Carvalho, Eleazar de

Brazilian conductor and composer; b. Iguatu, July 28, 1912; d. Sâo Paulo, Sept. 15, 1996. His father was of Dutch extraction and his mother was part Indian. He studied in Fortaleza at the Apprentice Seaman’s School; later joined the National Naval Corps in Rio de Janeiro and played tuba in the band. In 1941 he became asst. conductor of the Brazilian Sym. Orch. in Rio de Janeiro. In 1946 he went to the U.S. to study conducting with Koussevitzky at the Berkshire Music Center in Tanglewood, and Koussevitzky invited him to conduct a pair of concerts with the Boston Sym. Orch. Carvalho demonstrated extraordinary ability and musicianship by leading all rehearsals and the concerts without score in a difficult program; his sense of perfect pitch was exceptional. He subsequently conducted a number of guest engagements with orchs. in America and in Europe. From 1963 to 1968 he was music director of the St. Louis Sym. Orch.; during his tenure, he introduced many modern works into his programs, much to the discomfiture of the financial backers of the orch. From 1969 to 1973 he was conductor of the Hofstra Univ. Orch. in Hempstead, N.Y., which offered him a more liberal aesthetic climate; then returned to Brazil, where he became artistic director of the Sâo Paulo State Sym. Orch. He married the Brazilian composer and pianist of French and Portuguese descent Joey de Ol-iveira.

Works

DRAMATIC: Opera: Descuberta do Brasil (Rio de Janeiro, June 19, 1939); Tiradentes (Rio de Janeiro, Sept. 7, 1941). orch.:Sinfonia branca (1943); 3 symphonic poems: A Traicao (1941), Batalha Naval de Riachuelo (1943), and Guararapes (1945); 3 overtures. chamber: 2 trios; 2 string quartets; Violin Sonata. vocal: Songs.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire