Francisco Paulo Mignone (September 3, 1897,

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

– February 19, 1986,

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

) was one of the most significant figures in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ian

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical m ...

, and one of the most significant Brazilian composers after

Heitor Villa-Lobos Heitor Villa-Lobos (March 5, 1887November 17, 1959) was a Brazilian composer, conductor, cellist, and classical guitarist described as "the single most significant creative figure in 20th-century Brazilian art music". Villa-Lobos has become the ...

. In 1968 he was chosen as Brazilian composer of the year. Mignone rege OSN

Life and career

A graduate of the São Paulo Conservatory and then of the

Milan Conservatory The Milan Conservatory (''Conservatorio di Milano'') is a college of music in Milan, Italy. History The conservatory was established by a royal decree of 1807 in Milan, capital of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy. It opened the following year ...

, Mignone returned to

in 1929 to teach harmony, and in 1933 took a post in

at the Escola Nacional de Música. Mignone was a versatile composer, dividing his output nearly evenly between solo songs, piano pieces, chamber instrumental works, orchestral works, and choral works. In addition, he wrote five

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libre ...

s and eight

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

s. Son of the Italian immigrant flutist Alferio Mignone, Francisco was already making his mark upon the musical world of Brazil by the time he was 10 years old, gaining notoriety around his district playing in the

choro ''Choro'' (, "cry" or "lament"), also popularly called ''chorinho'' ("little cry" or "little lament"), is an instrumental Brazilian popular music genre which originated in 19th century Rio de Janeiro. Despite its name, the music often has a ...

style. A pianist and orchestra leader at 13, he had gained some fame composing and playing under the pseudonym of ''Chico Bororó'', keeping these activities separate from his formal music training. His works may be divided into three compositional periods. His early works show the Italian influences and Romantic sensibilities of his training in Milan. An orchestral piece from his first opera of this early period was premiered in

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard W ...

conducting the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, in 1923. Much of Mignone's music is strongly

nationalistic Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

in flavor; influenced by the nationalistic movement of his former schoolmate and teacher, the

musicologist Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some ...

and writer

Mário de Andrade Mário Raul de Morais Andrade (October 9, 1893 – February 25, 1945) was a Brazilian poet, novelist, musicologist, art historian and critic, and photographer. He wrote one of the first and most influential collections of modern Brazilian poetr ...

, Mignone uses the folk and popular melodies and forms of his native Brazil as a basis for his compositions. (Andrade reportedly said, "In Italian music, Mignone will be one more among a rich and numerous school, to which he does not add anything. Here, he will be of indispensable value.") From 1929 until 1960 his work was most strongly characterized by this nationalism, during which he composed such pieces as the ''Fantasias Brasileiras'' and his ballets ''Maracatu do Chico Rei'' and ''Leilão''. His solo vocal and piano works of this time earned him particular acclaim for their expression of Brazilian musical styles, such as the

, the

modinha Modinha is the affectionate (grammatically called 'diminutive') form of the Portuguese noun "moda", meaning "fashion". The word "moda" is also used in Portugal, today, generally referring to traditional regional songs. In Portugal, "modinha" was, f ...

, and the ''valsas'' (waltzes) reminiscent of strolling serenaders. Mignone's music is noted for its lyricism, colorful instrumentation, and improvisatory style. Most of his early works are tonal, as is typical of the popular and folk music, though later in his career he branched out into polytonal, atonal, and serial writing. In the late 1950s Mignone drifted away from the nationalistic music and toward the then-current trends in academic concert music, composing works such as his 1958 Piano Concerto, which showcase his skillful instrumentation and bravura writing. Mignone was capable of writing in a variety of styles and his works of the early 1960s and beyond are noted for their eclecticism; it is difficult to find any other unifying feature. However, he returned to nationalistic writing toward his last few years. Mignone was married with Liddy Chiafarelli Mignone who died in a plane crash in 1962 and after that married with Maria Josephina Mignone with whom he frequently played duets. Mignone died in Rio de Janeiro, age 88. His wife remains an interpreter of his music to this day.

Notable works

*''O contratador de diamantes'', opera, 1921 *''Congada'' (from ''O contratador''), orchestra, 1921 *''L'innocente'', opera, 1928 *''Seis líricas'', vocal, 1932 *''Maracatu do Chico Rei'', ballet, 1933 *''Variações sobre um tema brasileiro'', cello and orchestra, 1935 *''Fantasias brasileiras'' nos.1–4, piano and orchestra, 1929-1936 *''Babaloxá'', orchestra, 1936 *''Mizú'', operetta, 1937 *''Quatro líricas'', vocal, 1938 *''Festa das igrejas'', orchestra, 1940 *''Leilão'', ballet, 1941 *''O espantalho'', ballet, 1941 *''Iara'', ballet, 1942 *''Pousa a mão na minha testa'', vocal, 1942 *''Valsas de esquina'' nos.1–12, piano, 1938–43 *''O guarda chuva'', ballet, 1953 *''Valsas choros'' 1–12, piano, 1946–55 *''Piano Concerto'', 1958 *''Tres Valsas Brasileiras'' (1968) Viola e Piano *''Sugestões sinfônicas'', tone poem-ballet, 1969 *''Doze Estudos'', guitar, 1970 *''12 Valsas para Violão '', guitar, 1970 *''Variações em busca de um tema'', orchestra, 1972 *''O chalaça'', opera, 1973 *''O sargento de milícias'', opera, 1978 *''Quincas Berro d'Agua'', ballet, 1979 *''Valsa brasileira'' nos.4–12, piano, 1979 *''O Caçador de esmeraldas'', ballet, 1980 *''16 valsas para fagote solo'', bassoon, 1982

Recordings

*''Francisco Mignone: 12 Studies for Guitar'' (Da Vinci C00614), played by Cyro Delvizio

References

Gerard Béhague Gerard Henri Béhague (November 2, 1937 – June 13, 2005) was an eminent Franco-American ethnomusicologist and professor of Latin American music. His specialty was the music of Brazil and the Andean countries and the influence of West Africa on ...

: "Francisco Mignone". Grove Music Online, accessed 28 Feb 05. *''The Solo Piano Music of Francisco Mignone and Camargo Guarnieri'' by Marion Verhaalen (1974)

External links

About Francisco Mignone (with MIDI scores)''Fantasia Brasileira no. 4''
performed by Alexandra Mascolo-David and the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra on

WGBH WGBH may refer to: * WGBH Educational Foundation The WGBH Educational Foundation (also known as GBH since August 2020) is an American public broadcasting group based in Boston, Massachusetts. Established in 1951, it holds the licenses to all of ...

Amy Suzanne Gillick, "Experimentation and Nationalism in Francisco Mignone's Works for Bassoon : a Performance Guide to the IInd Wind Quintet and Concertino". Dissertation, UCLA, 2008.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mignone, Francisco 1897 births 1986 deaths Brazilian classical composers Brazilian male composers 20th-century classical composers Brazilian opera composers Brazilian people of Italian descent Milan Conservatory alumni Musicians from São Paulo Male classical composers 20th-century Brazilian musicians 20th-century male musicians