Carlos Chavez

                Carlos Chavez was born in 1899 in Popotla, near Mexico City, Mexico. At the age of 9 he began taking piano lessons and shortly after he began composing his own music. He was mostly self-taught, and never wanted to be a disciple of any other composer, instead, he relied on his own analysis of the compositions of the greats. The first concert of Chavez’s music happened in 1921. It was well liked and the government then commissioned him to compose a ballet based on ancient Aztec theme, so Chavez created El Fuego Nuevo, which incorporated many Indian themes.  In 1922 he married Otilia Ortiz, also a pianist, and they toured Europe and promoted Chavez’s musical compositions. While in Paris, Chavez met Paul Dukas. Dukas encouraged Chavez to concentrate on the rich musical heritage of Mexico. When he returned to Mexico he began organizing concerts of contemporary music at the National Preparatory School and showed many works that had not yet been seen in his home country. The public reception of these concerts was only lukewarm, however, and so Chavez decided to travel to New York, leaving behind his family. Chavez soon befriended both Aaron Copland and Edgard Varèse who assisted him in becoming introduced to the musical greats of the time and his works began to be heard at last, and they received favorable reviews. After finally receiving his well-deserved acclaim, Chavez returned to Mexico in 1928 to accept the post of musical director of the Orquesta Sinfónica Mexicana, which changed its name the following year to the Orquesta Sinfónica de México and became the first stable orchestra in Mexico’s history, flourishing for 21 seasons under Chávez’s directorship.

 http://craton.chez.com/musique/chavez/bioeng.htm

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