Silvestre Revueltas

Silvestre Revueltas (1899-1940)

 Revueltas was a Mexican composer and violinist. At an early age he was already studying violin in Colima, Mexico, his passion for the violin was so extreme that by the age of 12 he entered the Juarez Institute in Durango. He also went to St Edward College in Austin Texas (1916-1918).

He studied violin for more than 10 years, which gave him more than enough confidence to play the violin in a theatre orchestra in San Antonio, Texas and conduct an orchestra in Mobile, Alabama.  

Chavez was invite to be the conductor assistant of the Mexico SO during 1929-35 where he composed six sophisticated picture postcard pieces for that orchestra.  At the same time he taught the violin and chamber music at the conservatory and conducted a conservatory graduates’ orchestra.

He wrote film, chamber music, songs and a number of other works. Famous for many symphonic poems, like “Chant for the killing of a Snake” (1938) based on a poem by Nicolas Guillen. 

Teaching and conducting orchestras wasn’t enough for him and around 1937 he decide to toured Spain,  spending a decent time oversea, he later came back and  continued to teach. His early death was due to alcoholism.

 

Bibliography

http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.ezproxy.lib.umb.edu/subscriber/article/grove/music/23289?q=Silvestre+Revueltas+&search=quick&pos=1&_start=1#firsthit

Wikipedia Online 2012 

Discography

Chamber works:

• El afilador, 1924
• Batik, 1926
• Four Little Pieces for String Trio, 1929
• Homenaje a Federico García Lorca, 1936
• Ocho x radio, 1933
• Planos, 1934
• String Quartet No. 1, 1930
• String Quartet No. 2, 1931
• String Quartet No. 3, 1931
• String Quartet No. 4, Música de feria, 1932
• Tres piezas, for violin and piano, 1932
• Éste era un rey 1940
• First Little Serious Piece, for chamber ensemble, 1940
• Second Little Serious Piece, for chamber ensemble, 1940

Orchestral works:

• Pieza para Orquesta, 1929
• Alcancías, 1932
• Caminos, 1934
• Colorines, 1932
• La coronela (orch. by Moncayo and arr. by Limantour)
• Cuauhnáhuac, for string orchestra, 1930; revised for full orchestra, 1932
• Danza geométrica (orchestral version of Planos), 1934
• Esquinas, 1930
• Itinerarios, 1938
• Janitzio, 1933 (rev. 1936)
• Música para charlar, 1938 (from the film score of Ferrocarriles de Baja California)
• El renacuajo paseador, 1933
• Sensemayá, 1938
• Toccata (sin fuga), for violin and chamber orchestra 1933
• Troka, 1933
• Ventanas, 1931

Ballets:

• La coronela, 1940 (unfinished; a completion by Blas Galindo and Candelario Huízar lost)
• El renacuajo paseador, 1936

Film scores:

• Bajo el signo de la muerte, 1939
• Ferrocarriles de Baja California, 1938
• selections reworked as Música para charlar
• El indio, 1938
• La noche de los mayas (Night of the Mayas), 1939
• Redes, 1935
• ¡Vámonos con Pancho Villa!, 1936

Songs:

• "Canto a una muchacha negra" (words: Langston Hughes), voice and piano 1938
• Cinco canciones para niños y dos canciones profanas, 1938–1939
• Duo para pato y canario, voice and chamber orchestra, 1931
• "Ranas" (Frogs) and "El tecolote" (The Owl), voice and piano, 1931
• Caminando, 1937

Piano:

• Allegro
• Canción (a passage used also in Cuauhnáhuac)