Arturo Rodas
Encyclopedia
Biography
Rodas studied at the National Conservatory in Quito, took private composition lessons with Gerardo GuevaraGerardo Guevara
Gerardo Guevara, Ecuadorian composer born in Quito, 1930 is one of the key composers in Ecuador. His work combines native music with contemporary techniques.-Biography:Gerardo Guevara showed music ability at an early age...
, and also graduated in Law at the Universidad Central del Ecuador. Between 1978 and 1980 he was assistant to the French composer José Berghmans in Quito and Paris. He studied at the École Normale de Musique de Paris
École Normale de Musique de Paris
The École Normale de Musique de Paris is a leading conservatoire located in Paris, France. The school was founded by Auguste Mangeot and pianist Alfred Cortot in 1919...
from 1979-84. There he graduated in counterpoint (Ginette Keller
Ginette Keller
-Biography:Keller studied at the Conservatoire de Paris with Nadia Boulanger, Tony Aubin and Olivier Messiaen. In 1951 she won the Second Prix de Rome with her cantata Et l’Homme vit se rouvrir les portes...
's class) and composition with Yoshihisa Taira
Yoshihisa Taira
was a Japanese-born French composer.-Biography:"Taira studied at the Tokyo University of the Arts. He arrived in France in 1966 and studied at the Conservatoire de Paris...
as his mentor. In 1983 he attended a composition course with Luciano Berio
Luciano Berio
Luciano Berio, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI was an Italian composer. He is noted for his experimental work and also for his pioneering work in electronic music.-Biography:Berio was born at Oneglia Luciano Berio, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI (October 24, 1925 – May 27, 2003) was an Italian...
. He also studied electroacoustic music with Mesias Maiguashca
Mesías Maiguashca
Mesías Maiguashca , is an Ecuadorian composer, an advocate of the new music, especially electroacoustic music.-Biography:...
(CERM in Metz) and with Phil Wachsmann
Phil Wachsmann
Phil Wachsmann is an African avant-garde jazz/jazz fusion violinist born in Kampala, Uganda, probably better known for having founded his own group Chamberpot. He has worked with many musicians in the free jazz idiom, including Tony Oxley, Fred van Hove, Barry Guy, Derek Bailey and Paul...
in London. He has attended short courses at the IRCAM in Paris. While in París he also attended courses given in several institutions by Michèle Reverdy, Pierre Boulez
Pierre Boulez
Pierre Boulez is a French composer of contemporary classical music, a pianist, and a conductor.-Early years:Boulez was born in Montbrison, Loire, France. As a child he began piano lessons and demonstrated aptitude in both music and mathematics...
, Gerard Grisey
Gérard Grisey
Gérard Grisey was a French composer of contemporary music.-Biography:Gérard Grisey was born in Belfort, France on 17 June 1946. He studied at the Trossingen Conservatory in Germany from 1963 to 1965 before entering the Conservatoire de Paris...
, Guy Reibel
Guy Reibel
Guy Reibel is an electronic or acousmatic composer.Made his musical studies at the Conservatoire de Paris.Trained under Olivier Messiaen...
and Iannis Xenakis
Iannis Xenakis
Iannis Xenakis was a Romanian-born Greek ethnic, naturalized French composer, music theorist, and architect-engineer. He is commonly recognized as one of the most important post-war avant-garde composers...
.
He returned to Ecuador in 1984 where some of his orchestral works were performed by the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Alvaro Manzano. In Ecuador he became one of the three "notable composers of the following generations". The Banco Central del Ecuador issued a two-disk recording of Rodas works in 1988 as volume one of the series Compositores ecuatorianos contemporáneos. Included are Fibris, along with Arcaica, Clímax, Andino III, iOh. ...!, Mordente, Espacios Invertidos".
"Arturo Rodas championed a contemporary, universal musical style within his country. A number of his works from this period, such as his aleatoric orchestral piece Fibris (1986), were published in Opus, a music magazine that Rodas co-edited. Since emigrating to England in 1990, he has composed works such as The Book of the Orchestra (2002-2003) which is intended to be performed in a house with many rooms so as to allow an “audience” to hear different instrumental groups as they wander from room to room". He has travelled back to Ecuador for concert and teaching activities. He has also worked as a music critic, editor and concert organiser. Rodas's works are published by Periferia Music (Barcelona) and Virtualscore (Paris).
Patterns: personal vision of his sources (Andino I-Andino IV, Laúdico); sound-mass polyphony (Entropía, Arcaica); aleatorism (Fibris, Ramificaciones Temporales); formal research (Obsesiva, La, Melodías de Cámara); and unavoidably the meeting point of patterns ("24.5 Preludios for piano", the "Atonal Fugues" and the opera "El Árbol de los Pájaros"). In that work the plot stems from the interaction music - architecture.
Audio: Piece of Cake Suite in 4 movements, for piano & cd. Pianist: Francis Yang
Works
| Year | Work | Description | Information | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Entropía, for orchestra | orchestral | ||
| 1983 | Andino III, for flute | solo (flute) | ||
| 1984 | Arcaica, concerto for percussion & orchestra | orchestral | ||
| 1984 | Mordente, for clarinet quartet | instrumental | ||
| 1985 | Clímax, for orchestra | orchestral | ||
| 1985 | Espacios Invertidos, for percussion | solo (percussion) | ||
| 1985 | Ramificaciones Temporales, for clarinet & visual arts
|
solo (multimedia) | ||
| 1985 | Güilli Gu, for orchestra & visual arts
|
orchestral (multimedia) | ||
| 1986 | Fibris, for orchestra | orchestral | ||
| 1986 | ¡ Oh !, for trumpet | solo (trumpet) | ||
| 1987 | Melodías de Cámara, for chamber orchestra | orchestral (chamber) | ||
| 1987 | ¡ Oh !, for piano | solo (piano) | ||
| 1987 | Obstinado, for violoncelle | solo (violoncelle) | ||
| 1987 | Obsesiva, for narrator, electroacoustics & orchestra | orchestral (electroacoustic) | ||
| 1987 | Introitus, for choir & orchestra | orchestral (choral) | ||
| 1988 | Kyrie, for soloists, choir & orchestra | orchestral (choral) | ||
| 1988 | La, for choir & orchestra | orchestral (choral) | ||
| 1989 | A, B, C, D, for string quartet | instrumental | ||
| 1990 | Había una vez, for Chamber orchestra and choir | orchestral (choral) | ||
| 1991 | Andante, for saxophone piano & percussion | instrumental | ||
| 1992 | Obstinado II, for violoncelle | solo (violoncelle) | ||
| 1992 | Espacios invertidos II, for percussion | solo (percussion) | ||
| 1992 | Andino IV, for flute | solo (flute) | ||
| 1993 | Mordente II, for clarinet quartet | instrumental | ||
| 1996 | Lieder, for percussion | solo (percussion) | ||
| 1997 | Full Moon Business, for chamber orchestra | orchestral (chamber) | ||
| 1999 | 24.5 Preludes, for piano | solo (piano) | ||
| 2001 | Bailecito, for tape | electroacoustic | ||
| 2001 | Fermez les yeux svp, for tape | electroacoustic | ||
| 2001 | El llanto del disco duro, for tape | electroacoustic | ||
| 2002 | Buñuelos, for trumpet | solo (trumpet) | ||
| 2002 | Mandolínico, for mandoline | solo (mandoline) | ||
| 2002 | Laúdico, for lute | solo (lute) | ||
| 2002 | Laúdico, transcription for guitar | solo (guitar) | ||
| 2002 | Mandolínico, transcription for guitar | solo (guitar) | ||
| 2002 | Ta-i-a-o-a, for soprano | vocal | ||
| 2003 | El Árbol de los Pájaros, opera for the voice of the instruments | instrumental (multimedia) | 2h -  |
|
| 2003 | Il était une fois ..., for choir a cappella | vocal | ||
| 2003 | sol-fa-mi-ré-é-do-o-la-a, for choir a cappella | vocal | ||
| 2004 | Piece of Cake, for piano & tape | instrumental (electroacoustic) | ||
| 2004 | Fermez les yeux svp, for tape & film
|
electroacoustic (multimedia) | ||
| 2005 | Life Class 2005, 4 pieces dor for piano, tape & film
|
instrumental (multimedia) | ||
| 2005 | Organillo, for organ | solo (organ) | ||
| 2007 | The Walk, for pre-recorded soprano, tape & film
|
vocal (multimedia) | ||
| 2007 | Anónimo, for winds quartet | instrumental | ||
| 2007 | Reflejos en la Noche, for piano. | solo (piano) | ||
| 2007 | Papeleo sin fin, for contratenor | vocal | ||
| 2008 | Ricercare, for 3 percussions | instrumental | ||
| 2008 | Fuga Atonal I, for oboe d'amore & piano | instrumental (duo) | ||
| 2008 | Fuga Atonal I, transcription for oboe and piano. | instrumental (duo) | ||
| 2008 | Fuga Atonal II, for string quartet | instrumental |
Writings
- Rodas, Arturo. Análisis de la forma musical de Güilli Gu. Cultura magazine, Central Bank of Ecuador, vol IX no.26. Edited by Irving Iván Zapater, September/December 1986: pp 387-402.
- Rodas, Arturo. La hora de Mesías MaiguashcaMesías MaiguashcaMesías Maiguashca , is an Ecuadorian composer, an advocate of the new music, especially electroacoustic music.-Biography:...
, Opus Magazine No. 15, September 1987: pp 17-19. - Rodas, Arturo. Gerardo GuevaraGerardo GuevaraGerardo Guevara, Ecuadorian composer born in Quito, 1930 is one of the key composers in Ecuador. His work combines native music with contemporary techniques.-Biography:Gerardo Guevara showed music ability at an early age...
en la encrucijada musical, Opus Magazine No. 15, September 1987: pp 20-21. Re-printed from magazine Impulso 2000, November 1987. - Luis H. SalgadoLuis H. SalgadoLuis Humberto Salgado Ecuadorian composer regarded as one of the most influential and prolific of his country.-Biography:...
. Opus Magazine, No. 31 (monographic), edited by Arturo Rodas. Central Bank of Ecuador, January 1989.
Scholarships & awards
- 1980-84 French Government scholarship.
- 1983 International contest for orchestral composition Max Deutsch, Paris.
- 1983 Centre Acanthes scholarship to study with Luciano Berio in Aix-en-Provence, France.
- 1983-84 École Normale de Musique scholarship.
- 1989-90 Grant from the UNESCO to write music.
Discography
| Year | Work | Performers | G. Guevara Gerardo Guevara Gerardo Guevara, Ecuadorian composer born in Quito, 1930 is one of the key composers in Ecuador. His work combines native music with contemporary techniques.-Biography:Gerardo Guevara showed music ability at an early age... , D. Luzuriaga & M. Maiguashca Mesías Maiguashca Mesías Maiguashca , is an Ecuadorian composer, an advocate of the new music, especially electroacoustic music.-Biography:... | OSN conducted by Álvaro Manzano | Ifesa (LP 301-0293), Ecuador |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Arcaica, for percussion & orchestra | OSN conducted by Álvaro Manzano | Ifesa (LP-388-0408) |
| 1988 | Clímax, for orchestra | OSN conducted by Alvaro Manzano | Ifesa (LP-388-0408) |
| 1988 | Mordente, for clarinets quartet | Miguel Jimenez | Ifesa (LP 338-0409) |
| 1988 | Fibris, for orchestra | OSN conducted by Álvaro Manzano | Ifesa (LP-388-0408) |
| 1988 | Espacios Invertidos, for percussion | Pablo Valarezo, percussion | Ifesa (LP 338-0409) |
| 1988 | Andino III, for flute | Luciano Carrera, flute | Ifesa (LP 338-0409) |
| 1988 | ¡ Oh ... !, for piano | Christo Iliev, piano | Ifesa (LP 338-0409) |
| 2008 | Anónimo, for Flute, English horn, Clarinet & Violoncello. Other works by: M. Maiguashca Mesías Maiguashca Mesías Maiguashca , is an Ecuadorian composer, an advocate of the new music, especially electroacoustic music.-Biography:... , J. Campoverde, P. Freire, L. Enríquez, E. Flores-Abad & M. Estévez |
Ensemble SurPlus, Freiburg/Germany, conducted by James Avery | Sumak, CD. Edition: C.C.E.N. del Azuay ** and International Biennial of Painting, Cuenca |
| 2008 | Pan Comido (Piece of Cake), suite for piano & tape, (1st. y 2nd. movements) | Francis Yang, piano | Redasla, CD code 3447972495), Mexico |
Sources
- Béhague, Gerard. 2001. "Ecuador. Art Music". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley SadieStanley SadieStanley Sadie CBE was a leading British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians , which was published as the first edition of the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.Sadie was educated at St Paul's School,...
and John TyrrellJohn Tyrrell (professor of music)John Tyrrell was born in Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia in 1942. He studied at the universities of Cape Town, Oxford and Brno. In 2000 he was appointed Research Professor at Cardiff University....
. London: Macmillan Publishers; New York: Grove's Dictionaries of Music. - Campos, Jorge. 2008, note for Periferia Music, Barcelona.
- Enciclopedia de la música ecuatoriana. Corporación Musicológica Ecuatoriana (CONMUSICA). Edited by Pablo Guerrero Gutierrez. Quito, 2003.
- Walker, John L. 2001. "The Younger Generation of Ecuadorian Composers". Latin American Music Review 22, no. 2 (Fall/Winter): 199–213.
- Walker, John L. 2007. "Singing in a Foreign Land: National Identity and Proximity in Ecuadorian Music". Paper presented at the 2007 Congress of the Latin American Studies Association, Montréal, Canada, September 5-7.
Data & recordings
- Arturo Rodas composer's website
- Arturo Rodas Digi-Arts, Unesco
- Recordings of Rodas' works Reverbnation
Scores
- PERIFERIA Sheet Music Contemporary Publishing House, Barcelona.
- Virtualscore internet publishers, Paris