Brasílio Itiberê da Cunha (1 August 1846 – 11 August 1913) was a Brazilian

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

, lawyer and diplomat. Itiberê was the sibling of poet and critic (literary and musical) and uncle of composer .

Biography

Brasílio Itiberê was born in the coastal city of

Paranaguá Paranaguá (Tupi language, Tupi, 'Great Round Sea') is a city in the state of Paraná (state), Paraná in Brazil. Founded in 1648, it is Paraná's oldest city. It is known for the Port of Paranaguá, which serves as both the sea link for Curitiba, ...

, the son of João Manuel (Itiberê?) da Cunha and Maria Munhoz Lourenço da Cunha. He attended primary school in his homeland and his musical initiation was at the piano, learning at his parents' home. Already renowned as a pianist in his youth he moved to São Paulo to attend the Faculty of Law at the Largo of São Francisco, performing several concerts in this city. After obtaining a BA in Law he joined the diplomatic service in the diplomatic corps serving in Italy, Peru, Belgium, Paraguay and Germany. Without leaving music aside, Brasílio maintained friendly relations with some of the greatest pianists of his time such as

Anton Rubinstein Anton Grigoryevich Rubinstein (; ) was a Russian pianist, composer and conductor who founded the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. He was the elder brother of Nikolai Rubinstein, who founded the Moscow Conservatory. As a pianist, Rubinstein ran ...

, Sgambati and

Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic period. With a diverse body of work spanning more than six decades, he is considered to be one of the most pro ...

. Considered to be one of the forerunners of Brazilian nationalistic music Itiberê drew early inspiration from popular motifs and his work and style are distinctly Brazilian. He composed chamber and choral music and works for piano solo. His rhapsody ''A Sertaneja'' was popularized by the famous song ''"Balaio, meu bem, Balaio."''. His best-known composition is undoubtedly "A Sertaneja", (1869). Itiberê was appointed ambassador to Portugal but died before assuming the role. He died in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

on August 11, 1913, aged 67. One of the many tributes to the author of "A Sertaneja" is in

Curitiba Curitiba () is the capital and largest city in the state of Paraná (state), Paraná in Southern Brazil. The city's population was 1,773,718 , making it the List of cities in Brazil by population, eighth most populous city in Brazil and the larg ...

, where the road ''Rua Brasílio Itiberê'' is named after him.

Recordings

* (1995) Arthur Moreira Lima interpreta Brazílio Itiberê (includes Opp. 15, 19, 22, 27, 32/3, 33, 41, ''A Serrana'' and

Gottschalk Gottschalk or Godescalc (Old High German) is a male German name that can be translated literally as "servant of God". Latin forms include ''Godeschalcus'' and ''Godescalcus''. Similarly, the Arabic equivalent of the name is Abdullah (عبد الل ...

's ''Triumphal Fantasy on Brazilian national hymn'') — Fundação cultural de Curitiba: Obras selecionadas * (2013-2018) Giséle Rizental interpreta Brasílio Itiberê da Cunha, Vol. 01, Vol. 02, Vol. 03 (Containing several pieces by the composer)

External links

Sources and references

* MARCONDES, Marcos Antônio. Enciclopédia Música Brasileira. São Paulo: Art Editora/Publifolha, 1998. * PIRES, Fernando. Grande Enciclopédia Universal - Magister. Ed. Amazonas, 1980. * MURICY, José Candido de A. Panorama do Conto Paranaense. Curitiba: Fundação Cultural de Curitiba, 1979. {{DEFAULTSORT:Itibere da Cunha, Brasilio 1846 births 1913 deaths Brazilian classical composers People from Paranaguá