Gilberto Mendes

Origin

Santos, SP

Years active

1949–2016

Genres

contemporary music, avant-garde, erudite music

Instruments

piano, voice

Biography

Gilberto Ambrósio Garcia Mendes was born in Santos on October 13, 1922, emerging as one of the leading composers and intellectuals of Brazilian contemporary avant-garde music. A pioneer in the fields of aleatoric music and concrete music in the country, he also co-signed the Música Nova Manifesto in 1963 and was deeply connected to the concrete poetry of the Noigandres group. His career included intense academic and pedagogical activity, working as a professor at the University of São Paulo and at foreign institutions in the United States.

Throughout his career, he created striking works that engaged with social and political issues, such as the famous Motet in D Minor, known as Beba Coca-Cola, alongside compositions like Vila Socó, Meu Amor and O Anjo Esquerdo da História. His work in fostering contemporary culture also materialized in the founding of the Festival Música Nova, considered the most traditional international showcase of the genre in Latin America. Gilberto Mendes passed away in his hometown on January 1, 2016, leaving an invaluable legacy for musical modernity alongside names like Cláudio Santoro and Olivier Toni.