Mexican composer Silvestre Revueltas (1899-1940) has been portrayed as a nationalist artist both at home and beyond Mexico's borders. However, the musicking of a presumed "Mexicanness" was far from Revueltas' mind. In Silvestre Revueltas: Sounds of a Political Passion, author Roberto Kolb-Neuhaus shows how Revueltas, strongly inspired by the Mexican and Russian Revolutions, sought ways to sound the voice of the commoners wandering the Mexican streets, as well as that of gypsy miners in Spain, Black women in the U.S. South, and slaves in Cuba in colonial times. The soundings of such social actors and their environments account for the great variety of musical approaches in Revueltas' scores, from Dadaistic collages satirizing domesticating nationalisms to symphonic poems akin to socialist realism. The intent behind this hermeneutic approach is to reveal and inform the political passion expressed in Revueltas's music, interlinked with his writings and political actions. Buried in history for half a century, Revueltas has recently risen to be recognized as one of the most prominent Latin American composers of the twentieth century. The peculiar story of his life and works reveals not only what led to the stunning originality of his music that was unprecedented in Western art music. It also opens the window to all those interested in the unique art that emerged in Mexico as a result of the Revolution that shook the country for decades at the offset of the twentieth century.

About the Author
Roberto Kolb-Neuhaus has dedicated his life as a researcher to the study of the music of Silvestre Revueltas. He has published four books on the composer, including the catalog of his works. He designed the Foro Virtual Silvestre Revueltas homepage, and he is also the editor of the bilingual Revueltas Digital Manuscript Library. He is also the chief editor of the Revueltas Critical Edition, published by the National University of Mexico in collaboration with Peer Music. Kolb-Neuhaus has also contributed to the revival of Revueltas in his capacity as a performer and artistic director of Camerata de las Americas. His identity as a cultural promoter has led to the inclusion of Revueltass music in concert programs in Europe, United States and South America.

Reviews
In an unprecedented approach to the study of politically-driven music, Roberto Kolb-Neuhaus mines an arsenal of analytical tools from an array of disciplines to deconstruct the compositional legacy of Silvestre Revueltas (1899-1940), the legendary rebel of Mexican music."-Malena Kuss, Ph.D., University of North Texas, Denton (Emeritus)
This book contributes to position Revueltas in his rightful place as a composer of international importance, and to remove the patina of mysticism that has made Revueltas and his life the subject of much equivocation."- Carlos Sanchez-Gutierrez, Professor of Composition, Eastman School of Music



Book Information
ISBN 9780199751488
Author Roberto Kolb-Neuhaus
Format Hardback
Page Count 736
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 1107g
Dimensions(mm) 165mm * 237mm * 52mm