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MARLOS NOBRE by LUIZ HEITOR CORRÊA DE AZEVEDO Marlos Nobre is undoubtedly the outstanding representative of Brazilian music to emerge in the 1960´s, both from the standpoint of international success and the leadership which he has had in the musical life of his own country. After the success of his "Concertino for Piano and String Orchestra" in 1959 which won a composition competition in Rio de Janeiro, and awakened the interest of the best critics in Rio, he wrote a piano composition, "Nazarethiana" in 1960, which won an award in his native city, Recife, where he was born in 1939. These youthful compositions preceded an important work, "Ukrinmakrinkrin", in 1964, for voice, woodwind instruments and piano, written in Buenos Aires, a composition which shows the influence of Alberto Ginastera. "Ukrinmakrinkrin" was presented at the International Rostrum of Composers of IMC/UNESCO in 1966, which opened the doors of international recognition. From this point on, his works were performed in various countries where Marlos Nobre participated as composer, conductor, and performer. In 1970 he wrote "Mosaico" for orchestra, followed by "Biosfera" for string orchestra, and "O Canto Multiplicado" for voice and strings in 1972. In 1976 he wrote "In Memoriam", for orchestra. These works show a gradual maturation of the craft of composition, which brought him the well earned recognition which he enjoys today, both in his own country and in the various countries in which his works have been frequently performed. Marlos Nobre was able in his active role in the International Music Council of UNESCO to bring into being the National Committee in Brazil, and in 1977 he was elected member of the Executive Committee of the International Music Council of UNESCO. In Brazil he was the first director and organizer of the National Institute of Music, within the National Foundation for the Arts, organized in 1976 by the Brazilian government. A vigorous program was initiated with the goal of encouraging artists to become involved with the popular culture of Brazil, and also a program called "Espiral" to encourage the study of stringed instruments, in order to develop more orchestras in the public schools.These bold initiatives were carried out during the years in which Marlos Nobre was director of the National Institute of Music. Thus we see Marlos Nobre as a highly creative composer and man of action; interpreter and organizer, a man capable not only of composing, but organizing programs, but of defending his ideas to contribute to the general enhancement of public musical understanding. In his creative personality, we see in all his work the traces of an originality in force, not an originality which wishes to become "original", a balanced choice of a path to follow, and the means necessary to achieve his objectives. He totally despises mere sensationalism, novelty which is merely shocking and provocative, and instead is a musician and composer in command of his materials. His confidence in his ideas and his work is calm and unruffled. For these reasons, as he enters the fifth decade of this existence, and full artistic maturity, he can look over his catalog of works with justifiable confidence. "I have done what I intended and what I wished to do": it is the path chosen by Marlos Nobre with care and without haste.He is able to tread the dangerous path between mermaids on one side and demons on the other without betraying his ideas for the cheap illusion of success. Luiz Heitor
Corrêa de Azevedo, Paris, October 21, 1979 |