Carlos Pedrell (16 October 1878 – 9 March 1941) was a

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

an composer, guitarist and educator.Based on entries in David Mason Greene: ''Biographical Dictionary of Composers'' (Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Co., 1985) and Józef Powrozniak: ''Gitarren-Lexikon'' (Berlin: Verlag Neue Musik, 1979; 3rd ed. 1986), p. 158.

Life

Pedrell was born in

Minas, Uruguay Minas () is the capital of the Lavalleja Department in Uruguay. As of the census of 2011, it is the twelfth-most populated city in the country. Geography The city is located in the south of the department, on the intersection of Route 8 (Uruguay) ...

; he was the nephew of the Spanish guitarist and composer

Felipe Pedrell Felip Pedrell Sabaté (Spanish: Felipe) (19 February 1841 – 19 August 1922) was a Catalan composer, guitarist and musicologist. Life Pedrell was born in Tortosa (Catalonia), and sang as a boy soprano at Tortosa Cathedral from age 9, where ...

. Initially, he studied harmony at

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

before he went to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

to study with his uncle. He then worked in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

at the

Schola Cantorum The Schola Cantorum de Paris ( being ) is a private conservatory in Paris. It was founded in 1894 by Charles Bordes, Alexandre Guilmant and Vincent d'Indy as a counterbalance to the Paris Conservatoire's emphasis on opera. History The Schol ...

under

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 Pa ...

. He returned to South America in 1906. Much of his career was spent in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, where he taught at the

National University of Tucumán The National University of Tucumán (; UNT) is an Education in Argentina, Argentine national university located in Tucumán Province and the largest in Argentina's northwest region. Founded on 25 May 1914 in San Miguel de Tucumán, access to the ...

and served as an inspector of schools in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

. He returned to Paris in 1921 and died in the southern Paris suburb of

Montrouge Montrouge () is a Communes of France, commune in the southern Parisian suburbs, located from the centre of Paris. It is one of the most densely populated municipalities in Europe. After a long period of decline, the population has increased agai ...

Music

Pedrell's output includes

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

s (in particular, ''La guitarra'' to a libretto by Xavier de Courville) and

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, and he is particularly remembered for his music for

classical guitar The classical guitar, also known as Spanish guitar, is a member of the guitar family used in classical music and other styles. An acoustic wooden string (music), string instrument with strings made of catgut, gut or nylon, it is a precursor of the ...

. His best-known works for guitar are ''Lamento'', ''Página romántica'', and ''Guitarreo'', which are dedicated to

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 either students of Segovia or students of Segovia's students. Segovia ...

References

1878 births 1941 deaths 20th-century Uruguayan classical composers Composers for the classical guitar People from Minas, Uruguay Schola Cantorum de Paris alumni Male classical composers 20th-century male musicians {{Uruguay-composer-stub