Born in Mexico City, June 13, 1899
Died in Mexico City, Aug 2, 1978
- Chávez’s musical career spanned more than 50 years. As a composer, Chávez wrote over 200 works, including ballets, symphonies, concertos, a cantata and opera, and many pieces for voice, piano, and chamber ensemble.
- As a conductor, he led nearly every major orchestra in the US, Latin America, and Europe.
- Chávez’s coming of age coincided with the end of the Mexican Revolution in 1921, after which a new cultural nationalism emerged with particular emphasis on the pre-Conquest era indigenous Indian cultures. This cultural shift greatly impacted Chávez’s music, fusing native Mexican music and instruments with modernist techniques.
- Chávez was an invaluable advocate for increased access to the arts in Mexico. As founder and head of the Orquesta Sinfónica de México (OSM), Chávez organized concerts for workers and children and even took the orchestra out to Mexican provinces, bringing music to many audiences experiencing classical music for the first time.1
“As a composer, Chávez is often linked in the United States to his good friend and contemporary, iconic American musician Aaron Copland. Both composers worked to create a distinct musical sound world that spoke to their home countries at a time when Europe was seen as the only serious and legitimate contributor to classical music.”
L. A. Phil2
Learn More
Short biography via Wise Music Classical
Sources
- Robert Parker, “Chávez (y Ramírez), Carlos,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed April 25, 2024, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000005495.
- “Get to Know: Carlos Chávez,” L. A. Phil, accessed April 25, 2024, https://www.laphil.com/about/watch-and-listen/get-to-know-carlos-chavez.