Alberto Williams facts for kids
Alberto Williams was a famous Argentine musician. He was born on November 23, 1862, and passed away on June 17, 1952. He was a talented composer, a skilled pianist, a teacher, and a conductor.
Life and Music
Alberto Williams was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1862. His grandfather, Amancio Jacinto Alcorta, was a respected diplomat who also enjoyed composing music. Alberto started learning piano at age 8. When he was 14, he joined the School of Music and Recitation in Buenos Aires. There, he continued his piano lessons with Luis José Bernasconi.
In 1882, Alberto received a special scholarship from his government. This allowed him to study music in Paris, France, at the famous Paris Conservatoire. He learned from great musicians like Georges Mathias and Charles de Bériot for piano. He also studied harmony and counterpoint. He even took private lessons from the famous composer César Franck, who really liked Alberto as a student.
While in Paris, Williams published his first piano pieces. These included short, expressive pieces and dances. He also finished his Primera Obertura de Concierto (First Concert Overture, op. 15) for orchestra. He returned to Argentina in 1889.
When he came back, he traveled through the rural pampas region. This trip helped him discover the folk music of Argentina. His first widely successful song was "El Rancho Abandonado" (The Abandoned Hut). This piano piece was part of a series called En la Sierra (In Hill Country, op. 32), published in 1893. It was a sad song about rural life in the pampas. It even included a bit of the Huella folk dance.
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Williams mostly wrote music in a Romantic style. This was a popular style around the world at the time. After 1910, his music started to use some "Impressionistic" techniques. He also used more complex harmonies. However, he never fully adopted the very new and experimental modernist style.
Around this time, he also started using Argentine folk themes more often. He based his piano and orchestral music on milongas, huellas, and other rural music styles. In 1893, he founded the Buenos Aires Conservatory of Music. This school later became known as Conservatorio Williams. He opened branches of the school in many cities and towns across Argentina. One of his students was Celia Torra.
Williams composed a lot of music. He wrote nine symphonies, which are large pieces for orchestra. He also wrote three orchestral poems and two concert overtures. He composed three sonatas for violin and piano, and one for cello and piano. His Primera Sonata Argentina for piano was written in 1917.
He also wrote lyrics for his own music. He wrote many books about music theory and other topics. These included several manuals for students. A collection of his lyrics was published as Versos Líricos in 1924. Williams became a member of the National Academy of Fine Arts and the National Commission for Culture.
Williams created 136 musical works. Some of his well-known pieces include:
- Op.15. Primera obertura de concierto (First Concert Overture, 1889).
- Op.32. En la Sierra (In Hill Country, piano suite, 1890).
- Op.44. First Symphony, in B minor (1907).
- Op.55. "The Witch of the Mountains." Second Symphony, in C minor (1910).
- Op.58. "The Sacred Forest." Third Symphony, in F major (1911).
- Op.63. Five Argentine Dances (1921).
- Op.100."The Doll's Heart." Fifth Symphony, in E-flat major (1936).
- Op.115. Poema del Iguazú (Poem of the Iguazú Falls, 1943).
- Op.117."The Air in the Pampas". Milongas, 2 Suites (1944).
Alberto Williams spent his last years surrounded by his many students. He lived in the casa del puente (house of the bridge) in Mar del Plata. This house was designed by his son, Amancio Williams, who was a famous architect. The house was finished in 1946. Alberto Williams passed away in Buenos Aires in 1952, at the age of 89.
See also
In Spanish: Alberto Williams para niños
