Soro (Barriga), Enrique

Soro (Barriga), Enrique, prominent Chilean composer, pedagogue, and pianist; b. Concepción, July 15, 1884; d. Santiago, Dec. 2, 1954. He was a son of the Italian composer José Soro Sforza, with whom he studied piano and theory; played in public as a small child. He was granted a stipend by the government of Chile for study in Italy; entered the Milan Cons. at 14; graduated in 1904 with a grand prize in composition. Returning to Chile in 1905, he was appointed inspector of musical education in primary schools; in 1906 he joined the faculty of the Santiago Cons.; from 1919 to 1928 he was its director. He traveled as a pianist; gave concerts in Europe and South America; also publ. a number of works. In 1948 he was awarded the Premio Nacional de Arte.

Works

ORCH.: Andante appassionato (1915); Danza fantastica (1916); Suite sinfónica, No. 1, Pensamientos intimos (1918) and No. 2 (Santiago, May 9, 1919, composer conducting); Impresiones líricas for Piano and Strings (1919); Piano Concerto (1919); Sinfonía romántica (1920); 3 preludios sinfónicos (Santiago, July 18, 1936); Aires chilenos (Santiago, 1942); Suite en estilo antiguo (Santiago, May 28, 1943). CHAMBER: String Quartet (1904); Piano Quintet (1919); Piano Trio (1926); Violin Sonata; Cello Sonata. Piano: 3 sonatas (1920, 1923, 1942); piano pieces in a salon genre, some of them based on Chilean melorhythms.

Bibliography

L. Giarda, Analytische Studie über S. 2. Sonate für Violine und Klavier A moll, das Quartett A dur und das Klavierquintett (Santiago, 1919).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire