Joly Braga Santos

Joly Braga Santos Manuel José ( born May 14, 1924 in Lisbon, † July 18, 1988 ) was a Portuguese composer and conductor.

Life

Braga Santos studied violin and composition at the National Conservatory in Lisbon and became a disciple of Luís de Freitas Branco (1890-1955), the then leading Portuguese composer. Four symphonies composed in rapid succession (1947-1950) were performed successfully and made Braga Santos ' name internationally known. This was in part that the Portuguese conductor Pedro de Freitas Branco, brother of Luis de Freitas Branco, conductor and founder of the Portuguese Radio Symphony Orchestra Lisbon, began to concert tours in Europe in the work of Santos.

At the age of 29 years Braga Santos began conducting studies with Hermann Scherchen in Austria, and further composition studies in Italy Virgilio Mortari.

Joly Braga Santos later taught composition at the National Conservatory of Lisbon and also conducted the symphony orchestra in Porto. As a critic and journalist, he wrote for several Portuguese and foreign newspapers and magazines.

Joly Braga Santos was in 1977 because Espada won the Portuguese Ordem de Sant'Iago. He died in July 1988 of a stroke.

Work

Joly Braga Santos considered the most important Portuguese composer of the 20th century. According to his own words, he wanted "to respond to the dominant one in the previous generation trend that rejected the Monumentalism in Music", which he took, among others, six glossy orchestrated symphonies.

The first four symphonies are in late-Romantic tradition, but also show influences of Impressionism. Modal topics formations reminiscent at times of Respighi or Vaughan Williams. Models often catchy melody can also be found in the Italian Opera and the late romantic Russian symphonic music. From about 1960 took Braga Santos ' style increasingly influences contemporary movements and was significantly chromatic and dissonant. This also applies to the last two symphonies.

Braga Santos also wrote three operas, chamber music in various instrumental and choral works on texts of classical and contemporary Portuguese and Spanish poets such as Luís de Camões, Antero de Quental, Teixeira de Pascoaes, Fernando Pessoa, Garcilaso de la Vega, Antonio Machado and Rosalía de Castro.

Others

2004 Cannes Classical Award in the recording of the Symphony No. 4 of Joly Braga Santos with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland under Álvaro Cassutto ( released on the Naxos label / Marco Polo) in the category CD premiere.

Chronology of major works

• Composer ( Portugal)
• Composer of classical music ( 20th century)
• Conductor
• Person ( Lisbon )
• Music critic
• Journalist (Portugal )
• Of the Order of St. James of the Sword ( Commendatore )
• Portuguese
• Born in 1924
• Died in 1988
• Man