Date of Award
5-2024
Degree Type
Dissertation/Thesis
Degree Name
Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA)
School
Music
Committee Chair
Dr. Michael Miles
Committee Chair School
Music
Committee Member 2
Dr. Joseph Brumbeloe
Committee Member 2 School
Music
Committee Member 3
Dr. Edward Hafer
Committee Member 3 School
Music
Committee Member 4
Dr. Catherine Rand
Committee Member 4 School
Music
Committee Member 5
Dr. Gregory Fuller
Committee Member 5 School
Music
Abstract
Blas Emilio Atehortúa (1943-2020) was a Colombian composer with an extensive catalogue of works, and has been recognized as the most prolific and performed Colombian symphonic composer of the second half of the 20thcentury. Although many of his works were commissioned in the U.S. and Latin-America, very few of his pieces have been published, regularly performed, and further studied.
Atehortúa studied in Argentina at the Latin-American Center for Advanced Musical Studies, (CLAEM, is its acronym in Spanish) from 1963 to 1968, thanks to scholarship awards by the Organization of American States. He studied with revered avant-garde composers such as Ginastera, Dallapicola, Xenakis, Malipiero, Maderna, Messian, and Nono among many others, thus expanding his knowledge in compositional techniques of the 20th Century while exploring his own style as a composer. Further collaborations with the CLAEM and the OAS would prove fruitful for him, as he was hired as a composer, conductor, and researcher. But most importantly, the OAS would commission different works from Atehortúa. Among these commissioned works, Diagramas op. 49, is an excellent example of the pieces he wrote under the influences of the styles and composers met at the CLAEM.
This research will provide brief biographical context on Blas Emilio Atehortúa, and a Conductors’ Guide to Diagramas op. 49. In hopes of providing further guidance to performers of Atehortua’s music, this writing will also contain selections of an interview to Pedro Sarmiento, Colombian composer, Atehortúa’s former student, and leading Atehortúa scholar.
Copyright
2024, Carlos Fernández
Recommended Citation
Fernandez, Carlos, "A Conductor’s Guide to Blas Emilio Atehortúa’s Diagramas Op. 49." (2024). Doctoral Projects. 251.
https://aquila.usm.edu/dnp_capstone/251
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