Henrique Oswald
(1852 - 1931)
Feuilles
d'album, Op. 20
Valse lente
Tres Pecas, Op.
23
Nocturne, Op.
6, No.1
Nocturne, Op.
6, No.2
Il Neige
Seis Pecas, Op.
14
One of the greater
names in Brazilian music of the nineteenth century, Henrique Oswald was born in
Rio de Janeiro in 1852, the son of a Swiss father and Italian mother, both
musicians. A year after his birth the family moved to Säo Paulo, where his father became involved in the music business, while his
mother won a reputation as a piano teacher. It was, in fact, through his mother
that Henrique Oswald had his first piano lessons, going on to study with
Gabriel Giraudon.
In 1868 Oswald
moved to Europe, where he studied the piano with Buonamici
and Henri Ketten and composition with Grazzini and Maglioni. He settled in Florence and became a European musician, assimilating fully
the culture of the continent from the age of sixteen.
Oswald's long stay
in Italy came about through the generosity of the
Emperor Pedro II, who had been present at a recital by the young pianist in
1871, during a visit to Florence, and granted him a substantial allowance
that continued for almost twenty years. Oswald married an Italian singer,
Laudamia Gasperini, known to both Liszt and Brahms, and became a teacher at the
Music Institute in Florence. He absorbed musical influences from France, Italy and Germany, showing in his compositions an elegant and refined style, especially
effective in his piano compositions. Proof of his ability in this field came
with his spectacular victory in the Composition Competition promoted in 1902 by
Le Figaro in Paris; his work Il neige, for piano, won
over no less than six hundred competitors, gaining the first prize on the
decision of a jury that included Saint-Saens, Faure and Diemer.
In 1903 Oswald
returned to Brazil, leaving his family in Europe, to take up the position in Rio de Janeiro of director of the National Institute of Music, the
present School of Music
of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, on the invitation of President
Rodrigues Alves. He retained this position for three years, but never succeeded
in overcoming the difficulties inherent in the functions of an administrator;
he felt himself alienated from the musical world and after three years
resigned. He then became a teacher, with Luciano Gallet, Fructuoso Vianna and
Lorenzo Fernandez among his pupils, dividing his time between Brazil and Europe until 1911, when he decided to settle
definitively with his family in Rio
de Janeiro. Here, from the
age of sixty, he spent the two final decades of his life, becoming professor at
the National Institute of Music and making his house an influential centre for
chamber music. He trained a generation of pianists and composers and became one
of the most influential figures in Brazilian musical life in the first part of
the present century.
Oswald's
compositions are extensive and varied, including three operas, orchestral
compositions, chamber music, songs and, in particular, music for solo piano.
They are distinguished by attention to detail and refinement, traits special to
this great musician.
The Feuilles
d'album, Opus 20, (Album Leaves) consist of four pieces. The first, Inquietude
is in romantic style, with a well defined melodic line that alternates
between right and left hand.
Chansonette is a graceful song, supported by the left
hand. Feux follets (Will-o'-the-Wisps) is lively, short and brilliant
and is followed by Desir ardent, which provides a brilliant conclusion.
As a great
romantic composer for the piano, Henrique Oswald wrote a number of waltzes. The
Valse Lente was published by Bevilacqua in 1910 and dedicated to his
friend Cardoso de Menezes. It is a work of delicate sensibility and pianistic
charm, perfectly written.
Sets of three
pieces are very frequent in Oswald's work. The Menuet that opens the Tres
Pecas, Op. 23, is written in simple style. The Romance and Waltz are
fluent, with all the romance of an original enough musical language. The pieces
were published by Bevilacqua.
The two Nocturnes
that form Opus 6 were issued by the Italian publisher Venturini. The
first, expressive, inspired and wel1 written, shows the French spirit that had
such strong influence on the composer, composed in the ternary structure
familiar from Chopin, with an expressive cantabile theme framing a virtuoso
central section of greater energy. The second is also intensely romantic with a
strong element of lyricism that makes considerable technical demands on the
performer.
Il neige was awarded first prize at the Composition
Competition sponsored by Le Figaro in Paris in 1902. A
relatively slight early work, through the quality of its inspiration and
through its workmanship, with its right-hand figuration, producing an air of
gentle calm.
The Seis Pecas,
Opus 14, are a high expression of romanticism admirable in their technique
and fine inspiration. The Berceuse claims attention for its polyphonic
writing. It is fol1owed by a Mazurka, a contrast in its dance rhythm, as
its name suggests. It is a slow dance with its principal theme, which appears
three times, framing livelier episodes in more brilliant rhythm. The Tarantella
is lively and rapid in a typical 6/8 dance rhythm, initiated by a group of
unison quavers that serve as an introduction to the dance proper. This develops
with considerable speed and bril1iance, in virtuoso style. The Barcarola that
forms the fourth piece returns to the mood of the Berceuse. In the first
part the left hand keeps the melody, with an accompaniment of arpeggiated
chords in the right hand. There is a second theme for the right hand in the
central section and this returns in the last three bars, forming a coda. The Noturno
is profoundly lyrical, with something of the romanticism present in the
work of Faure. The last of the pieces is a Scherzo, a brilliant and very
effective Presto.
Maria Ines Guimaraes
(English
translation by Keith Anderson)