Considered one of the most important figures in 20th century Mexican music, Silvestre Revueltas Sánchez earned a position in the world of classical music. He was born on December 31, 1899, in a small town called Santiago Papasquiaro, in the State of Durango, in Mexico.
The eldest of twelve siblings, all with artistic leanings, Wild focused his interests towards music, from an early age. One of his brothers was a famous painter and a sister, a notable actress. At the age of five, his father gave him a violin, which he began studying when he was eight years old. He studied at the National Conservatory of Music in Mexico City. Later, due to the unfortunate events of the Mexican Revolution, in 1917, he had to move to the United States. There he studied at St Edward College in San Antonio, Texas. He then continued his studies in Chicago in 1919 and enrolled in the Chicago Musical College. He learned violin together with José Rocabruna, and composition with Rafael J. Tello. His first concert was organized in Mexico with Carlos Chávez in 1924 and, after a series of concerts in Mexico City, he returned to his hometown, where he lived until 1929.
The race of Revuletas it is associated with music and concerts. In 1928, he conducted an orchestra in Mobile; Eventually, he was appointed violin teacher and later assistant conductor of the Orquesta Sinfónica de México, a position in which he remained until 1935.
Revolts he was obsessed with work and composition, even as he continued to teach and direct.
His interests were also inclined to political concern, so he was stunned by the tragedy of the Spanish Civil War. After the war, he spent 4 months in Spain with other colleagues conducting concerts.
Revolts he conducted the Mexico Symphony Orchestra on December 15, 1938 at the Palacio de Bellas Artes, where his work Sensemayá was received with great success. It was one of his most famous works, written by Cuban Nicolás Guillén.
Working with Chávez, Revolts he was able to promote Mexican music; his collection of works showed originality and freshness, being an important contribution to the Mexican symphonic poem. Recognizing his efforts, he was given an important position in the world of music and was even hired to compose music for films. He grew up as an accomplished artist and performed solo recitals throughout Mexico.
Plays
He wrote six “postcard” pieces, ten-minute poems for orchestra, inspired by Mexican scenes. He worked on films, chamber music, songs, and other works. His orchestral music of symphonic poems with Sensemayá brought him enormous recognition. He made his appearance as a bar pianist in the movie “Let’s go with Pancho Villa“of which he composed the music.
His works were not very extensive but they did include works for symphony orchestra, two ballets, vocal music, and works for theater and cinema. Among them, stand out Cuauhnahuc (Cuernavaca) (1930), Corners (1931), Windows Y Colorines (1932), Janitzio (1933), Roads (1934), Tribute to Federico García Lorca (1936), Itineraries (1937) and Sensemay (1938).
During the celebration of the success of The night of the Mayans, his end was drawing near in unfortunate circumstances. On October 4, 1940, his ballet “The walking tadpole“received its belated premiere in Mexico City. Instead of attending the concert, Revolts He spent the night drinking in his apartment and then came out dressed in very light clothing, when the weather demanded much more. As he was already suffering from an acute attack of bronchial pneumonia, this only made his condition worse. On his way home, he suffered a bronchial attack and was taken to a hospital. He died on October 5, 1940 in Mexico City.