Ardévol, José (1911–1981)

José Ardévol (b. 13 March 1911; d. 7 January 1981), Cuban composer. Born in Barcelona, Ardévol began composing as a boy. His father, Fernando Ardévol, conductor of Barcelona's Chamber Orchestra, instructed him in piano, composition, and conducting. At nineteen he studied conducting with Hermann Scherchen in Germany. In 1930 he moved to Cuba, where he taught history and aesthetics at Havana Municipal Conservatory (1936–1941); he also taught composition in the universities of Havana (1945–1950) and Oriente (1949–1951). Ardévol founded the Chamber Orchestra of Havana (1934), conducting it until 1952, and helped found the Grupo de Renovación Musical (1942), of which he was the spokesman and leader. He was very much committed to the Cuban Revolution, directing an underground group called the National Music Committee. In 1959 he was appointed director of the radio orchestras of the Ministry of Education and subsequently national director of music. He also served as editor of the musical magazine Revolución and as professor of composition at the Havana Conservatory (1965) and the National School of Music (1968). Ardévol's early music reflects a neoclassical influence mixed with nationalism; by the 1940s he had changed toward serialism and atonality, influenced by Anton von Webern. His works include Música de cámara, Tres Ricercari, Suites cubanas, several concerti and other orchestral works, plus a considerable amount of chamber and vocal music. He won the Cuban First National Music Award six times (1938–1953) and the International Ricordi Symphonic Award (1949). His Música para pequeña orquesta was a commission that premiered at the First Inter-American Musical Festival in Washington, D.C., in 1958. He died in Havana.

See alsoMusic: Art Music .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Composers of the Americas, vol. 1 (1955).

Alejo Carpentier, La música en Cuba, 2d ed. (1961).

Gérard Béhague, Music in Latin America (1979); New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, vol. 1 (1980).

Additional Bibliography

Ardévol, José. José Ardévol: Correspondencia cruzada. Havana: Editorial Letras Cubanas, 2004.

                                    Susana Salgado