Rogério Duprat

Origin

Rio de Janeiro, RJ

Also known as

Rogério Ronchi Duprat

Years Active

1950–2000s

Genres

tropicalia, MPB, avant-garde, classical, experimental music

Instruments

cello, harmonica, acoustic guitar

Biography

Rogério Duprat was a foundational figure in Brazilian music, best known as the "George Martin of Tropicália" for his revolutionary role as an arranger and conductor. Born in Rio de Janeiro but largely based in São Paulo, Duprat successfully bridged the gap between academic avant-garde and popular music. He was a key architect of the Tropicalist movement in the late 1960s, where his orchestral arrangements provided the experimental backbone for the works of artists such as Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso.

Before his transition into MPB, Duprat had a rigorous classical background. He studied at the Conservatório Heitor Villa-Lobos and was a cellist for several prestigious ensembles, including the São Paulo Municipal Symphony Orchestra. In 1963, he co-authored the Música Nova manifesto alongside composers like Júlio Medaglia and Gilberto Mendes, advocating for the use of dodecaphonism and serialism in Brazilian music. This academic curiosity eventually bled into his pop work, where he famously combined string sections with electric guitars and found sounds, most notably on the seminal 1968 album Tropicália: ou Panis et Circencis.

Throughout the 1970s, Duprat's influence continued to expand as he worked on landmark recordings, including the arrangements for Chico Buarque's complex "Construção" and Rita Lee's solo debut. His ability to blend high-art sophistication with pop accessibility made him one of the most sought-after musical directors in the country. In his later years, Duprat withdrew from the public eye due to progressive hearing loss and health issues, spending his final years in the São Paulo countryside before passing away in 2006.

Discography

• Rogério Duprat com a Orquestra Fantasia – Distração (1962)
• Ritmos No Ar (1964)
• Sempre Carnaval: História do Carnaval Brasileiro, 1870 A 1967 (1967)
• A Banda Tropicalista Do Duprat (1968)
• Lindolpho Gaya / Rogério Duprat – Os Maestros Premiados (1968)
• The Brazilian Suite (1970)
• Orquestra Regência de Rogério Duprat / Nelson Romulo Piazza – Um Certo Capitão Rodrigo (Trilha Sonora Original do Filme) (1971)
• Brasil com "S" (1974)
• Régis Duprat e Rogério Duprat – Valsas & Polcas (1978)
• Regis Duprat e Rogério Duprat – Maxixes (1978)
• Régis Duprat e Rogério Duprat – A Bela Época (1978)
• Regis Duprat e Rogério Duprat – Dobrados (1978)
• Evocação IV - Anacleto de Medeiros (1981)
• I Hate Lies (2014)