Aretz, Isabel (1909–)

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Aretz, Isabel (1909–)

Argentinean-born composer, ethnomusicologist, and folklorist. Name variations: Isabel Aretz de Ramón y Rivera; Isabel Aretz-Thiele. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, April 13, 1913; studied piano with Rafel González and composition with Athos Palma at the Buenos Aires National Conservatory of Music; instrumentation with Heitor Villa-Lobos in Brazil; and anthropology with Carlos Vega; received her doctorate in musicology at the Argentine Catholic University in 1967; m. Luis Felipe Ramón y Rivera.

Universally recognized as a leading authority on South American folk music, was appointed the 1st professor of ethnomusicology at the Escuela Nacional de Danzas de Argentina (1950), where she continued her role as a scholar and composer; traveled extensively throughout Hispanic America, collecting folk music that she analyzed and used as a basis for research papers.

See also Women in World History.