Williams, Alberto (1862–1952)

Alberto Williams (b. 23 November 1862; d. 17 June 1952), Argentine composer, conductor, pianist, and teacher. Born in Buenos Aires into a family of musicians, Williams's first teacher was Pedro Beck (piano). Later he studied with Nicolás Bassi (harmony) and Luis Bernasconi (piano) at the Escuela de Música in Buenos Aires. While very young he gave piano recitals at the Teatro Colón. Williams published his first piece, the mazurka Ensueño de juventud, in 1881. At age twenty he received a government scholarship and went to Paris, where he enrolled at the National Conservatory and studied under Georges Mathias (piano), Auguste Durand (harmony), and Benjamin Godard (counterpoint). He was also a pupil of César Franck's and Charles de Bériot's in composition. After publishing a number of piano pieces in Paris, he returned in 1889 to Argentina, where he gave recitals and began incorporating into his works tunes, rhythms, and forms derived from native folklore. In Argentina, he became a pioneer of the nationalist style, which began with his El rancho abandonado (1890), a piano work. From 1892 on, he promoted nationalism in music, founding performance series such as the Concerts of the Athenaeum, National Library Concerts, Popular Concerts, and the Buenos Aires Conservatory Concerts. He was also active in the field of music education, where he could apply the modern methods he'd learned in Paris. In 1893 he founded the Buenos Aires Conservatory of Music, later renamed the Conservatorio Williams, which he directed until 1941. He conducted in Buenos Aires and Europe, where, in performances of his own work, he led the Berlin Philharmonic in 1900 and gave three concerts in Paris during the 1930 season.

Williams's works can be divided into three periods: the first, marked by a European influence, runs through 1890; the second, for which he is known as the progenitor of Argentine nationalism, covers 1890–1910; and the third, which dates from the publication of his Symphony no. 2 (1910), was nationalist but with an international character. Williams wrote nine symphonies and other orchestral works, chamber music, choral and vocal works, and several piano pieces, as well as several pedagogical and technical books. He died in Buenos Aires.

See alsoMusic: Art Music .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Rodolfo Arizaga, Enciclopedia de la música argentina (1971).

Gérard Béhague, Music in Latin America (1979); New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, vol. 20 (1980).

Composers of the Americas, vol. 2 (1956).

Additional Bibliography

Benarós, León. "Los primeros intentos por historiar la actividad musical académica en la Argentina." Todo Es Historia 455 (June 2005): 18.

Veniard, Juan María. "Los primeros intentos por historiar la actividad musical académica en la Argentina." Investigaciones y Ensayos 78, no. 773 (January-December 2002): 383-402.

                                    Susana Salgado