| Contents |
Background. Introduction: Early twentieth-century art music culture in Caracas, the significance of Plaza and his colleagues -- A portrait of Plaza: the man, the musician, the composer -- Plaza's life and works. Beginnings, first compositions, vocational indecision, first writings on music (1898-1920) -- Rome, plans for musical renewal in Venezuela (1920-1923) -- Paid to compose: the chapel mastership (1923-1948) -- The educator, part 1 (1923-1928) -- The early secular and nationalist compositions (1924-1929) -- The nascent journalist (1925-1928) -- The founding of the Orfeón Lamas, and Plaza's creative response (1927-1963) -- Plaza and the Orquesta Sinfónica Venezuela (1930-1957) -- The mature journalist, writings on nationalism in music (1929-1948) -- The principal nationalist compositions with instruments (1930-1956) -- The educator, part 2 (1930-1941) -- The musicological pioneer (1936-1964) -- Plaza as the subject of reportage -- The later non-nationalist compositions (1930s-1963) -- The educator, part 3 (1942-1962) -- Retirement: final thoughts on education and culture (1962-1964) -- Plaza in retrospect. |
| Abstract |
Juan Bautista Plaza (1898-1965) was one of the most important musicians in the history of Venezuela. In addition to composing in a variety of genres and styles, he was the leading figure in Venezuelan music education and musicology at a time when his compatriots were seeking to solidify their cultural identity. Plaza's compositions in the emerging nationalist style and his efforts to improve musical institutions in his home country parallel the work of contemporaneous Latin American musicians including Carlos Chavez of Mexico, Amadeo Roldan of Cuba, and Camargo Guarnieri of Brazil. Plaza's life and music are little studied, and this ambitious book is the first in English to be based on his extensive writings and compositions. As these and other documents show, Plaza filled numerous roles in Venezuela's musical infrastructure including researcher, performer, teacher, composer, promoter, critic, chapel master, and director of national culture. This book examines Plaza's many roles in an attempt to assess how the nationalist spirit affected art music culture in Venezuela, and what changes it brought to Venezuela's musical landscape. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references (pages 297-314) and index. |
| LCCN | 2006100262 |
| ISBN | 9780253348760 (cloth : alk. paper) |
| ISBN | 0253348765 (cloth : alk. paper) |
