Ernesto Nazareth
The pianist who put Brazilian tango and maxixe into piano pieces, a source of choro
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Who he was
Ernesto Nazareth (1863–1934) was born in Rio de Janeiro and grew up among church music and salon dances. He made his living as a pianist, playing in cinemas, music shops, dances and on radio while writing a large body of piano pieces. He called his works "Brazilian tangos" and also wrote maxixes and waltzes; Brejeiro, Odeon and Apanhei-te, cavaquinho are the best known. His health declined late in life and he died in Rio in 1934.
His place
In Nazareth's lifetime Rio's urban entertainment was moving from ballrooms and theatres to records and radio. His piano pieces mixed African-derived syncopation, European dance frames and Italian-operatic melody: functional music for dancing that also works as a character piece on its own. Choro groups of the day kept his pieces in their book, so his writing stands between popular dance and instrumental tradition, and Brazilian music history treats him as a source for both choro and popular piano.
What to hear
Hear first two hands teasing each other. Brejeiro means something like "mischievous fellow": the right hand keeps arriving early, the left keeps a steady bass, and the accents cross. Then hear lyricism inside a dance. Odeon modulates in its middle section and the melody widens and slows, while the dance rhythm continues on either side; listen to how it sings without leaving the steps. Finally hear short phrases chasing. Apanhei-te, cavaquinho is fast, built from many short phrases, one after another, as if teasing the cavaquinho player; notice how the bass drops a firm landing every few bars so the speed stays clear.
Key works
- Piano: Odeon, Brejeiro, Apanhei-te, cavaquinho
- Others: Bambino, Carioca, waltzes and Brazilian tangos
- Recordings: early piano rolls and discs
Influence
Nazareth's pieces became staples of choro groups, recorded by generation after generation of Brazilian instrumentalists, and they shaped how Villa-Lobos's generation used popular rhythm in concert music. He proved that urban dance music could be complex enough for repeated listening: syncopation is structure, not decoration. It is hard to hear Brazilian instrumental music today without passing through his melodies.
Listen in the library
All tracks from midicn-lib — inline badge is the license tier (C1 commercial / C2 non-commercial / C3 study only).
Sources
- 纳扎雷特生平、里约热内卢的钢琴职业与作品，参 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "Nazareth, Ernesto"；本文为原创表述
- 巴西探戈、马克西谢与乔罗的关系，参通行巴西流行音乐研究；实例说明为本站听辨提示
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.