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March, 2015

Sunday, March 01, 2015 | 12:00 pm

Music as an Intellectual Practice in Mexico’s El Colegio Nacional

Ana R. Alonso-Minutti , Department of Music

Dr. Ana R. Alonso-Minutti explores music as an intellectual discipline in the context of El Colegio Nacional, and specifically Carlos Chávez’s role in establishing the figure of the composer-intellectual. Founded by presidential decree in 1943, El Colegio Nacional stands as the most prestigious intellectual apparatus in Mexico. Among its founding members, Chávez stood out as a central figure in the development and orientation of the cultural practices of the country. Interested in securing a place for music within this circle, Chávez established a model of a composer-intellectual who follows a modernist ideology of musical progress. Over seventy years later, this model still stands. Chávez’s successors at this institution have succeeded in defending this ideology and, as a consequence, have guaranteed State support for the creation and performance of Mexican contemporary concert music.