, rich in folk tonalities within Romantic structures.
This lecture-recital will focus on the unique stylistic characteristics of Mignone’s 24 Valsas Brasileiras (Brazilian Waltzes). They represent the Brazilian art music idiom, in that they combine African-Brazilian folk and popular idioms with elements of European art music. Specific musical characteristics resulting from the influence of the ethnic sources just discussed will also be addressed, followed by a performance of selected waltzes.
Alexandra Mascolo-David has devoted the last three decades to exploring and unearthing the music of Portuguese and Brazilian composers, especially that of Francisco Mignone. She is in the forefront of presenting Mignone’s piano music, and her performances, especially of his “Valsas brasileiras” have been widely acclaimed. For information on Alexandra’s recordings of the Valsas Brasileiras, please visit:
You may also enjoy: Fantasias Brasileiras for Piano and Orchestra of Francisco Mignone
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