Pedro Ipuche Riva


Pedro Ipuche Riva was an Uruguayan composer of classical music. According to the catalogue by the Uruguayan musicologist Elsa Sabatés in Músicos de aquí, Vol 4 he wrote 150 compositions, including 6 symphonies and 2 operas.

Life and career

Ipuche Riva was born in Montevideo, the son of Uruguayan poet Pedro Leandro Ipuche. His sister, Rolina Ipuche, was a writer. He began his musical studies with the composers Carlos Giucci and Vicente Ascone, but dissatisfied with his first compositions, he destroyed them all and became a lawyer.
When Carlos Estrada created the Conservatorio Nacional de Música, Ipuche Riva completed the course in composition. Some of his fellow students were the future conductors José Serebrier and Beatriz Lockhart. After receiving his diploma he went to Paris to study with Jean Rivier and Noël Gallon at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique.
On his return to Uruguay, he tried to be more experimental while working independently from the avant-garde mainstream of his time. He called this his "obscure period".
He was appointed to several official posts including Artistic Director of the Uruguayan national broadcasting service SODRE, and director of the Conservatory, which he re-founded as "Conservatorio Universitario de Música". He held those positions for many years. After attending a congress in Jamaica about the relationship between classical and popular music he started his "Classic pop period".
After retiring from his official posts, he began an "introspective period" and devoted himself mainly to composing two operas.

Personal life

Ipuche Riva was married to the soprano Natalia Zimarioff. His son Gabriel Ipuche is a composer and pianist.

Main works

Sarabanda, Recitativo y Allegro for oboe and pianoAire de octubre for soprano and pianoConcerto Grosso for strings orchestraFirst Simfonietta Sonata en re for viola and piano Suite Barroca for piano Cantata a Artigas for baritone, chorus and orchestraChemical products Kleine Suite for guitar published by TONOS, Darmstadt Pedro de Urdemalas, music for the last work staged by Margarita Xirgu Animales ilustres for wind quintetThe artist and his world, 3rd Symphony Classic pop 2 for orchestraPop Symphony, 4th Symphony Jazz Funeral, 5th SymphonyMateando for guitar, published by TONOS, Darmstadt Concerto for piano and orchestraConcerto for timpani and orchestraMaja Opera Opus Operatorum
  • ''Padrenuestro rioplatense año 2000''

Performers of Ipuche Riva's music