Arthur Napoleão dos Santos
Arthur Napoleão dos Santos (March 6, 1843 Porto, Portugal - May 12, 1925 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) was a Brazilian composer, pianist, instrument dealer and music publisher.
Biography
He was born in Portugal and gave his first piano concert at the age of 7. Thereafter he toured all over Europe and America, sometimes playing duets with Henri Vieuxtemps or Henryk Wieniawski. It age 15, he performed in New York and critic Richard Storrs Willis attended "out of curiosity to see the sort of child that tickles Europe". Willis was impressed and noted him as "an extraordinary performer... His touch is exquisitely full of tenderness; his precision almost unerring; his power more than respectable, and his rounding of musical thought perfectly delightful."[1]
In 1866 he settled in Brazil, living in Rio de Janeiro. Here he set up shop to sell instruments and publish sheet music. He taught piano lessons, one of his pupils was Chiquinha Gonzaga and composed, almost exclusively piano pieces. He is the Patron of Chair 18 of the Brazilian Academy of Music.
Works
Orchestra music
- Camões (for orchestra and band)
- L’Africaine (for piano e orchestra)
- Acre state anthem
- Espírito Santo state anthem
Piano pieces
- A Brasileira
- A Caprichosa
- Elvira
- A Fluminense
- Uma primeira impressão do Brasil
- Soirée de Rio
- Soirées intimes
- Teus olhos
References
- ^ Lawrence, Vera Brodsky. Strong on Music: The New York Music Scene in the Days of George Templeton Strong. The University of Chicago Press, 1999. vol. III, p. 214. ISBN 0-226-4705-6
External links
- Academia Brasileira de Música at www.abmusica.org.br Short biography in Portuguese