Alfredo Napoleão dos Santos (31 January 1852,

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...

– 20 November 1917,

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

)Nancy Lee Harper.
Booklet notes
' to Hyperion CDA67984 was a Portuguese pianist and composer. He was the youngest of three Napoleão siblings, the others being Arthur Napoleão (1843–1925), and Aníbal Napoleão (1845–1880).

Biography

Their parents were Portuguese, Alexandre Napoleão (a musician himself) and Joaquina Maria dos Santos. The latter died, when Alfredo was only a year old. The father worked in London, and Alfredo spent his childhood with his maternal grandmother in

, his birthplace. In 1858 he was brought to London to study with a certain Professor Wood. These studies continued up to 1868, when he went to

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, like his two brothers. In 1869 he gave his debut recital in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, with great success. He made an extensive tour through the country and settled in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, and then in

Montevideo Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

, where he taught piano. In 1879 he was again in Rio de Janeiro and for some years toured the northern parts of Brazil. At that time he was at the height of his fame. Returning to Portugal in 1882, he gave concerts in

and Porto, then London and Paris. In 1889 he went to Brazil again and made a tour through the entire continent. In 1891 he returned to Porto. Alfredo Napoleão was a great interpreter of

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

and

Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

Compositions

Alfredo Napoleão's compositions include four piano concertos, a Polonaise for piano and orchestra, an ''Ouverture symphonique'' for large orchestra, chamber music, piano sonatas and many piano pieces.

List of works (selective)

;For piano *Op.1 - Estrella d'Alva, Polka brilhante *Op.2 - Fantaisie sur ''

Les bavards '' Les bavards'' (English: ''The Chatterboxes'') is an opéra bouffe, or operetta, by Jacques Offenbach, with a French libretto by Charles-Louis-Étienne Nuitter based on "Los dos habladores", a story by Miguel de Cervantes.Lamb A. Jacques Offenb ...

'' de J. Offenbach *Op.3 - Fantaisie de salon sur ''

Le pont des soupirs ''Le pont des soupirs '' ("The Bridge of Sighs") is an opéra bouffe (or operetta) set in Venice, by Jacques Offenbach, first performed in Paris in 1861. The French libretto was written by Hector Crémieux and Ludovic Halévy. Plays, including ...

'', opera bouffe de J. Offenbach *Op.12 - Grande fantaisie de concert sur le ''Carnaval de Venise'' *Op.29 - Reminiscences de ''

Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 December ...

'' de

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

, Grande fantaisie *Op.36 - Tableaux, Suite de petites piéces caractéristiques (Porto: Costa Mesquita, ca.1882) ::(Les Acrobates; Le Retour du Troubadour; Bonheur supréme; Danse Villageoise; Je t'en supplie; Marche des nobles) *Op.41 - Prelude and Fugue in F-sharp minor (London: Augener, ca.1888) *Op.54 - Trois romances (Un Soir de Printemps; Le Rêve; Exhaussée!) *Op.60 - Diva, Valse (Porto: Raymundo de Macedo, ca.1913) * ''Se sa minga'', opera de Carlos Gomes: Polka ;For piano and orchestra *Op.27 - Andante et Polonaise de concert *Op.31 - Piano Concerto No. 2 in E-flat minor

Discography

* (rec. 2013) Piano Concerto No. 2 –

Artur Pizarro Artur Pizarro (born Lisbon, 1968) is an internationally-acclaimed Portuguese concert pianist.Kennedy, Michael and Joyce Bourne. "Pizarro, Artur" ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music''. Oxford University Press: 1996. Designated with the presti ...

(piano),

BBC National Orchestra of Wales The BBC National Orchestra of Wales (BBC NOW) ( cy, Cerddorfa Genedlaethol Gymreig y BBC) is a Welsh symphony orchestra and one of the BBC's five professional radio orchestras. The BBC NOW is the only professional symphony orchestra organisatio ...

Martyn Brabbins Martyn Charles Brabbins (born 13 August 1959) is a British conductor. The fourth of five children in his family, he learned to play the euphonium, and then the trombone during his youth at Towcester Studio Brass Band. He later studied compositi ...

(conductor) – Hyperionbr>CDA67984

References

1852 births 1917 deaths Brazilian composers Musicians from Porto Brazilian pianists 19th-century Portuguese people 19th-century pianists {{Composer-stub