La música en Chile entre 1887 y 1928:: Compositores que pervivieron después de 1928, compositores en las penumbras, compositores olvidados

Abstract

On the basis of the four main pillars of the modern times established by Néstor García Canclini—emancipation, expansion, renewal and democratization—the historical period between 1887 and 1928 can be considered as the consolidation of a modern practice of classical music in Chile at a time when far reaching changes occurred in the country. Between 1886 and 1928 the Conservatorio Nacional de Música y Declamación began a program in music composition. As a result many of the 39 composers active during this period studied at the Conservatory, whereas some of them worked as teaching assistants and professors of the Conservatory. One of them (Enrique Soro) became director of the Conservatory after completing his musical studies in Italy. This article integrates the study of the music along with the circulation and reception of the works of these composers on the basis of the data obtained from newspapers, magazines and documents pertaining the private or public circulation of the music. It was during this period that the foundations were laid in Chile for the practice of classical music for the piano, chamber ensembles, orchestra and other milieu combining orchestra, chorus and vocal soloists. Besides certain composers adopted some of the then European avantgarde trends. Other features relating music to the historical context of this period have to do with the links of some composers with education, with the first approaches of composers of classical music to the music of oral tradition from both rural and urban areas of Chile as well as to the mapuche music. Besides it was then when women first appeared as composers of classical music. Four composers are considered to be the most important. They are Enrique Soro, Luigi Stefano Giarda, Pedro Humberto Allende y Alfonso Leng who epitomize in their life and works many of the changes occurring in this period. As a conclusion a study is made of the data about these 39  composers contained in articles, periodicals and books published after 1928, when the Conservatory underwent a drastic reform. This study reveals that only six of the thirty nine composers remained standing after 1928 (15.4%), sixteen went in the shadows (41%) whereas seventeen were definitely forgotten (41%). The fact that such a significant part of the composers remains practically unknown is probably one of the causes of tracing the beginnings of the practice of classical music in Chile to the early 1920’s in most if not all of the general histories about this subject, when this practice really starts in the final decades of the nineteenth century and the first two decades of the twentieth century as shown in this article.