Leopoldo Miguéz's Nocturnes Opp.10 and 20/1: Political Context and Stylistic Analysis in the "City of Pianos"
2023; Leuven University Press; Volume: 10; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
10.11116/mta.10.1.1
ISSN2295-5925
Autores Tópico(s)Brazilian cultural history and politics
ResumoAs in Europe, the piano reached the height of its popularity in the mid- to late nineteenth century in Brazil. Its presence in cultural life increased significantly, with performances in concert halls, theatres, and even cafés. Nocturnes — particularly Chopin's — were fre quently played at home and in public venues. Leopoldo Miguéz (1852–1902), considered at the time to be influenced by Wagner, Liszt, and the so-called Zukunftsmusik , was the first Brazilian composer to write a symphony, a violin sonata, and a symphonic poem. This ar ticle provides an overview of Miguéz's piano Nocturnes Opp.10 and 20/1 in the context of their relationship to contemporaneous Brazilian politics and his compositional practice. An in-depth analysis of the two nocturnes aims to map out his style, taking as parame ters his implementation of nineteenth-century constructive procedures previously established in analyses of his Violin Sonata Op.14 and his Allegro Appassionato Op.11 for piano. These include: the use of proto-themes, mediant regions, smooth voice-leading, complex tonal plans, motivic economy, and roving harmonies. These procedures are shown to be significant elements in Miguéz's palette of compositional traits and stylistic character istics; notably, they may have been common in Europe at the time but were unknown in Brazil. [...]
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