Silvestre Revueltas (1899-1940)

Kate Molleson sheds light on the forgotten composer, Silvestre Revueltas

Silvestre Revueltas was a blazingly energetic and politically charged musician, a whirlwind of a composer who lived through a time of great political and creative upheaval in Mexico. The French writer André Breton was stunned when he visited the country and found not one unified identity, but many strikingly different cultures existing side by side with all of their clashing values, creeds, and customs. This kaleidoscopic and sometimes jarring world is the musical universe of Revueltas, one of a generation of artists who, along with Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, tried to encompass a true sense of Mexican identity in their works after the country’s revolution. In his personal life Revueltas also lived a life of fiery extremes, before succumbing to an early death exasperated by alcoholism. This week, Kate Molleson tries to shed some light on this forgotten composer, guiding us through the rhythms of Silvestre Revueltas’s colourful life with the help of Professor Alejandro Madrid of Harvard University. They track Revueltas’s moves from revolutionary Mexico, to prohibition-era America, to the trenches of the Spanish Civil War, and back to his homeland. Although most of Revueltas’s works date from the final decade of his short life, it is music which bursts with energy, colour, and humour. It is music which speaks with irony and passion about politics and people, about both the joys and hardships of life. It is music that speaks of Mexico.

Music Featured:

Toccata (sin fuga) Esquinas (1931 version) Tierra p’a las macetas Pieza para doce instrumentos La Noche de los Mayas – Suite (1st & 2nd mvts) Colorines Batik Cuauhnahuac String Quartet No 4 “Musica der Feria” Planos Redes (exerpts) Ventanas Janitzio Musica para Charlar I. Canto a muchacha negra El Renacuajo Paseador Second Little Serious piece Homenaje a Federico García Lorca Caminos Itinerarios Cinco canciones de ninos Este era un rey Ocho x radio 3 Sonetos La Noche de los Mayas – Suite (3rd & 4th mvts) La Coronela (excerpt) Sensemaya

Presented by Kate Molleson Produced by Sam Phillips for BBC Audio Wales & West

For full track listings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Silvestre Revueltas (1899-1940) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00213ln

And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z