EXPLORING THE GUATEMALAN PIANISTIC LEGACY: REVEALING THE HIDDEN GEMS OF THE 20TH AND 21ST CENTURY

Abstract

In the 20th and 21st centuries, the country of Guatemala produced an extraordinary amount of excellent music written for the piano. Composers Manuel Martínez-Sobral, Ricardo Castillo, Jesús Castillo, Jorge Sarmientos, and more contemporary figures such as Joaquín Marroquín, Enrique Solares, and Xavier Beteta all contributed to the evolution of piano compositions. In this performance dissertation, I will perform selected works from this legacy. I will also provide an in-depth analysis of the selected works and historical context, educational influences, and cultural exchanges that have shaped this musical tradition. The repertoire will be explored with a particular emphasis on pointing out various composer’s stylistic characteristics.The selected dissertation repertoire includes my two-piano arrangement of Jorge Sarmientos’ “Concierto para Piano No. 1 Op. 10” for its academic value and to aid in studying and performing this pivotal Guatemalan piano concerto. This DMA dissertation project includes two solo recitals and a two-piano recital, showcasing my arrangement of Sarmiento’s concerto. The written portion of the dissertation also presents the score of this arrangement. All recitals were held in the Gildenhorn Recital Hall at the University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland. The live audio recordings of these recitals can be found in the University of Maryland's Digital Repository.