Jack Delano (1914-1997) was
born in Ukraine (as Jacob Ovcharov) and emigrated to the U.S. when he was nine-years-old. In
Philadelphia he studied music, graphic arts and photography. In 1946,
after completing a photo documentary of social conditions in Puerto Rico,
he decided to settle in the island, where he produced educational films
for the government. Later he worked for the public TV station and as a
book illustrator along with his wife, Irene.
The Sonata for Viola and Piano
(1953) is one of the first works to incorporate Puerto Rican folk music
into a sonata-form genre. Although Delano does not quote an actual folk
tune, all the themes are based on rhythmic and melodic motives that he had
heard during his trips around the country. The first movement begins with
a syncopated piano introduction which states a descending bass pattern
common in jíbaro music. The movement is fashioned as a sonata form in
which the recapitulation begins on the subdominant key instead of the
tonic. The second movement imitates a seis con décima, one of the
expressive vehicles for the improvising trovador. The third
movement begins with a guaracha rhythm ostinato in the viola that
will be heard during the whole movement, except for a middle episode which
offers a restful contrast.
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Roberto Milano (1936-2005) grew up in New York City and
moved to Puerto Rico during the seventies. His vast musical output includes a wide variety of mediums: chamber, choral, sacred, symphonic, opera and music for stage and television. He
taught at the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico.
His Duo for Viola and Piano (1992) is written in a neoclassical idiom. The first movement comprises three themes followed by a coda. In the second movement the viola unfolds a languorous melody while the piano provides an repetitive pattern of shifting harmonies. The third movement is a set of continuous variations on the fifteenth century tune Deo gratias Anglia, presented
solo by the viola.
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Luis Antonio Ramírez (1923-1995) worked as an auto mechanic before discovering his vocation for music. At 34 years of age he went to Madrid to study with Cristóbal Halffter at the Real Conservatorio de Madrid. Then he taught at the Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music from 1964 to 1989. Although he composed some early pieces in the "nationalist" style, his later works, mostly for orchestra, evolved into an individual idiom.
The Meditación a la memoria de Segundo Ruiz Belvis (1973), inspired by the abolitionist leader, begins with a whole-tone melody, followed by a faster chromatic section. These elements are developed in subsequent episodes, reaching a climax with a fortissimo piano cluster. After a transition, the first theme returns and slowly dilutes into nothingness. The work is typical of his mature style: rich harmonic vocabulary, tense melodies and a sense of tragic foreboding.
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José Ignacio Quintón (1881-1925) is perhaps the foremost puertorrican composer of the turn of century. In addition to his numerous danzas and other salon pieces, his concert music includes a string quartet, a requiem mass, and the first two puertorrican art songs. He also explored impressionistic harmonies in his piano piece, Una página de mi vida.
The Romanza for violin and piano accompaniment (1920) is a
melancholic piece rooted in the romantic showpiece tradition. It was occasionally performed in serenades by the composer himself, accompanied by
guitar.
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| José Enrique Pedreira (1904-1959) studied with various teachers in Puerto Rico and New York. He established a music academy which produced many excellent pianists. His musical output consist mostly of songs and piano pieces in traditional vein. His 1954 piece Canción de cuna para un infante moribundo (Lullaby for a Dying Child), originally written for the violoncello,
sets a poignant tune against an impressionistic harmonic background.
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