Concurso (1908) for Viola and Piano -Julián Carrillo

Press play before reading!

 Julián Carrillo (1875-1965) was a Mexican musician ahead of his time, born in Ahualulco, a small town in the state of San Luis Potosí in Mexico. Coming from a humble family, he began his studies in the capital of his state to later enter the National Conservatory of Music in 1885, he was an outstanding violinist during his student years and also studied composition; from 1899 to 1904 he moved to Europe where he studied in Belgium at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Gand. Upon his return to the country, he joined as a harmony teacher at the National Conservatory where he became director for a short time. In 1914, due to the social situation in Mexico due to the revolution, he decided to move with his family to New York where he worked as a violin teacher and tried to make a career as a conductor; in 1918 he returned to Mexico and he became the director of the National Symphony Orchestra of that time and teacher of the National Conservatory, for the second time, he was director of said Conservatory (Benjamin, 1982). In 1926 he returned to New York City with his family and stayed there for a few years working, composing, and disseminating his music and his theories, some of his works were conducted by the famous conductor Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra. Maestro Carrillo died in Mexico City in 1965 at the age of 90.

    

    The work Concurso, was written in 1908 and although it is not found in Carrillo's catalog of works, it belongs to a series of pieces for various instruments, which the teacher composed for the students of the Conservatory, which were to be interpreted as part of their final exams, and this piece is perhaps the first written in Mexico, for the viola in the twentieth century. It belongs to the tonal works of the composer and it is very clear to understand by its writing, the viola is singing the introductory theme with a subtle accompaniment of the piano that supports the melody. Although it is not a simple work, it technically makes use of double strings, chords, and high positions on the viola; in the middle of the work there are some cadenza-type bars where the viola remains alone in its middle register and ends with a scale, then the piano is incorporated to return to the theme of the beginning. Without a doubt, Maestro Carrillo was ahead of his time and at that time he had only a short time to have returned from Europe, where surely the musical level was very high. Unfortunately, the work was not printed by a publishing house and is obtained by visiting the Julián Carrillo Archive in San Luis Potosí, and it has copyright.

    This recording is particularly special and draws attention because it was made by musicians from San Luis Potosí (like maestro Julián Carrillo), and it was recently recorded at the Centro Estatal de las Artes (CEART) in San Luis Potosí. The violist is the maestro Gianni Gambini, who is currently a member of the San Luis Potosí Symphony Orchestra, and on the piano the maestro Enrique Rodríguez Macías. A great job by these Mexican musicians for playing and spreading this Mexican repertoire.

Thank you very much for reading and see you soon.
Luis Ángel Chan Dzul.

Benjamin, G. (1982). Una deuda cultural saldada: la contribución de Julián Carrillo a la música del futuro. Revista Musical Chilena, 36(158), 61–71.

Parayon, G. (2007). Diccionario Enciclopédico de Música en México. Universidad Panamericana, Guadalajara, México.