Radamés Gnatalli(1906-1988)

Radamés Gnatalli was born in January 27 of 1906, in Porto Alegre, the son of an Italian piano teacher named Alessandro Gnatalli, who loved opera very much and called his children opera character's names (Radamés, Aída and Ernani). When he was 6 years old, Radamés started to learn from his mother how to play the piano. His mother, Adélia Fonseca Gnatalli, was a piano teacher. Since childhood, Radamés showed his musical ability. Once, he was awarded by the Italian Consul in a party, where the 9-year-old boy conducted a children's orchestra, with scores composed by himself. He entered in the Conservatory at age of 14, and had classes with the teacher Guilherme Fontainha, who after some years was the director of the Escola Nacional de Música (National School of Music), in Rio de Janeiro. Before got his diploma, he gave a piano recital in Rio in 1924. Back in Porto Alegre, Radamés did his final exam, finishing his course with excellent marks. Still in 1924, he participated in the Araújo Viana Prize and got the gold medal. By 1931, Radamés Gnatalli had dedicated himself to musical composition. He was the conductor of the orchestra of the Rádio Nacional do Rio de Janeiro (National Broadcast), author of 6000 musical arrangements, considered the best arranger of popular music in Brazil. He played his popular and concert compositions, with great success, around Europe and the USA. From 1963 to 1967, the composer worked in the TV Excelsior; and after, until 1986, when he fell ill, was arranger and conductor in the TV Globo. He died in February 3 of 1988, in Rio de Janeiro. Radamés used Brazilian musical traditions and folklore in his work, creating a personal style with some jazz and Debussy influences. His main works are the ten Brasilianas, quartets and trios and 26 concerts - among them a concert for the piano and orchestra, concerts for the harp and clarinet and a Concerto para Harmônica de Boca (Harmonica's Concert), dedicated for Eduardo Nadruz, the Edu da Gaita.