Chiquinha Gonzaga

Chiquinha Gonzaga

Genres: chorinho, piano, brazilian, brazil, choro

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About Chiquinha Gonzaga

Francisca Edwiges Neves Gonzaga (October 17, 1847, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil — February 28, 1935, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), best known as Chiquinha Gonzaga, was a Brazilian composer, pianist and conductor. She was the first 'choro' pianist, author of the first carnival march ("Ó Abre Alas", 1899) and also the first woman to conduct an orchestra in Brazil. At a time when waltzes, polkas, and tangos prevailed in the elite musical scene in Brazil, Chiquinha incorporated in her compositions the diversity found in the music of the lower classes. The need to adapt the sound of the piano to popular taste earned her recognition as Brazil's first popular composer. Gonzaga was also a pioneer in defending the copyrights of musicians and theater authors, as well as an active participant in the movement for the abolition of slavery, selling her sheet music from door to door in order to raise funds for the Liberation Confederation. With the money raised from the sale of her songs, she bought the freedom of José Flauta, a slave musician. Chiquinha's father was a field marshal of the Brazilian Imperial Army, and her mother was the daughter of a freed slave. Gonzaga received an education that would ordinarily have lead her to be a “sinházinha”, a respectful officer's daughter. She learned how to read, write, and do math, but also music, especially how to play the piano, a distinctive mark of a real lady. In 1863, at age 16, Francisca married Jacinto do Amaral, a navy official, 8 years older than her, who would not agree to allow Chiquinha to pursue a musical career. With the marriage not doing well, Chiquinha, after having her third baby, fled her husband and was “declared dead and of unpronounceable name” by her father. She became the first woman in Brazil to obtain a legal divorce. Chiquinha began to participate in balls and “chorões” reunions, normally reserved for men, where she met the flautist Joaquim Callado and started to play in his group, O Choro do Calado, being the first woman to play in this group. During this time she composed her first success, the polka Atraente, in 1877, “composed by the piano, as an improvisation, during a ‘choro’ meeting” . At that time, she was famous but highly criticized by the masculine society of her time. Chiquinha is most known for her works for the Carnival in Brazil, such as Ó Abre Alas, and theatrical works, as for example, the operetta Forrobodó.

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