Silvestre Revueltas


Silvestre Revueltas Sánchez was a Mexican classical music composer, a violinist, and conductor.

Life

Revueltas was born in Santiago Papasquiaro in Durango, and studied at the National Conservatory in Mexico City, St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas, and the Chicago College of Music. He gave violin recitals and in 1929 was invited by Carlos Chávez to become assistant conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico, a post he held until 1935. He and Chávez did much to promote contemporary Mexican music. It was around this time that Revueltas began to compose in earnest. He began his first film score, Redes, in 1934, a commission which resulted in Revueltas and Chávez falling out. Chávez had originally expected to write the score, but political changes led to him losing his job in the Ministry of Education, which was behind the film project. Revueltas left Chávez's orchestra in 1935 to be the principal conductor of a newly created and short-lived rival orchestra, the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional.
He was a member of the Revueltas Sánchez family, a number of whom were also famous and recognized in Mexico: his brother Fermín and sister Consuelo were painters, sister Rosaura was an actress and dancer, and younger brother José Revueltas was a noted writer. His nephew Román Revueltas Retes, son of José, is a violinist and conductor.
In 1937 Revueltas went to Spain during the Spanish Civil War, as part of a tour organized by the leftist organization Liga de Escritores y Artistas Revolucionarios ; upon Francisco Franco's victory, he returned to Mexico. He earned little, and fell into poverty and alcoholism. He died in Mexico City of pneumonia, at the age of 40 on October 5, 1940, the day his ballet El renacuajo paseador, written four years earlier, was premiered. In 1976, his remains were transferred to the Rotonda de los Hombres Ilustres in Mexico City.

Works

Revueltas wrote film music, chamber music, songs, and a number of other works. His best-known work is the 1960 arrangement by drawn from Revueltas' film score for the 1939 film La noche de los mayas, although some dissenting opinions hold that the orchestral work Sensemayá is better known. In any case, it is Sensemayá that is considered Revueltas's masterpiece.
He appeared briefly as a bar piano player in the movie ¡Vámonos con Pancho Villa!, for which he composed the music. When shooting breaks out in the bar while he is playing "La Cucaracha", he holds up a sign reading "Se suplica no tirarle al pianista".

Music

Chamber works

Orchestral works

Ballets

  • El renacuajo paseador, 1936
  • La coronela, 1939

Film scores

Songs

  • Duo para pato y canario, voice and chamber orchestra, 1931
  • "Ranas" and "El tecolote", voice and piano, 1931
  • Caminando, 1937
  • "Canto a una muchacha negra", voice and piano 1938
  • Cinco canciones para niños y dos canciones profanas, 1938–1939

Piano

  • Adagio
  • Tragedia en forma de rábano
  • Allegro
  • ''Canción''