Luis Felipe Arias

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Luis Felipe Arias (born August 3, 1876 in Guatemala City , † March 23, 1908 ) was a Guatemalan pianist and composer .

Life

In his childhood he had piano lessons with Leopoldo Cantilena at the Conservatory in Guatemala City . A scholarship, which he acquired with the help of the Italian conductor Giovanni Aberle, made it possible for him to study music in Italy . There he not only studied piano , but also composition . After returning to Guatemala, he quickly became known for his extraordinary concerts and piano recitals, in which he performed works by Beethoven , Chopin and Liszt that had never been heard in his country. His programs often included his own compositions and improvisations , with which he amazed the audience.

In 1901, at the age of only 25, he was appointed professor and director of the conservatory. Among his students were later piano virtuosos, conductors and composers such as Rafael A. Castillo Orantes, Manuel Martínez-Sobral, J. Alberto Mendoza, Fabián Rodríguez, Rafael Vásquez and Alfredo Wyld. Although the number of his surviving compositions is not extensive, he enjoyed a high reputation as a composer. In 1904 and 1905 he received state awards for his concert waltz for piano, the orchestral work Morisca and the hymn to the Roman goddess Minerva, Himno a Minerva . The reason for his murder on a night street in Guatemala City in 1908 has never been clarified.

Selected Works

  • Vals de concierto , for piano (1904)
  • Página gris , for piano
  • Himno a Minerva , for choir and military band (1905)
  • Morisca , for orchestra (1905)

Bibliography

  • Dieter Lehnhoff , "Arias, Luis Felipe", Diccionario de la Música Española e Hispanoamericana , 10 vol. Madrid: Sociedad General de Autores y Editores, 2000, volume I, p. 675.
  • Dieter Lehnhoff, Creación musical en Guatemala . Guatemala: Rafael Landívar University , Fundación G&T Continental, Editorial Galería Guatemala, 2005. ISBN 99922-704-7-0
  • Rafael Vásquez, Historia de la Música en Guatemala. Guatemala City: Tipografía Nacional, 1950.
personal data
SURNAME Arias, Luis Felipe
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Guatemalan pianist and composer
DATE OF BIRTH August 3, 1876
PLACE OF BIRTH Guatemala City
DATE OF DEATH March 23, 1908