1988

Radamés Gnattali is one of the most prominent artists in Brazilian music who managed to easily circulate between the realms of classical and popular music. Gnattali is the key figure to understand the thin line that divides Brazilian music.

His mother was a pianist and his father, an Italian immigrant who settled in Porto Alegre (Rio Grande do Sul, South). Radamés absorbed from a very early age his parents’ love of Opera. The couples' three children were named after the characters of Verdi's operas: Radamés, Aida and Ernâni.

Radamés studied piano with his mother. At age 9, he won a prize for conducting a junior orchestra, which performed the arrangements written by him. At 14, Gnattali joined the Porto Alegre Conservatory of Music to continue his piano studies, also taking up the viola. In that same period, Gnattali used to hang out with bohemian serenade groups and carnival bands. Since he could not bring his piano along, Gnattali learned to play the cavaquinho (a tyni, 4-string acoustic guitar). To make a living as a student, Gnattali played the piano at movie theaters and balls.

In 1924, Gnatalli finished his course at the conservatory and went to Rio de Janeiro to perform a Tchaikovski piece conducted by Francisco Braga at the Teatro Municipal, the most important classical music venue in Rio de Janeiro. During his stay in Rio de Janeiro, Gnatalli met composer Ernesto Nazareth and spent the next two years commuting between Porto Alegre and Rio de Janeiro, working solely with classical music. In his native town, he set up a string quartet and toured Rio Grande do Sul, which helped strengthen his orchestration skills.

In the early 30's Gnatalli definitively settled in Rio de Janeiro, where he debuted as a composer, presenting "Rapsódia Brasileira", performed by pianist Dora Bevilacqua.

In that same period, due to the financial trouble, Gnatalli decided to focus on popular music. He was hired by an orchestra that played at balls, parties and radio shows. In 1934 he was hired as an arranger by the record label Victor; two years later, he was hired by Rádio Nacional. At that radio station, Gnattali worked as a pianist, soloist, conductor, composer, and arranger, making use of his classical training to perform popular music. He worked for Rádio Nacional for 30 years and created some outstanding arrangements for songs such as "Lábios que Beijei" (J. Cascata/ Leonel Azevedo), recorded by singer Orlando Silva in 1937, and "Aquarela do Brasil" (Ary Barroso), in 1939.

In 1943, Gnattali founded the Orquestra Brasileira de Radamés Gnattali, which performed arrangements written by the maestro in the program Um Milhão de Melodias, playing foreign music with a Brazilian twist. Radamés introduced new effects by making the orchestra’s musicians play their instruments in a more percussive way. This show was the first program to pay tribute to composers like Ernesto Nazareth, Chiquinha Gonzaga and Zequinha de Abreu.

While working on the radio, Gnattali continued to pursue his classical music career as a pianist and composer. He composed symphonies which have been played all over the world.

In 1960, Gnattali toured Europe with his sextet Sexteto Radamés Gnattali, derived from the quartet Quarteto Continental, which had been founded by Rádio Continental in 1949. The sextet was comprised of Radamés Gnattali, Aída Gnattali (piano), Chiquinho do Acordeom, Zé Menezes (guitar), Pedro Vidal Ramos (bass) and Luciano Perrone (percussion).

In the 1960's, Gnattali was hired by Globo TV Network, where he worked for 11 years as arranger, composer and conductor. Radamés, was a key figure in the re-launching of choro in the 1970's. He helped promoting a number of new musicians, such as Raphael Rabello, Joel Nascimento, Maurício Carrilho and the group Camerata Carioca, besides encouraging his ‘pupils’ to perform music written by acclaimed choro composers from the past, like Chiquinha Gonzaga and Ernesto Nazareth.

In 1983, Gnatalli won the Shell Music award for lifetime achievement as a classical musician. The ceremony was held at the Teatro Municipal, with a tribute concert to this great master, featuring the Symphonic Orchestra of Rio de Janeiro, Duo Assad and the group Camerata Carioca.