Leopoldo Miguéz's Nocturnes Opp.10 and 20/1: Political Context and Stylistic Analysis in the "City of Pianos"

Abstract

As in Europe, the piano reached the height of its popularity in the mid- to late nineteenth century in Brazil. Its presence in cultural life increased significantly, with performances in concert halls, theatres, and even cafés. Nocturnes— particularly Chopin's— were fre quently played at home and in public venues. Leopoldo Miguéz (1852–1902), considered at the time to be influenced by Wagner, Liszt, and the so-called Zukunftsmusik, was the first Brazilian composer to write a symphony, a violin sonata, and a symphonic poem. This ar ticle provides an overview of Miguéz's piano Nocturnes Opp.10 and 20/1 in the context of their relationship to contemporaneous Brazilian politics and his compositional practice. An in-depth analysis of the two nocturnes aims to map out his style, taking as parame ters his implementation of nineteenth-century constructive procedures previously established in analyses of his Violin Sonata Op.14 and his Allegro Appassionato Op.11 for piano. These include: the use of proto-themes, mediant regions, smooth voice-leading, complex tonal plans, motivic economy, and roving harmonies. These procedures are shown to be significant elements in Miguéz's palette of compositional traits and stylistic character istics; notably, they may have been common in Europe at the time but were unknown in Brazil. [...]