Edited and fingered by Fábio Zanon.
And here is a recording of Appassionata by Fábio Zanon.
MP3 format, 1.7 MB. This recording is from the CD
Sonatas Latino-americanas para Violão (1997), EGTA SGV 10.150.01.
Used by permission of Everton Gloeden and Tadeo Amaral.
8 pp., $14.95, Presser Order number 494-02553 (PWYS-60)
Appassionata,
Ronaldo Miranda’s first solo guitar work, was composed in 1984 but had to wait
until 1996 for its premiere. The title, like those of several other works by
Miranda, is borrowed from the historical repertoire, but there is no connection
to Beethoven’s sonata; it rather suggests the character, alternately
pugnacious and abandoned, of a compact and vigorous sonata-form. Miranda
provides the guitar repertoire with a portentous piece, largely indebted to the
late-Romantic pianistic tradition, written in an instantly recognizable style of
luscious harmonies and large gestures.
Ronaldo
Miranda was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1948 where he studied piano and
Composition at the Federal University School of Music. He began his musical
career as a critic for Jornal do Brasil (1974-1981) and intensified his
own work as a composer after 1977, when he won the first prize at the II
Biennial of Brazilian Contemporary Music. In 1978 he was selected to represent
Brazil at the Unesco International Rostrum for Composers in Paris. He
received in the following years several prizes in Brazilian contests for
composers and also the Trofeu Golfinho de Ouro (1981) from the Government
of the State of Rio de Janeiro. The Association of Art Critics of São Paulo
regarded him as “the best composer of the year” (1982) for his orchestral
work Symphonic Variations, which was commissioned by the São Paulo
Symphony Orchestra. In 1983, Ronaldo Miranda was the official delegate from
Brazil at the World Music Days in Århus (Denmark), whose international
jury selected his flute trio Oriens III to be performed at the festival.
In 1984, he was made “Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Letters” by
the Ministry of Culture (France) and, in 1985, the X Biennial of Music of
Berlin chose his piano solo work Prologue, Discourse and Reflection
for performance. In 1986, he had his piece Images (for clarinet and percussion)
selected for the World Music Days in Budapest, participating of the event as
first delegate from Brazil. He was also awarded the third prize at the
International Composers’ Competition (Budapest/1986) for his work Trois
Moments pour Violoncelle Seul, which was premiered at the Budapest Spring
Festival, in March/1987. With a grant from the Vitae Foundation, he started
composing in 1988 the opera Dom Casmurro, premiered in 1992 at the São
Paulo Municipal Theatre. Ronaldo Miranda has discreetly occupied a prominent
position in the Brazilian musical scene, thanks to a constant flow of major
symphonic and chamber works which denote a solid craftsmanship and a rare
ability not only to pour new wine into old barrels, but also to refurbish these
barrels in order to attend new demands.
Cover art is by Giacomo Picca.
Copyright © 2003 by Editions Orphée, Inc. All Rights Reserved.