Carlos Chavez

Patrick Martin

Music 3585

Latin American Research Paper

The Life of Carlos Chavez

Although there is a plethora of interesting Latin American composers and classical musicians, Carlos Chavez seems to stand out the most. Chavez was a revered influence in the world of music and dabbled in many different aspects of the culture. Besides his uncanny musical ability, Carlos is an overall interesting person because he was a master of so many trades. He was a notorious composer, conductor, journalist, educator and even founded the Mexican Symphonic Orchestra in 1928. He was heavily influenced by the native sounds and indigenous music of Mexico, composed seven symphonies, and has created a lasting impression on the cultural face of Latin American music.

His music such as “Sinfonia India”, “Chapultepec”, and “Concerto for Piano and Orchestra” are the pieces that truly cemented Chavez into what many referred to as “the most important Mexican composer of the twentieth century” (Cummings). Even after all of his fame, Carlos never forgot where he came from and always integrated the sounds of indigenous Mexico into his work, which was visibly apparent in the titles of his work. He was in fact so well known for this unique and nostalgic style that he was hired by the New York Museum of Modern Art in 1940 to compose music to accompany the museums newly created Mexican Art Exhibit. The music he created for this special occasion was titled “Xochipilli: An imagined Aztec music”. A lot of his work was named after ancient lands, traditions, and Aztec

The two were practically inseparable. He had inspired new generations, became a part of the education system devoted to music, and led the front to what was possible and acceptable in the industry. According to William Robin “Perhaps no other composer of the past century exerted such a strong pull on his national culture as Mr. Chávez” (Robin). What most don’t realize is how unique of an artist Chavez really was. While he was indisputably the most involved as well as the most consciously aware artist of his time, he was also the most consistent. Every work of art he had produced was more than just a simple improvement from the last, it was a redefinition and reiteration of what fans had come to know and love. His ties to the native culture and his own roots are the very essence of what any aspiring artist at the time should have been expected to be, he just made it look easy while doing so much