Maestro Maestro (; from the Italian '' maestro'' , meaning " master" or "teacher," plural: maestros or maestri) is an honorific title of respect, sometimes abbreviated Mo. The term is most commonly used in the context of Western classical music and oper ...

António Fortunato de Figueiredo ComSE (20 August 1903 – 1981) was a

Goan Goans ( Romi Konkani: , ) is the demonym used to describe the people native to Goa, India, formerly part of Portuguese India (''Estado Português da Índia''). They form an ethno-linguistic group resulting from the assimilation of Indo-Aryan, ...

conductor and violinist. He was India's first conductor of

western classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

Early life and education

António Fortunato de Figueiredo was born in Nacordá-

Loutolim Loutolim or Loutulim (Konkani: ''Lottli'' pronounced:, Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Loutulim'') is a large village of South Goa district in the state of Goa, India. It is in the Salcete Talukas of Goa, sub-district. History Accordi ...

, in

Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...

(

Portuguese India The State of India, also known as the Portuguese State of India or Portuguese India, was a state of the Portuguese Empire founded seven years after the discovery of the sea route to the Indian subcontinent by Vasco da Gama, a subject of the ...

), the son of

Goan Catholic Goan Catholics () are an ethno-religious community adhering to the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church from the Goa state, in the southern part of the Konkan region along the west coast of India. They are Konkani people and speak the Konkani l ...

parents Gabriel de Figueiredo and Ermelinda Parras e Figueiredo. He learnt the first rudiments of music at a primary school under a local teacher. Whilst studying at the

lyceum The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies among countries; usually it is a type of secondary school. Basic science and some introduction to ...

Panjim Panaji (; , , )also known as Panjim, is the capital of the Indian state of Goa and the headquarters of North Goa district. Previously, it was the territorial capital of the former Portuguese India. It lies on the banks of the Mandovi river est ...

, he learnt the violin and soon became an accomplished player. He went to Portugal in 1927 to pursue an arts degree at the

University of Lisbon The University of Lisbon (ULisboa; ) is a public university, public research university in Lisbon, and Portugal's largest university. It was founded in 1911, but the university's present structure dates to the 2013 merger of the former Universit ...

, but transferred to the National Conservatory of Lisbon (), graduating with a higher education degree in violin in 1932. He then proceeded to Paris to study at the Faculty of Music and Musicology of the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

Career

On his return to

in 1936, António was appointed the choir-master at the

. He organised and directed choral groups () and string ensembles () which staged many performances in

and Panjim, most of them in aid of charity foundations. Soon after founding the Goa Symphony Orchestra, Figueiredo convinced the

Portuguese government Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

to found the Music Academy of Portuguese India (), modelled on the lines of the National Conservatory of Lisbon. Figueiredo gave a number of lectures on music and history of music which were broadcast by Goa's Portuguese Radio and later by the

All India Radio All India Radio (AIR), also known as Akashvani (), is India's state-owned public broadcasting, public radio broadcaster. Founded in 1936, it operates under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broa ...

, Panjim under their Portuguese programme ''Renascença'' (), at the Institute Menezes Braganza, and Clube Nacional.

Honours

Figueiredo was made Knight of the Order of St. James of the Sword in 1961. He also received accolades from the Institute Menezes Braganza and the

Rotary Club Rotary International is one of the largest Service club, service organizations in the world. The self-declared mission of Rotary, as stated on its website, is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, go ...

External links

Biography (in Portuguese)An article by Fernando do Rego (in Portuguese)
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070818043440/http://www.goacom.com/casa-de-goa/boletimJulAgo2003.html Sessão de homenagem ao Maestro António de Figueiredo (in Portuguese)br>An article by Ben Antão
{{DEFAULTSORT:Figueiredo, Antonio Fortunato 1903 births 1981 deaths University of Paris alumni People from South Goa district Goan music Musicians from Goa Expatriates from Portuguese India in France