Clotilde Rosa facts for kids

Maria Clotilde Belo de Carvalho Rosa Franco (born May 11, 1930 – died November 24, 2017) was a talented Portuguese musician. She was known as Clotilde Rosa. She played the harp, taught music, and wrote her own musical pieces as a composer.

Clotilde Rosa's Life Story

Clotilde Rosa was born in Queluz, Portugal. Her parents were also musicians. Her father, José Rosa, was a violinist and singer. Her mother, Branca Belo de Carvalho Rosa, played piano and harp. Clotilde was the younger sister of Artur Rosa, who became an architect and sculptor.

Clotilde started piano lessons when she was ten. At twelve, she began learning the harp. She studied at Lisbon's National Conservatoire. Later, she received scholarships to study harp in other countries. She went to Amsterdam, Paris, and Cologne between 1960 and 1963. From 1963 to 1966, she also attended summer music courses in Darmstadt, Germany. These courses were led by the famous composer Karlheinz Stockhausen. After finishing her studies, Clotilde performed as a harp soloist. She played with many different orchestras and music groups.

In 1965, Clotilde took part in Portugal's first "happening." This was a type of artistic event that combined different art forms. She worked with other artists, poets, and musicians.

Musical Groups and Orchestras

In 1970, Clotilde Rosa helped start the Lisbon Contemporary Music Group (GMCL). She co-founded it with composer Jorge Peixinho. This group played modern music in Portugal, Brazil, and across Europe.

Later, in the late 1970s, Clotilde formed a group called Trio Antiqua. With Carlos Franco and Luísa de Vasconcelos, they focused on playing very old music. Clotilde also played with several orchestras. These included the Porto Symphony Orchestra and the National Symphony Orchestra. She also worked with the S. Carlos National Theatre Orchestra. She played with the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation Orchestra too. She stopped playing in orchestras in 1987.

Teaching Music

From 1987 to 2000, Clotilde Rosa taught at the Music School of Lisbon's National Conservatory. First, she taught about how music is put together. Later, she taught harp. This was special because it was the first time a modern harp course was taught in Portugal.

Clotilde Rosa had three children. Two of them also became musicians. She passed away in Lisbon on November 24, 2017.

Awards and Achievements

In 1976, Clotilde Rosa started writing her own music. Her piece called Encontro was for flute and a group of string instruments. It was taken to an international composers' event in Paris. This event was called the Tribune Internationale de Compositeurs. Her piece was recorded and placed 10th out of 60 works from thirty different countries. This was a big achievement!

Clotilde also won the first National Composition Contest of Portugal. She won with her work called Variantes I, which was for a solo flute.

Her Musical Creations

Clotilde Rosa wrote more than seventy musical pieces. These included music for a single instrument, for small groups of instruments, and for large symphony orchestras. She also wrote operas and cantatas (a type of vocal music).

Here are some of her well-known works:

• Encontro (for flute and string quartet) (1976)
• Alternâncias (for flute and piano) (1976)
• Variantes I (for solo flute) (1980)
• Três Canções Breves (Three Short Songs) (1980)
• Cinzas de Sísifo (Ashes of Sisyphus) (1986)
• O Fabricar da Música e do Silêncio (The Making of Music and Silence) (1987)
• Ciclo Vozes de Florbela (Florbela's Voices Cycle) (1990)
• Amor que mal existe (Love That Barely Exists) (1992)
• Glosas Próprias (Own Glosses) (1998)
• Quiet fire (1999)
• Canto Circular (Circular Song) (2000)
• El Vaso Reluciente (The Shining Glass) (2003)

Clotilde's music has also been recorded and released on CDs. Some of these include:

• Musica para poesia Portuguesa (Music for Portuguese Poetry) (2008)
• Spiral Of Light: Portuguese Music for Strings and Marimba (2010)

See also

In Spanish: Clotilde Rosa para niños