César Guerra-Peixe

Origin

Petrópolis, RJ

Also known as

Guerra Peixe, César Guerra-Peixe Muller Alves

Years Active

1930–1993

Genres

erudite music, musical nationalism, dodecaphony, brazilian popular music

Instruments

violin, acoustic guitar, piano, mandolin

Biography

César Guerra-Peixe was a renowned Brazilian composer, violinist, arranger, and musicologist, born in Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro, on March 18, 1914. The son of Portuguese immigrants of Romani origins, he showed musical talent from childhood, playing the acoustic guitar, violin, and piano. His formal musical training began early, studying violin and music theory, and later composition at the Brazilian Conservatory of Music. Guerra-Peixe had a multifaceted career, working as a musician in salon orchestras, an arranger for radio and TV, a composer of film scores, and a music teacher.

His musical work is marked by different aesthetic phases. Initially, he explored dodecaphony under the influence of Hans-Joachim Koellreutter and the Música Viva group, producing pieces such as "Symphony No. 1". Later, in a significant turnaround, he embraced nationalism, diving into the roots of Brazilian folklore, especially from the Northeast, which resulted in works such as "Maracatus do Recife" and "Mourão". This nationalist phase sought to reconcile elements of the European erudite tradition with Brazilian popular and traditional music, creating a unique musical language representative of national identity.

Guerra-Peixe also dedicated himself intensely to the research and dissemination of Brazilian music, working as a musicologist and organizing concerts featuring the repertoire of national composers. He influenced and taught several important musicians, contributing to the training of new generations of artists. His vast output spans orchestral, chamber, piano, and acoustic guitar music, as well as film scores. César Guerra-Peixe passed away on November 26, 1993, in Rio de Janeiro, leaving an invaluable legacy for Brazilian classical and popular music, and is recognized as one of the great names in national composition.

Discography

• Festa de Ritmos (1956)
• Turista - Músicas de Poly (1959)
• Corações em Ritmo de Dança (1959)
• Johann Strauss Jr., César Guerra-Peixe – O Rei da Valsa Johann Strauss (1959)
• Ciranda, Cirandinha (1966)
• Guerra Peixe, Stanislaw Smilgin, Sonia Maria Vieira – Música Brasileira de Concerto (1975)
• Guerra Peixe, Fernando Cerqueira, Lindembergue Cardoso, Camargo Guarnieri – I Bienal de Música Contemporânea - Disco 4 (1975)
• Villa Lobos - Guerra Peixe - Nobre (1976)
• Camargo Guarnieri / Radamés Gnattali / Guerra Peixe – Laís de Souza Brasil, Perez Dworecki, Orquestra Filarmônica de São Paulo, Simon Blech – Concerto para Piano e Orquestra de Câmara / Concerto para Viola e Orquestra (1976)
• Os Cameristas (1977)
• A Grande Música de Chico Buarque (1978)
• Guerra Peixe, Orquestra RGE, Titulares do Ritmo – Sedução do Norte - Musicas de Capiba (1978)
• Luis Gonzaga Arranjo Sinfônica: Guerra Peixe – A Grande Música de Luis Gonzaga (1978)
• Batalha dos Guararapes (1978)
• A Retirada da Laguna (1979)
• Baden, Vinícius Participaçao Girls From Bahia (Quarteto em Cy) Arranjos e Regencia Guerra Peixe – Os Afro Sambas - Original Recordings from Brazil (1979)
• Clarival do Prado Valladares, Miguel Proença - Nepomuceno / Marlos Nobre / Guerra Peixe / Villa-Lobos – Nordeste Histórico e Monumental Volume ll (1982)
• Ruth Serrão, Piano (1984)
• Guerra-Peixe, Heitor Alimonda – Documentos da Música Brasileira V. 17 (1985)
• George Kaszás, Claudio Santoro, Osvaldo Lacerda, Ascendino Theodoro Nogueira, Carlos Cruz, Sérgio Oliveira de Vasconcellos-Corrêa, César Guerra-Peixe – Música Brasileira Contemporãnea (1986)
• Guerra-Peixe / Orquestra Sinfônica de Porto Alegre / Regência: Ernani Aguiar – Tributo a Guerra-Peixe (1994)
• Música de Câmara (1996)
• Guerra-Peixe e Heitor Alimonda (1998)
• Concertino, Duas Suites, Quatro Canções, Ponteado e Roda de Amigos (1998)
• Lorenzo Fernândez, Vieira Brandão, Guerra-Peixe, Ernesto Nazareth – Repertório Rádio MEC III (1998)
• Brazilian String Quartet (2000)
• Guarnieri, Guerra-Peixe, Santoro, Lacerda, Pitombeira, Danilo Mezzadri – Epigrams (2017)
• César Guerra-Peixe, Goiás Philharmonic Orchestra, Neil Thomson – Symphonic Suites Nos. 1 And 2 (2022)
• César Guerra-Peixe, Abner Landim, Goiás Philharmonic Orchestra, Neil Thomson – A Retirada da Laguna (2024)
• César Guerra-Peixe - Lucas Martins, Helber Fernandes – Violin Sonatas (2025)
• César Guerra-Peixe, Goiânia Symphony Choir, Goiás Youth Symphony Choir, Goiás Philharmonic Orchestra, Neil Thomson – Symphonies Nos. 1 And 2 'Brasília' (2025)
• Henrique David Korenchendler, Ronaldo Miranda, Ernst Mahle, Guerra Peixe, Esther Scliar, Almeida Prado – II Bienal de Música Brasileira Contemporânea - Disco 1
• Tangos
• Guerra Peixe, Mozart Camargo Guarnieri, Государственный Симфонический Оркестр Министерства Культуры СССР – ГЕРРА ПЕЙШЕ. ПАУЛИСТА Симфоническая сюита № 1