José Antônio Rezende de Almeida Prado

José Antônio Rezende de Almeida Prado or Almeida Prado (February 8, 1943 – November 21, 2010) was an important Brazilian composer of classical music and a pianist.^[1] On Almeida Prado's death, his personal friend, conductor João Carlos Martins stated that Prado had possibly been the most important Brazilian composer ever.^[1]

Prado wrote over 400 compositions and won various prizes for his work.^[1]

He was born in Santos, São Paulo in 1943. He died in São Paulo in 2010, having lived there for the latter part of his life.

Training edit

In Brazil, Almeida Prado studied with Dinorá de Carvalho (piano), Osvaldo Lacerda (harmony) and Camargo Guarnieri (composition).

Upon winning first prize for his cantata Pequenos Funerais Cantantes, based on a text by Hilda Hilst, at the I Festival de Música da Guanabara in 1969, he continued his studies in Europe. He studied with Olivier Messiaen and Nadia Boulanger in Paris from 1970 to 1973, besides brief studies with György Ligeti and Lukas Foss in Darmstadt.

Professional activities edit

Returning to Brazil in 1974, Almeida Prado first taught at the Conservatório Municipal de Cubatão, and then, hired by Zeferino Vaz, he became a professor at the UNICAMP Institute of the Arts, retiring in 2000. After his retirement he settled in São Paulo, where he occasionally taught music courses and presented a radio program at Cultura FM.

In January 2007, his cantata Hiléia, Um Mural da Amazônia, based on the poem of the same name by Ives Gandra Martins, was performed at Carnegie Hall by the Orquestra Bachiana Filarmônica de São Paulo conducted by João Carlos Martins.

Selected works edit

Orchestral

Sinfonia no. 1 (1970)
Abertura Cidade de Campinas (1976)
Sinfonia Unicamp (1976)
Abertura Cidade de São Paulo (1981)
Sinfonia dos Orixás (1985)
Arcos Sonoros da Catedral de Bruckner (1996)
Symphonic Variations (2005)

Concertante

Variações sobre um tema do Rio Grande do Norte (1963) for piano and orchestra
Ceremonial (1971) for bassoon and orchestra
Exoflora (1974) for piano and orchestra
Aurora (1975) for piano and orchestra
Concerto for violin and string orchestra (1976)
Crônica de um dia de verão (1979), for clarinet and string orchestra
Concerto for flute and string orchestra (1981)
Piano Concerto no. 1 (1983)
Variações concertantes para marimba, vibrafone e cordas (1984)
Concerto Fribourgeois for piano e string orchestra (1985)
Fantasia (1997) for violin and orchestra
Psalm 148 (1997) for piano and concert band
Cartas Celestes VII (1998) for 2 pianos and concert band
Cartas Celestes VIII (1999) for violin and orchestra
Concerto for oboe and string orchestra (2001)

Chamber music

Cantus Mobiles (1966) for violin and piano
Portrait de Lili Boulanger (1972) for flute, piano and string quartet
Livro Sonoro (1973) for string quartet
Ex Itinere (1974) for piano and string trio
Continuous movement (1976) for string quartet
Macaíra: a pescaria fantástica (1977), for harpsichord and 2 pianos (or 4-hand piano)
Paná-Paná I (1977) for flute, oboe and piano
String Quartet no. 1 (1978)
Paná-Paná II (1981) for clarinet, cello and piano
Violin Sonata no. 1 (1980)
Viola Sonata (1983)
Trio marítimo (1983) for violin, cello e piano
Violin Sonata no. 2 (1984)
Xangô (1984–85) for violin and cello
Réquiem para a paz (1985) for viola and piano
Sonata for flute and piano (1986)
Violin Sonata no. 3 (1991)
Sonata Tropical (1996) for 2 guitars
4 Corais (1998) for double bass and piano
Sonata for trombone and piano (1998)
Cartas Celestes XI (2000) for vibraphone, marimba and piano
Sonata for cello and piano (2003)
Violin Sonata no. 4 (2007)

Piano

14 Estudos (1962-2003)
55 Momentos (1965–83)
11 Piano Sonatas (1965-2001)
Ilhas (1973)
Cartas celestes I (1974)
Rios (1976)
Itinerário idílico e amoroso ou Livro de Helenice (1976)
Cartas celestes II-VI (1981–82)
Savanas (1983)
16 Poesilúdios (1983-1985)
24 Corais (1984-1999)
12 Sonetos (1984-1999)
14 Noturnos (1985-1991)
Halley (1986)
Rosário de Medjugorje (1987-2002)
9 Louvores Sonoros (1988)
Três Croquis de Israel (1989)
25 Prelúdios (1989-1992)
Quinze Flashes de Jerusalém (1990)
5 Líricas (1994-2007)
Cartas celestes IX-XIV (1999-2001)
Cartas celestes XV-XVIII (2009-2010)

Choral

Ritual para a Sexta-feira Santa para coro e orquestra (1966)
Paixão de Nosso Senhor Jesus Cristo segundo São Marcos (1967)
Pequenos funerais cantantes para coro, solistas, orquestra (1969)
Carta de Patmo para coro, solista e orquestra (1971)
Thèrèse ou l’Amour de Dieu para coro e orquestra (1986)
Cantata Bárbara Heliodora para solistas, coro misto e orquestra de câmara (1987)
Cantata Adonay Roi Loeçar para solistas, coro e orquestra de câmara (1989)

Publications edit

Prado, José Antônio R. De Almeida, Cartas Celestes: uma uranografia sonora geradora de novos processos composicionais. Campinas: Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Artes, Departamento de Música: 1986. Tese (Doutorado).

Notes edit

^ ^a ^b ^c "Compositor e pianista Almeida Prado morre aos 67 anos". Folha (in Portuguese). São Paulo. 21 November 2010. Retrieved 26 November 2010.

References edit

Translated from part of the Portuguese article

External links edit

Biography (in Portuguese)
Scores by Almeida Prado at the Portal Musica Brasilis
Interview with Matheus G. Bitondi (in Portuguese)
Radio broadcast in homage to Almeida Prado: Antonio Menenses; Eduardo Monteiro; Orquestra Acadêmica: Roberto Minczuk

[folha-obit-1] "Compositor e pianista Almeida Prado morre aos 67 anos". Folha (in Portuguese). São Paulo. 21 November 2010. Retrieved 26 November 2010.

[1]