Guillermo Uribe Holguín (sometimes spelled Uribe-Holguín) (17 March 1880 – 26 June 1971) was a Colombian

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 ...

and

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

ist and one of the most important Colombian cultural figures of his generation. He composed prolifically in many genres and founded the National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia (previously the orchestra of the National Conservatory).

Biography

Uribe Holguín was born in

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...

. His father was Guillermo Uribe and his mother Mercédes Holguín. While studying at the School of Engineering, he simultaneously studied violin with Ricardo Figueroa, and composition with Santos Cifuentes and Augusto Azzali, at the National Academy of Music. He became dissatisfied with his progress, and sought out a private teacher, Narciso Garay. He completed his engineering studies. In 1903 he visited

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and for the first time he heard professional orchestras and opera. It was there that he started his series of 300 ''trozos'', based on folk melodies, written for various instruments. In 1905 he was appointed professor of violin and harmony at the Academia. There, in December 1905, he conducted his ''Victimae Paschali'' for solo voice, chorus and orchestra. He obtained a scholarship from the Colombian government to study in Paris. In 1907, at the

Schola Cantorum The Schola Cantorum de Paris ( being ) is a private conservatory in Paris. It was founded in 1894 by Charles Bordes, Alexandre Guilmant and Vincent d'Indy as a counterbalance to the Paris Conservatoire's emphasis on opera. History The Schol ...

, he commenced violin studies with Armand Parent, and composition with Vincent d'Indy, alongside fellow students

Erik Satie Eric Alfred Leslie Satie (born 17 May 18661 July 1925), better known as Erik Satie, was a French composer and pianist. The son of a French father and a British mother, he studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, Paris Conservatoire but was an undi ...

and Joaquín Turina. He later took violin lessons in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

with César Thomson and Émile Chaumont. In 1909, his Violin Sonata No. 1 was played at a concert of the Société Nationale de Musique in Paris, by Gabriel Vuillaume and Ricardo Viñes. As a result of his Parisian studies, there is a marked French influence in the works he wrote prior to 1930. In Paris, he met the pianist Lucía Gutiérrez. They married in 1910, and she was often soloist in his works. She died in 1925. In 1910 he returned to Colombia and became Director of the newly reorganized National Conservatory of Music in Bogotá. In 1932 the French government appointed him a Chevalier of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

. He resigned from the Conservatory in 1935 in order to dedicate himself to composition. In 1939 he was decorated with the "Medalla Cívica del General Santander". In 1941 he produced an autobiography. He was reappointed director in 1942, a position he held until 1947. His final composition was ''Doce canciones'', Op. 120, written in 1962. He died in Bogotá in 1971. Since 2005 there has been a revival of his music by Colombian guitarist Nilko Andreas Guarin, who has been editing and promoting Uribe's works worldwide. Guarin performed the premiere in New York of ''Pequena Suite'', Op. 80, No. 1, written for Andrés Segovia who never played it. He is working on a recording of never-performed music by Uribe Holguín including Violin Sonata, Piano Trio, one string quartet, songs, and guitar music. Uribe Holguín's pupils included Josefina Acosta de Barón.

Works

Opera and ballet

* ''Furatena'', music-drama, Op. 76 (1940; lyric tragedy in 3 acts and 4 scenes) * ''Tres ballets criollos'', Op. 78

Choral and vocal

* ''Victimae Paschali'' (solo voice, chorus and orchestra) * ''Requiem'', Op. 17 (soloists, chorus and orchestra; written in memory of his wife, who had died in 1925) * ''Marcha Triunfal'', Op. 18 (tenor and orchestra) * ''Himno'', Op. 42 (tenor, chorus and orchestra) * ''Improperia'', Op. 65 (barítone and orchestra) * Mass (children's ''à cappella'' choir and solo voices)

Orchestra

* 13 symphonies (including No. 2, ''Sinfonía del terruño'', Op. 15) * symphonic poem ''Bochica'', Op. 73 * ''Tres Danzas'' * ''Serenata'' * ''Carnavalesca'' * ''Marche funebre'' * ''Marche de fête'' * ''Suite típica'' * ''Ceremonia Indígena'' (Himno a Zúa y danza ritual)

Concertante

* 2 Violin Concertos (Opp. 64 and 79) * Concerto for viola and orchestra, Op. 109 (1962) * ''Concierto a la Manera Antigua'', for piano and orchestra * ''Villanesca'', for piano and orchestra

Chamber music

* 10 String Quartets * 2 Piano Trios * Piano Quartet * 2 Piano Quintets (Opp. 31 and 66) * 7 violin sonatas * Sonata for viola and piano, Op. 24 (1924) * 2 cello sonatas * Divertimento for flute, harp, horn and string quartet, Op. 89 * ''Pequeña suite'' (Little Suite) for violin, viola and flute, Op. 96 (1955)

Piano

* 300 ''Trozos en el sentimiento popular'' (based on folk dances) * many other piano pieces

Guitar

* Tres Bosquejos * Suite in Three Movements ''Pequeña Suite'', Op. 80 no 1(1946; written for Andrés Segovia), edited and premiered in the US by Colombian Classical Guitaris
Nilko Andreas Guarin
in New York City, 2005

Songs

* many songs, to words by

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...

Paul Verlaine Paul-Marie Verlaine ( ; ; 30 March 1844 – 8 January 1896) was a French poet associated with the Symbolism (movement), Symbolist movement and the Decadent movement. He is considered one of the greatest representatives of the ''fin de siècle'' ...

Charles Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poet, essayist, translator and art critic. His poems are described as exhibiting mastery of rhythm and rhyme, containing an exoticism inherited from the Romantics ...

Henri Barbusse Henri Barbusse (; 17 May 1873 – 30 August 1935) was a French novelist, short story writer, journalist, poet and political activist. He began his literary career in the 1890s as a Symbolist poet and continued as a neo-Naturalist novelist; i ...

, Paul Fort and others.

References

Sources

Classical Composers Database
* Grove’s Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed.
Don Michael Randel, The Harvard Biographical Dictionary of Music

(Spanish)

(Spanish; contains a biography and a list of his works). {{DEFAULTSORT:Uribe Holguin, Guillermo 1880 births 1971 deaths Schola Cantorum de Paris alumni Colombian composers Male classical violinists 20th-century classical composers Colombian violinists Colombian music educators Musicians from Bogotá Knights of the Legion of Honour Male classical composers 20th-century classical violinists 20th-century Colombian male musicians Uribe family Holguín family