Miguel Letelier

Organ performers

MIGUEL LETELIER VALDES Born in San Miguel, on the outskirts of Santiago, on September 29, 1939. The son of musicians ‑ his father a composer (National Music Award 1968) and his mother a singer ‑ from an early age he showed particular inclination towards music. His first studies were carried out with Professor Lucila Céspedes while with her maternal grandmother, a good pianist, who was a student of Krausse in Berlin, and a great admirer and worshiper of Bach, Chopin and Debussy, she had the opportunity to get closer to these greats. musicians. At the age of eight he composed his first work ‑ a four‑voice Chorale ‑ which was awarded by the Musical Extension Institute in the "Premio por Obra" contest, and premiered on that occasion. During his youth and along with a notable interest in sciences related to nature, such as Botany, Geology, Ecology and Meteorology (of the latter he has become a scholar), began to compose various works for piano, singing and piano and mixed choir. His deep sense of observation of natural phenomena always produces amazement and admiration in him, and his curiosity to decipher and understand their chain places him culturally and spiritually within the category of a profound admirer of the evolutionary process. In 1960 he decided to go to study Forestry Engineering at the Universidad Austral de Valdivia. Although it did not end That career, his permanent concern for the ecological drama of Chile and the world in general, has led him to be an active defender of natural systems, which earned him be part of the board of directors of CODEFF (Committee for the Defense of Flora and Fauna) for many years. There are multiple activities on this subject, articles in different magazines and newspapers, both in Chile and abroad. He has been awarded a gold medal and a diploma of honor awarded by the Meteorological Directorate of Chile for his services rendered for more than 20 years. During this stage, the composer ventured, as a pianist and improviser, into the world of Jazz, becoming a great admirer of Milt Jakson, David Brubeck, Ella Fitzgeral, and others. However, its greatest attraction was focused on in the "Bigs Band", his greatest source of inspiration being the extraordinary orchestrations of Billy May. Juan Orrego Salas promoted It encouraged the composer to explore these stylistic paths, commending his creative harmonic and rhythmic gifts. In 1961 he met the extraordinary Belgian‑Argentine professor, composer and organist Julio Perceval, who had a profound influence on him. The piano studies carried out so far serve as a basis for beginning his knowledge of the organ, an instrument in which he has become an outstanding performer. He was literally dazzled with the interpretations of the Maestro on the organ of N. S. de Luján., from Santiago, on the excellent instrument of Belgian origin. Especially spectacular was an improvisation performed by during a Sunday mass on the introductory theme of the Prelude to Wagner's Tristan und Isolde. After the tragic death of maestro Perceval, Miguel Letelier is appointed replacement professor of the Organ Chair, after having brilliantly completed his degree in the instrument. In addition, Julio Perceval taught him Harmony, Composition, Instrumentation, Counterpoint and Fugue, Orchestral Conducting and Improvisation. He was also a student of Domingo Santa Cruz and Gustavo Becerra, in fields such as Composition and Orchestration. In 1968 he was hired as music critic for the magazine "Política, Econía y Cultura" (PEC), where he worked for more than two years. In 1965 he obtained a scholarship from the "Latin American Center for Higher Musical Studies Torcuato Di Tella" in Buenos Aires, directed by Maestro Alberto Ginastera. He came to cultivate a close friendship with this composer, who encouraged him to and gave him permanently your support. At this Institute he has the opportunity to work with teachers such as Maurice Le Roux, Mario Davidowski, Oliver Messiaen, Iannis Xenakis and Roger Sessions. This two‑year stay in Buenos Aires is especially fruitful, he composed several works, including "Nocturno for eight instruments", "Divertimento for Clavecín and instrumental ensemble", "Instantes for large orchestra", and " Sonata for Harpsichord. These first three works were premiered in Buenos Aires and the fourth in Santiago, by the harpsichordist Ruby Reid, for whom the work is being performed. dedicated to this work. During this period he worked on the organ with Maestro Héctor Zeoli, one of the greatest organists in the Americas, while offering numerous recitals of this instrument in Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Salta, Mendoza, Tucumán and Mar del Plata., receiving numerous praise from specialized critics, which emphasizes in his extraordinary style and sensitivity to interpret romantics such as Frank, Mendelssohn and Reger. He returned to Chile for a short time and in 1968 he received a scholarship from the French Government to improve his skills in the organ with maestro J.J. Grünenwald and in composition he assists those of the Paris Conservatory in the chair of Olivier Messiaen and Max Deutsch. Then he moved to Hamburg where he studied with Professor U. von Kameke and H. de la Motte, in organ and composition, respectively. In this German city he was invited on several occasions to offer recitals in the most important organs, including the famous Beckerath in the Church of San Petri. As an organist he has performed numerous concerts in Chile, and participated in in International Organ Festivals in Medellín and Cali (Colombia), Morelia (Mexico) and Buenos Aires; He has performed at the University of Rio de Janeiro and carried out In 1988 he toured Australia at the invitation of the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, visiting five of the country's main cities, in addition to offering lectures on Chilean and Latin American music at Conservatories and Universities in Sydney and Adelaide. Apart from the classical repertoire, he has premiered numerous contemporary works, both universal and Latin American and Chilean. It is worth mentioning the premiere in Chile of "La Nativité du Seigneur" by O. Messiaen, on the Belgian organ "Tongeren" of the Church of N.S. from Luján, from Santiago. In 1989 he continued as Full Professor of the Chair of Organ and Composition at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Chile, being named Full Professor. In that same year he joined as a full member of the Academy of Fine Arts of the Institute of Chile, exposing in his incorporation speech the topic "Post‑Vagnerian harmonies: two divergent paths: Scriabin and Reger ". Of particular interest has been his work on O. Messiaen, especially the one dedicated to his compositional system called "Limited modes of transposition", referring especially to the aforementioned work La Nativité. du Seigneur. His compositions have been premiered and performed in Chile, Latin America, the US and Europe, as well as recorded by renowned performers. Likewise, there are scores for most of them, published by the Faculty of Arts, Ricordi (Buenos Aires), and other publishers. formed He was part of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Composers between 1981 and 1988. He has been appointed Jury member of the National Art Prize, Mention Music in the years 1995, 1996 and 2006, as well as in the National Fund for the Arts (Fondart) in 1996. In 1996 he was honored as "Musician of the Year" by the SCD in recognition of his relevant work as a composer and teacher. As a result of this award, a symphonic work was requested from him to be premiered by the Chilean Symphony Orchestra. The most important works are the following: 1947.‑ "Coral de Las Condes", for mixed a cappella choir. 1957.‑ Three Choral Songs for mixed choir with 4 voices (Texts by G. Lorca and Mistral) 1957.‑ Two songs for Contralto and Piano (texts by P. Prado and G. Mistral) 1959.‑ Variations on the theme of the film "Rififí chez les hommes", for piano. 1959.‑ Ballet Suite "Los Marginados" for Orchestra (Cintolesi). 1960.‑ Symphonic Poem "Río Bueno". 1960.‑ Seven Brief Preludes for Guitar (To Violeta Parra) 1963.‑"Fantasia" for nine instruments and alto voice. 1964.‑ Sonata for Harpsichord. (To Ruby Reid) 1964.‑"Prelude, Variation and Fugue" for Great Organ. 1964. ‑ "Scapin" Suite, original version for stage. 1965. ‑ "Divertimento", for string quartet, woodwind trio and Harpsichord. 1965.‑"Nocturno", for contralto, string quartet and piano. 1966.‑ "Instantes", for large orchestra. 1967.‑ "Scapin" Suite, original version for stage. 1968.‑ Wind quintet 1970.‑ Cantata Santa Teresa de los Andes (Unfinished) 1976.‑ Variations on a movie theme for Guitar. 1980.‑ Incidental music for Don Juan Tenorio (Zorrilla, Chilean National Theater) 1982.‑ Incidental music for The Merchant of Venice (Shakespeare, Teatro Nacional Ch.) 1983.‑ Incidental music for Othello (Shakespeare, Chilean National Theater) 1984.‑ "Rapsodia", for piano, cello and clarinet (Requested by the Bartok Ensemble) 1985.‑ Work for Violin and Orchestra, requested by the Israeli Embassy. 1986.‑ "Chile", work for chamber orchestra composed especially for the Ensemble Bartok. 1987.‑ "Three Songs" on texts in French by Ana de Noailles, for piano, alto and Clarinet, composed especially for the Bartok Ensemble. 1991.‑ "Raveliana", for flute and guitar. 1995.‑ "Small Piano Book", 7 pieces. 1999.‑ "Plots" for Orchestra. Work requested by the SCD. 2003.‑ "Suite Scapin" for orchestra, revised, expanded and reorchestrated.