Holzmann, Rodolfo (1910–1992)

Rodolfo Holzmann (b. 27 November 1910; d. 4 April 1992), Peruvian composer and ethnomusicologist. Born in Breslau, Germany, Holzmann began his music studies at age six and moved to Berlin in 1931 to study with Wladimir Vogel (composition), Winfried Wolf (piano), and Robert Robitschek (conducting). In 1933 he participated in the Session of Musical Studies organized by Hermann Scherchen in Strasbourg, taking conducting lessons with Scherchen. He later moved to Paris to study with Karol Rathaus (1934) and attended the twelfth festival of the International Society of Contemporary Music in Florence, Italy. He also studied oboe at the Zurich Conservatory. In 1938 Holzmann moved to Lima, where he was professor of oboe at the Alzedo Academy of Music as well as the violinist for the National Symphony. In 1945 he became professor of composition at the National Conservatory of Music in Lima, later becoming professor of orchestral conducting. He also taught at the University of Texas at Austin (1957–1958). His ethnomusicological studies of Peruvian music are among the most important in the twentieth century and have received worldwide praise. Among his compositions are orchestral works, choral music, chamber music, and an extensive collection of songs based on Spanish and Peruvian melodies. He died in Lima.

See alsoMusic: Art Music; Music: Popular Music and Dance.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Composers of the Americas, vol. 4 (1958), pp. 96-104.

Enrique Pinilla, "Rodolfo Holzmann y su panorama de la mú sica tradicional del Perú," in Revista peruana de cultura 7-8 (1966): 274; New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, vol. 8 (1980).

Additional Bibliography

Romero Cevallos, Raúl R. "Nacionalismos y anti-indigenismos: Rodolfo Holzmann y su aporte a una música 'peruana'." Hueso Húmero 43 (December 2003): 77-95.

Romero, Raúl R. "Development and Balance of Peruvian Ethnomusicology." Yearbook for Traditional Music 20 (1988): 146-157.

                              Susana Salgado