Henrique Oswald facts for kids
Henrique José Pedro Maria Carlos Luis Oswald (born April 14, 1852 – died June 9, 1931) was a famous Brazilian composer and pianist. He wrote many different kinds of music.
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Life and Early Music
Henrique Oswald was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. His father came from Switzerland and Germany, and his mother was from Italy. His family changed their last name from "Oschwald" to "Oswald" to avoid problems.
In 1854, when Henrique was very young, his family moved to São Paulo. His mother taught music to rich families. Henrique started playing piano very early. By the time he was twelve, he gave his first public concert! He also had a teacher named Gabriel Guiraudon in São Paulo. When he was 16, he gave a "farewell concert" before traveling to Europe to study music.
Studying and Working Abroad
Henrique Oswald spent many years studying and living in Europe, especially in Florence, Italy. He became a very talented composer.
In 1902, he won an important piano music competition. It was held by a famous newspaper called Le Figaro. His winning piece was named Il neige!.., which means 'It snows!'.
After this success, he returned to Brazil. From 1903 to 1906, he was the director of the Instituto Nacional de Música (National Music Institute) in Rio de Janeiro. This was a very important job in Brazilian music. He also worked for Brazil as a consul, representing his country in places like The Hague and Genoa.
Henrique Oswald passed away in 1931. This was just a few days after his birthday celebrations.
His Musical Creations
Henrique Oswald wrote a lot of music! Today, he is best known for his many short piano pieces. He often grouped these small pieces into collections.
But he also wrote many longer and more complex pieces. These are called chamber music. Chamber music is usually for a small group of instruments. His works include:
- Music for violin and cello (like sonatas).
- Pieces for piano with other instruments (like piano trios, quartets, and a quintet).
- Four string quartets, which are for four string instruments.
- A string octet, for eight string instruments.
He also wrote music for a full orchestra, like a symphony and a sinfonietta. He even composed two concertos, one for piano and one for violin. A concerto is a piece where one instrument plays a solo with an orchestra.
For singers, he wrote three operas, which are big musical plays. He also composed a mass and a requiem, which are types of religious music. Sadly, many of his major works were not published when he died. This meant people didn't know about them for a long time.
Rediscovering His Music
For many years, Henrique Oswald's music was not very popular in Brazil. This happened after a big art movement called "Semana de Arte Moderna" (Modern Art Week). But recently, people have started to love his music again!
In the late 1970s, a Brazilian musician named José Eduardo Martins worked hard to bring Oswald's music back. He published some of Oswald's pieces and recorded many of his important works. He even recorded Oswald's Piano Concerto in a special version for piano and five string instruments.
Another musician, Eduardo Monteiro, also helped. He wrote his university paper about Oswald. He recorded some of Oswald's music, including a piece for piano and orchestra. Outside of Brazil, Oswald's music is still not as well known. However, some of his piano works have been released on CDs by record labels like Marco Polo, Naxos, and Hyperion.
