Guillermo Uribe Holguín (sometimes spelled Uribe-Holguín) (17 March 1880 – 26 June 1971) was a Colombian
composer and
violin
The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...
ist and one of the most important Colombian cultural figures of his generation. He composed prolifically in many genres and founded the
National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia
The National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia ( es, Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Colombia) is a Colombian orchestra based in Bogotá
History
The orchestra was founded in 2003 following the dissolution of the Colombia Symphony Orchestra (''Orque ...
(previously the orchestra of the National Conservatory).
Biography
Uribe Holguín was born in
Bogotá. His father was Guillermo Uribe and his mother Mercédes Holguín. While studying at the School of Engineering, he simultaneously studied violin with Ricardo Figueroa, and composition with Santos Cifuentes and Augusto Azzali, at the National Academy of Music. He became dissatisfied with his progress, and sought out a private teacher,
Narciso Garay. He completed his engineering studies. In 1903 he visited
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
and for the first time he heard professional orchestras and opera. It was there that he started his series of 300 ''trozos'', based on folk melodies, written for various instruments. In 1905 he was appointed professor of violin and harmony at the Academia. There, in December 1905, he conducted his ''Victimae Paschali'' for solo voice, chorus and orchestra.
He obtained a scholarship from the Colombian government to study in Paris. In 1907, at the
Schola Cantorum, he commenced violin studies with
Armand Parent, and composition with
Vincent d'Indy
Paul Marie Théodore Vincent d'Indy (; 27 March 18512 December 1931) was a French composer and teacher. His influence as a teacher, in particular, was considerable. He was a co-founder of the Schola Cantorum de Paris and also taught at the P ...
, alongside fellow students
Erik Satie and
Joaquín Turina
Joaquín Turina Pérez (9 December 188214 January 1949) was a Spanish composer of classical music.''Encyclopædia Britannica'' online (2014)"Joaquín Turina"/ref>
Biography
Turina was born in Seville. He studied in Seville as well as in Mad ...
. He later took violin lessons in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
with
César Thomson
César Thomson (18 March 1857 – 21 August 1931) was a Belgian violinist, teacher, and composer.
Biography
He was born in Liège in 1857. At age seven, he entered the Royal Conservatory of Liège, and studied under Désiré Heynberg, Rodo ...
and
Émile Chaumont. In 1909, his Violin Sonata No. 1 was played at a concert of the
Société Nationale de Musique
Lactalis is a French multinational dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. The company's former name was Besnier SA.
Lactalis is the largest dairy products group in the world, and is the sec ...
in Paris, by
Gabriel Vuillaume and
Ricardo Viñes
Ricardo Viñes y Roda (, ca, Ricard Viñes i Roda, ; 5 February 1875 – 29 April 1943) was a Spanish pianist. He gave the premieres of works by Ravel, Debussy, Satie, Falla and Albéniz. He was the piano teacher of the composer Francis Pou ...
. As a result of his Parisian studies, there is a marked French influence in the works he wrote prior to 1930. In Paris, he met the pianist
Lucía Gutiérrez. They married in 1910, and she was often soloist in his works. She died in 1925.
In 1910 he returned to Colombia and became Director of the newly reorganized National Conservatory of Music in Bogotá. In 1932 the French government appointed him a Chevalier of the
Légion d'honneur
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...
. He resigned from the Conservatory in 1935 in order to dedicate himself to composition. In 1939 he was decorated with the "Medalla Cívica del General Santander". In 1941 he produced an autobiography. He was reappointed director in 1942, a position he held until 1947. His final composition was ''Doce canciones'', Op. 120, written in 1962. He died in Bogotá in 1971.
Since 2005 there has been a revival of his music by Colombian guitarist Nilko Andreas Guarin, who has been editing and promoting Uribe's works worldwide. Guarin performed the premiere in New York of ''Pequena Suite'', Op. 80, No. 1, written for
Andrés Segovia
Andrés Segovia Torres, 1st Marquis of Salobreña (21 February 1893 – 2 June 1987) was a Spanish virtuoso classical guitarist. Many professional classical guitarists were students of Segovia or their students.
Segovia's contribution to the m ...
who never played it. He is working on a recording of never-performed music by Uribe Holguín including Violin Sonata, Piano Trio, one string quartet, songs, and guitar music.
Uribe Holguín's pupils included
Josefina Acosta de Barón.
Works
Opera and ballet
* ''Furatena'', music-drama, Op. 76 (1940; lyric tragedy in 3 acts and 4 scenes)
* ''Tres ballets criollos'', Op. 78
Choral and vocal
* ''Victimae Paschali'' (solo voice, chorus and orchestra)
* ''Requiem'', Op. 17 (soloists, chorus and orchestra; written in memory of his wife, who had died in 1925)
* ''Marcha Triunfal'', Op. 18 (tenor and orchestra)
* ''Himno'', Op. 42 (tenor, chorus and orchestra)
* ''Improperia'', Op. 65 (barítone and orchestra)
* Mass (children's ''à cappella'' choir and solo voices)
Orchestra
* 13 symphonies (including No. 2, ''Sinfonía del terruño'', Op. 15)
* symphonic poem ''Bochica'', Op. 73
* ''Tres Danzas''
* ''Serenata''
* ''Carnavalesca''
* ''Marche funebre''
* ''Marche de fête''
* ''Suite típica''
* ''Ceremonia Indígena'' (Himno a Zúa y danza ritual)
Concertante
* 2 Violin Concertos (Opp. 64 and 79)
* Concerto for viola and orchestra, Op. 109 (1962)
* ''Concierto a la Manera Antigua'', for piano and orchestra
* ''Villanesca'', for piano and orchestra
Chamber music
* 10 String Quartets
* 2 Piano Trios
* Piano Quartet
* 2 Piano Quintets (Opp. 31 and 66)
* 7 violin sonatas
* Sonata for viola and piano, Op. 24 (1924)
* 2 cello sonatas
* Divertimento for flute, harp, horn and string quartet, Op. 89
* ''Pequeña suite'' (Little Suite) for violin, viola and flute, Op. 96 (1955)
Piano
* 300 ''Trozos en el sentimiento popular'' (based on folk dances)
* many other piano pieces
Guitar
* Tres Bosquejos
* Suite in Three Movements ''Pequeña Suite'', Op. 80 no 1(1946; written for
Andrés Segovia
Andrés Segovia Torres, 1st Marquis of Salobreña (21 February 1893 – 2 June 1987) was a Spanish virtuoso classical guitarist. Many professional classical guitarists were students of Segovia or their students.
Segovia's contribution to the m ...
),
edited and premiered in the US by Colombian Classical Guitaris
Nilko Andreas Guarinin New York City, 2005
Songs
* many songs, to words by
Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...
,
Paul Verlaine
Paul-Marie Verlaine (; ; 30 March 1844 – 8 January 1896) was a French poet associated with the Symbolist movement and the Decadent movement. He is considered one of the greatest representatives of the '' fin de siècle'' in international and ...
,
Charles Baudelaire
Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poet who also produced notable work as an essayist and art critic. His poems exhibit mastery in the handling of rhyme and rhythm, contain an exoticism inherited ...
,
Henri Barbusse
Henri Barbusse (; 17 May 1873 – 30 August 1935) was a French novelist and a member of the French Communist Party. He was a lifelong friend of Albert Einstein.
Life
The son of a French father and an English mother, Barbusse was born in Asnièr ...
,
Paul Fort
Jules-Jean-Paul Fort (1 February 1872 – 20 April 1960) was a French poet associated with the Symbolist movement. At the age of 18, reacting against the Naturalistic theatre, Fort founded the Théâtre d'Art (1890–93). He also founded and edit ...
and others.
References
Sources
Classical Composers Database*
Grove’s Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed.
Don Michael Randel, The Harvard Biographical Dictionary of Music(Spanish)
(Spanish; contains a biography and a list of his works).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Uribe Holguin, Guillermo
1880 births
1971 deaths
Schola Cantorum de Paris alumni
Colombian composers
Male classical violinists
20th-century classical composers
Music educators
Musicians from Bogotá
Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur
Male classical composers
20th-century classical violinists
20th-century male musicians