Pedro de Freitas Branco (1896 – 1963) was a Portuguese conductor and composer.

Life and career

Branco was born in Lisbon, and studied music with Tomás Vaz de Borba and

Luís de Freitas Branco Luís Maria da Costa de Freitas Branco (12 October 1890 – 27 November 1955) was a Portuguese composer, musicologist, and professor of music who played a pre-eminent part in the development of Portuguese music in the first half of the 20th centur ...

(his elder brother). He founded the Portuguese Opera Company in 1926, and conducted the state symphony orchestra from 1934. Branco made his Paris debut in 1932 in a concert of Maurice Ravel's music at the

Salle Pleyel The Salle Pleyel (, meaning "Pleyel Hall") is a concert hall in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France, designed by acoustician Gustave Lyon together with architect Jacques Marcel Auburtin, who died in 1926, and the work was completed in 1927 by ...

conducting ''

Daphnis et Chloé ''Daphnis et Chloé'' is a 1912 ''symphonie chorégraphique'', or choreographic symphony, for orchestra and wordless chorus by Maurice Ravel. It is in three main sections, or ''parties'', and a dozen scenes, most of them dances, and lasts just u ...

'', ''

Pavane pour une infante defunte The ''pavane'' ( ; it, pavana, ''padovana''; german: Paduana) is a slow processional dance common in Europe during the 16th century (Renaissance). The pavane, the earliest-known music for which was published in Venice by Ottaviano Petrucci, ...

'', ''

Rapsodie espagnole ''Rapsodie espagnole'' is an orchestral rhapsody written by Maurice Ravel. Composed between 1907 and 1908, the ''Rapsodie'' is one of Ravel's first major works for orchestra. It was first performed in Paris in 1908 and quickly entered the intern ...

'', '' La valse'' and '' Boléro''. At the same concert Ravel conducted the premiere of his G major Piano Concerto. He was not a good conductor, and when the concerto was recorded soon after the premiere, his name appeared as conductor on the label of the disc and in advertisements, but in fact Branco conducted the orchestra under Ravel's supervision at the recording sessions. By the 1940s Branco was regarded as the leading conductor in Lisbon."Music in the Peninsula", ''The Times'', 9 January 1942, p. 6 In 1943 he conducted at the

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...

. He guest conducted in several other European countries including France, Germany, Spain and Britain.Kennedy, Michael, and Joyce Bourne Kenned
"Freitas Branco, Pedro de"
''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music'', Oxford University Press, 2007. Retrieved 20 June 2020 The singer

Astra Desmond Astra Desmond (10 April 1893 – 16 August 1973) was a British contralto of the early and middle twentieth century. Biography Early years Astra Desmond was born Gwendoline Mary Thomson (she would later modify the spelling of her first nam ...

praised Branco for "his magnificent musicianship, his immersion in the spirit and style of whatever composer he is playing, his boundless enthusiasm and complete selflessness". ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'' observed that he was at his finest in "music of great textual brilliance, notably in the work of Berlioz, Stravinsky and Richard Strauss. Branco died in Lisbon in 1963, aged 66."Obituary", ''The Times'', 26 March 1963, p. 14

Recordings

Recordings conducted by Branco include: *

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 classic ...

–

Violin Concerto A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin (occasionally, two or more violins) and instrumental ensemble (customarily orchestra). Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up thro ...

(

David Oistrakh David Fyodorovich Oistrakh (; – 24 October 1974), was a Soviet classical violinist, violist and conductor. Oistrakh collaborated with major orchestras and musicians from many parts of the world and was the dedicatee of numerous violin ...

, soloist) * Falla – ''

El amor brujo ''El amor brujo'' (, "The sorcerer love") is a ballet by Manuel de Falla to a libretto by María de la O Lejárraga García, although for years it was attributed to her husband Gregorio Martínez Sierra. It exists in three versions as well as a p ...

'' *Falla – '' El retablo de maese Pedro'' *Falla – '' El sombrero de tres picos'', Suite no. 2 *

Hindemith Paul Hindemith (; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advocate of the ' ...

– Overture ''

Neues vom Tage ''Neues vom Tage'' (English: ''News of the Day'') is a comic opera (''Lustige Oper'') in three parts by Paul Hindemith, with a German libretto by Marcellus Schiffer. The opera is a satire of modern life, celebrity and marriage, involving parodie ...

'' *

Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...

– '' Alborada del gracioso'' *Ravel – '' Boléro'' *Ravel – '' La valse'' *Ravel – ''

'' *Ravel –

Piano Concerto in G major Maurice Ravel's Piano Concerto in G major, was composed between 1929 and 1931. The concerto is in three movements, with a total playing time of a little over 20 minutes. Ravel said that in this piece he was not aiming to be profound but to enterta ...

(

Marguerite Long Marguerite Marie-Charlotte Long (13 November 1874 – 13 February 1966) was a French pianist, pedagogue, lecturer, and an ambassador of French music. Life Early life: 1874–1900 Marguerite Long was born to Pierre Long and Anne Marie Antoin ...

, soloist) *Ravel – '' Valses nobles et sentimentales'' * Roussel – Suite in F *

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 ...

– Symphony No 2 * Stravinsky – ''

The Rite of Spring , image = Roerich Rite of Spring.jpg , image_size = 350px , caption = Concept design for act 1, part of Nicholas Roerich's designs for Diaghilev's 1913 production of ' , composer = Igor Stravinsky , based_on ...

'' *

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

–

(David Oistrakh, soloist)'' *

Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams, (; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...

– Symphony No. 9 * Weber – Overture ''

Der Freischütz ' ( J. 277, Op. 77 ''The Marksman'' or ''The Freeshooter'') is a German opera with spoken dialogue in three acts by Carl Maria von Weber with a libretto by Friedrich Kind, based on a story by Johann August Apel and Friedrich Laun from their 18 ...

'' ::Source:

WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the O ...

."Pedro de Freitas Branco"
WorldCat. Retrieved 20 June 2020

References and sources

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Freitas Branco, Pedro de 1896 births 1963 deaths 20th-century conductors (music) 20th-century Portuguese musicians 20th-century Portuguese male musicians Musicians from Lisbon Portuguese conductors (music) Male conductors (music) 20th-century male musicians Portuguese classical composers 20th-century classical composers