Uruguay - Luis Cluzeau-Mortet

Luis Cluzeau-Mortet was a composer, pianist, and a violinist. He was born in Uruguay’s capital city of Montevideo on November 16, 1889.

Cluzeau-Mortet’s musical and creative career has been broken down into 3 distinct phases or periods in his life. The first being his youthful phase which began in 1910. Early in his life he played the violin with the Asociación Uruguaya de Musica de Camara while also performing numerous piano recitals. During this period of his life, Cluzeau-Mortet began writing music of a marked Romantic-Impressionist character.

In his second phase, considered to be his most important and influential phase, his style was shaped by his nationalist spirit. Nearly half of all works done by Cluzeau-Mortet came from this period of his life. During this time he created vocal and piano works that have been considered his masterpieces. From this time, he created Pericón (1918) which was performed in Montevideo by Artur Rubinstein and Canto de Chingolo for voice and piano (1924) which was recorded by RCA Victor in 1930, these two works are considered to be Cluzeau-Mortet’s best and most representative works. In 1938 Cluzeau-Mortet performs multiple concerts throughout the United States and in Paris. Also during this period, he created Rancherío (1940) which won an Uruguayan radio competition. Cluzeau-Mortet is documented as being the first violinist in OSSODRE (The Uruguay ROS) from the date of its foundation in 1931 until his retirement in 1946.

In his third phase, which consumed the last decade of his life, his works became influenced by new trends in European music. In total, Cluzeau-Mortet created almost 200 works. Of this, only a little more than one tenth has been published. In 1946 he retired and on September 28, 1957 he died at age 67 in Montevideo, Uruguay.

Sources:
www.oxfordmusiconline.com
www.geocities.jp/latinamericapiano/e_cluzeaumortet/e_cluzeaumortetintro.html


List of works

A Traves de las Calles (1939)
Cancion Triste (1920)
Capricho Crillo No. 1 & No. 2 (1926)
Capricho Crillo No. 3 (1934)
Carreta Quemada (1916)
Chant du crepusculo (1910)
Danza No. 1, 2, & 3 (1925)
Divagaciones, Libro 1 (1925)
Divagaciones, Libro 2 (I, II, II, IV, V) (1948)
Dos Preludios Regionales (1916)
En la Playa (1932)
Ensueno (1914)
Evocacion Criolla (1922)
Fantasia Apasionada (1912)
Feulles D’Automne (1910)
Fiesta en el Rancho (1930)
Homenaje a Dualde (I, II, III, IV. V, VI, VII) (1932)
Homenaje a Londres (1939)
La Cancion del Arroyo (1919)
La Pequena Nina Blanca (1939)
Limpiate con Dentinol (Tango Elegante) (1910)
Malezas (1930)
Marcha Funebre (1915)
Nativa (1918)
Nuestra Tierra, Libro 1 (1943 – 1952)
Nuestro Tierra, Libro 2 (1947)
Ocho Primeras Piezas Para Piano (1916 – 1930)
Paysage (1910)
Pericon (1918)
Polonesa (1910)
Primera Sonata (1946)
Primera Suite de Valses (I, II, III, IV, V, VI) (1914)
Segunda Suite de Valses (I, II, III, IV, V, VI) (1933)
Tema Con Variaciones (1915)
Trece Preludios (1914 – 1915)
Visiones Camperas (1931)