Ernesto Nazareth

Origin

Rio de Janeiro, RJ

Years Active

1877–1934

Genres

choro, brazilian tango, waltz, polka, salon music

Instruments

piano

Biography

Ernesto Nazareth was a celebrated Brazilian composer and pianist, widely recognized for his unique contribution to salon music, choro, and Brazilian tango. Born in Rio de Janeiro, he developed a singular piano language that synthesized European influences, especially from Chopin, with syncopated rhythms and the sound of popular instruments such as the acoustic guitar, cavaquinho, and flute. His vast oeuvre encompasses hundreds of pieces, highlighting waltzes, polkas, and tangos that marked the transition between the 19th and 20th centuries in Rio de Janeiro's musical culture.

Throughout his career, he worked as a pianist in cafes, cinemas, and music stores, in addition to performing in important concert venues. His rhythmic and melodic genius attracted the admiration of major figures in both classical and popular music, receiving tributes and drawing inspiration from artists such as Heitor Villa-Lobos and Darius Milhaud. Emblematic pieces like Brejeiro and Odeon transcended the boundaries of solo piano, being performed by orchestras, choro ensembles, and renowned instrumentalists.

Posterity has consecrated his importance to Brazil's musical identity, with his work kept in the spotlight by performers and researchers. Names like Jacob do Bandolim, Radamés Gnattali, and Mário de Andrade helped preserve and disseminate his legacy in the following decades. Today, Nazareth is remembered as one of the pillars of Brazilian piano modernity and an undisputed master in the fusion of European erudition and urban popular vitality.

Discography

• Eudóxia de Barros, Ernesto Nazareth – Gotas de Ouro - Músicas de Ernesto Nazareth (1965)
• Roberto Szidon, Nazareth – Antologia da Música Romântica Brasileira Vol. 2 – Ernesto Nazareth (1967)
• Ouro Sobre Azul (Eudóxia de Barros Interpreta Ernesto Nazareth) (1975)
• Antonio Adolfo Abraça Ernesto Nazareth – Os Pianeiros (1981)
• Zequinha de Abreu & Ernesto Nazareth (1983)
• Arthur Moreira Lima Plays Tangos, Waltzes, Polkas Of Ernesto Nazareth (1983)
• Ernesto Nazareth, Marco Antonio de Almeida – Brazilian Piano Music (1984)
• Ernesto Nazareth - Miguel Proença – Ernesto Nazareth Inédito (1987)
• Ernesto Nazareth, Polly Ferman – Piano Music By Ernesto Nazareth (1989)
• Ernesto Nazareth / James Scott (4) / Joseph F. Lamb, Joshua Rifkin – Rags & Tangos (1991)
• Ernesto Nazareth, Darius Milhaud / Marcelo Bratke – Brasil (1993)
• Nazareth, Maria Teresa Madeira, Pedro Amorim – Sempre Nazareth (1997)
• Izumi Tateno, Ernesto Nazareth – Tango Brasileiro! (1998)
• Doze Valses e Oito Peças para Piano (1998)
• Lorenzo Fernândez, Vieira Brandão, Guerra-Peixe, Ernesto Nazareth – Repertório Rádio MEC III (1998)
• Daniel Wolff (4), Tiago Flores (2), Orquestra de Câmara da ULBRA, Thiago de Mello, Ernesto Nazareth, Radamés Gnattali – Concerto à Brasileira (2000)
• Izumi Tateno, Emiko Mizuki, Astor Piazzolla, Ernesto Nazareth – Tango Duo (2000)
• E. Nazareth, Maria José Carrasqueira – Pièces Pour Piano = Piano Works (2004)
• Ernesto Nazareth, James Scott (4), Joseph F. Lamb – Rags & Tangos (2004)
• Tangos & Waltzes for Piano (2005)
• Ernesto Nazareth, Thomas Tirino – Music For Solo Piano (2005)
• Ernesto Nazareth, Marcelo Bratke, Camerata Brasil – Vale Música (2009)
• Joplin · Nazareth · Gershwin · Guastavino · Brubeck · Cervantes - Stefano Cardi, Enrico Pieranunzi – American Music For Guitar & Piano (2010)
• André Mehmari, Ernesto Nazareth – Ouro Sobre Azul (2014)
• Ernesto Nazareth, Clélia Iruzun – Portrait Of Rio (2015)
• Brenno Blauth, Ernesto Nazareth - Claudia Nascimento, Arcádio Minczuk, Giuliano Rosas, Alexandre Silvério, Nikolay Genov – Dois Quintetos de Sopros Brasileiros (2015)
• Ernesto Nazareth, Marc Teicholz – Celestial - The Music Of Ernesto Nazareth (2016)
• Iuri Bittar Interpreta Nazareth e Radamés – Alma Brasileira (2022)
• Ernesto Nazareth - 150 Anos - Volume 1
• 150 Anos - Volume 2