Moncayo García, José Pablo (1912–1958)

José Pablo Moncayo García (b. 29 June 1912; d. 16 June 1958), Mexican composer. Born in Guadalajara, Moncayo García studied piano with Eduardo Hernández Moncada and composition with Candelario Huízar and Carlos Chávez at the National Conservatory in Mexico City (1929–1935). He was pianist and percussionist for the Mexico Symphony Orchestra (1932–1944) and from 1949 until his death conductor of the Mexico National Orchestra. He studied composition with Aaron Copland at Tanglewood in Massachusetts (1942). With Blás Galindo, Salvador Contreras, and Daniel Ayala he formed the Grupo de los Cuatro (Group of the Four) to promote new music styles. Moncayo's works are built on diatonic and polytonal harmony with the use of parallel chords of impressionist influence. He also used impressionist orchestral timbres. Moncayo's most important works are La mulata de Córdoba, an opera, which premiered at the Mexico City Palacio de Bellas Artes (October 1948); and Amatzinac (1935), Huapango (1941), based on three folk dances, Symphony (1944), and Tres piezas (1947), all for orchestra. He died in Mexico City.

See alsoMusic: Art Music .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Gérard Béhague, "Music in Latin America" (1979); New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, vol. 12 (1980).

John Vinton, ed., Dictionary of Contemporary Music (1974).

Additional Bibliography

Alcaraz, José Antonio, and Héctor Anaya. En la más honda música de selva. México, D.F.: CONACULTA, 1998.

Ruiz Ortiz, Xochiquetzal. Blas Galindo: Biografía, antología de textos y catálogo. México, D.F.: CENIDIM, 1994.

                                                    Susana Salgado