Anton Walter Smetak (Zurich, Switzerland, 13 February 1913 – Salvador, Brazil, 30 May 1984) was a Swiss-born musician, composer, writer, sculptor and producer of musical instruments.''Enciclopédia Itaú Cultural''
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Life and works

Walter Smetak was born in Zurich of

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

origin and migrated to Brazil in 1937. He was a composer and inventor of instruments with which he would then play and conduct. He was a professor of composition at the

Federal University of Bahia The Federal University of Bahia (, UFBA) is a public university located mainly in the city of Salvador. It is the largest university in the state of Bahia. Students can study there without paying tuition fees, as it is a public university. To j ...

(UFBA) School of Music from 1957 to 1984. Relatively unknown, he is considered a forerunner and early influence on the musicians and artists who would form the core of Tropicalia, such as

Caetano Veloso Caetano Emanuel Viana Teles Veloso (; born 7 August 1942) is a Brazilian composer, singer, guitarist, writer, and political activist. Veloso first became known for his participation in the Brazilian musical movement Tropicália, which encompas ...

Gilberto Gil Gilberto Passos Gil Moreira (; born 26 June 1942), is a Brazilian singer-songwriter and politician, known for both his musical innovation and political activism. From 2003 to 2008, he served as Brazil's Ministry of Culture (Brazil), Minister of ...

Tom Zé Antônio José Santana Martins (born 11 October 1936), known professionally as Tom Zé (), Born in Irará, Bahia, is a Brazilian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and composer who was influential in the Tropicália movement of 1960s Br ...

and

Torquato Neto Torquato Pereira de Araújo Neto (November 9, 1944 – November 10, 1972) was a Brazilian journalist, poet and songwriter. He is perhaps best known as a lyricist for the Tropicália counterculture movement, which later expanded its influence t ...

. One of his best known works is the experimental album titled ''Smetak'', released in Brazil in 1974. Deeply involved in the Brazilian music scene of the 1960s and 1970s, Smetak collaborated with Gilberto Gil, Tom Zé, Uakti and others. The group Uakti, one of the world's most important groups that employed original instruments, was strongly inspired by Smetak's teaching, since its founder Marco Antonio Guimarães was his pupil. He died in

Salvador Salvador, meaning "salvation" (or "saviour") in Catalan, Spanish, and Portuguese may refer to: * Salvador (name) Arts, entertainment, and media Music *Salvador (band), a Christian band that plays both English and Spanish music ** ''Salvador'' ( ...

in 1984.

References

1913 births 1984 deaths Brazilian male composers Brazilian people of Czech descent 20th-century male musicians Swiss emigrants to Brazil {{Brazil-musician-stub