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Rodrigo Herrera Nicolás Kliwadenko René Silva
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The Early History of Chile’s “Hindemith Quintet.”


With its members Guillermo Bravo Fauré, flute; Enrique Peña, oboe; Emilio Donatucci, bassoon; Jaime Escobedo, clarinet and Raúl Silva, horn, the Hindemith Quintet (Quinteto Hindemith) launched its 1967 tour on September 13, 1967, in the city of Concepción, with a concert in the Casa del Arte. From there, the group offered 170 concerts that spanned the length and breadth of Chile, from Arica in the north to Tierra del Fuego in the south. In addition to some of the standard repertoire for wind quintet, the group premiered a number of works by Chilean composers, such as Miguel Letelier, Iris Sangüeza, Darwin Vargas Wallis (1925-88), Celso Garrido-Lecca (1926-) and Federico Heinlein (1912-99).

Between October 20 and November 26, 1969, the Quintet realized its first tour of Latin America, and presented concerts in Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Venezuela. During this 41 day tour the Quintet performed works by Reicha, Danzi, Bozza and Mozart, as well as works by the Chilean composers Celso Garrido-Lecca and Domingo Santa Cruz (1899-1987).

In 1970 this group participated in the recording of long-play record that included two important works for wind quintet by Roberto Escobar Budge (1926-) and Darwin Vargas-Wallis. In 1974 the quintet recorded a stereo album of assorted works for different combinations of instruments, including "Soli," for oboe, clarinet, bassoon and trumpet, by Carlos Chávez and the Villa-Lobos “Bacchiana No. 5” for flute and bassoon.

In October 1975, a group of six Chilean composers and instrumentalists came together to form an outgrowth of the Hindemith Quintet called the “Hindemith 76.” Their goal was to attract members of the public who were interested not only in the masterpieces of the Baroque and Classical periods, but also in works from the impressionist and contemporary eras. They were also interested in presenting Latin American compositions in which popular elements were enriched through a symbiosis with the more academic tradition of classical music.

The ensemble’s composers, Adolfo Flores, Guillermo Rifo (1945-) and Nino García (1957-98) created a repertory for the ensemble in a contemporary style that added to a growing list of Chilean sheet music for wind instruments.


In addition to works by Flores, Rifo and García, the group also premiered a number of works by some of Chile’s most important contemporary composers, including “Quinteto 743131” by José Manuel Silva and “Divertimento” by Luis Advis (1935-2004). The group’s three other members at that time were bassoonist Emilio Donatucci, flutist Alberto Harms and percussionist Domingo Vial.


The success of this repertory and the artistic quality of the group’s performances led to the recording of a long-play record, entitled “El cantar de nuestra América,” on the Emi-Odeón label. However, the works that were recorded were largely arrangements of popular Latin American melodies, such as “Quiero un sombrero,” by Féliz Cárdenas and “Luna tucumana,” by Atahualpa Yupanqui.

For more information about the music of this country, including links to conservatories, university music departments and other institutes and organizations, please see our country resource page for Chile.

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