Rolón, José

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Rolón, José

Rolón, José , Mexican composer and teacher; b. Ciudad Guzman, July 21, 1876; d. Mexico City, Feb. 3, 1945. He studied with Moszkowski and Gédalge in Paris. In 1911 he founded a music school in Guadalajara, which he headed until 1927. He then completed his training with Boulanger and Dukas at the école Normale de Musique in Paris (1927–29). In 1930 he joined the faculty of the Cons. Nacional de Musica in Mexico City, where he taught until his death. Rolen’s first works were influenced by German Romanticism. Mexican nationalism came to dominate his later works and, after 1924, a modern French influence became discernible. His Piano Concerto is a classic in the virtuoso tradition.

Works

DRAMATIC: Ballet: El Festin de los Enanos (1925). orch.: Sym. (1918–19); Obertura de Concierto (1920); Scherzo Sinfonico (1928); Piano Concerto (1928–35; Mexico City, Sept. 4, 1942); Cuauhtemoc (1929); Zapotlân: 1895, symphonie suite (1929; Mexico City, Nov. 4, 1932); Baue Michoa-cano (1930). CHAMBER: Piano Quartet (1914); String Quartet (1935). Piano: Très Danzas indigenas Jalisenais (1929). VOCAL: Songs.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire