Uncovering the Stylistic Traits of Romantic Leopoldo Miguéz

Abstract

Leopoldo Miguéz (1850–1902) was a pioneer of absolute music in Brazil, composing the first Brazilian symphony, symphonic poem, violin sonata, and nocturne. Despite his prominent position in historical accounts of the late-nineteenth century in the country, his music has received little analytical attention to date due to its lack of Brazilian elements. Here I conduct an in-depth examination of Miguéz’s compositional practices and stylistic preferences through a detailed analysis of the thematic material, tonal relations, harmony, and form (Caplin 1998. Hepokoski; Darcy 2006. Hepokoski 2021) of one of his most popular piano works: Allegro Appassionato op. 11 (1883). Miguéz reached the peak of his national popularity during Brazil’s change of regime from monarchy to republic in 1889, and the resulting shift in musical aesthetic preferences from Italian opera and sacred genres to German instrumental music. While Wagner, Liszt, and Zukunftsmusik have long been known as influences on Miguéz’s compositional style, I suggest that Beethoven, Brahms, and the formalist-organicist tradition also permeate his works. The last part of this paper consists of a comparative analysis of analytical findings for the Allegro Appassionato and a group of parameters identified as potential markers of Miguéz’s compositional style: use of proto-themes, mediant regions, roving harmonies, smooth voice leading, and motivic economy.