Luis Engelke

In a May 2007 concert, Luis Engelke delivered a world première of José Siqueira’s Concertino para Trompete e Orquestra de Câmera and a modern première of Rafael Méndez’s arrangement of Malaguena Salerosa. The concert, with the Towson University Symphony Orchestra conducted by Brenda Leach, took place in Towson's Harold J. Kaplan Concert Hall.

Siqueira’s Concertino was lost and discovered recently by Engelke and restored during a university-sponsored sabbatical. The only existing sources for the reconstruction of this work were partially surviving orchestral parts: neither the original score nor solo trumpet part remain. Written in 1966, the concertino never received a premiere. Siqueira (1907-1985), who was one of Brazil’s prominent trumpet players toward the middle of the 20th century, eventually became one of the nation’s leading musical figures and composers, conducting his own music with orchestras in Philadelphia, New York, Rochester, Montreal, Lisbon, Paris, and Moscow. In Brazil, Siqueira taught at Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, founded Orquestra Sinfônica Nacional and Orquestra de Câmara do Brasil, co-founded Academia Brasileira de Música and Orquestra Sinfônica Brasileira, and published several didactic texts in Portuguese.

Towson University thanks David Hickman and the Méndez family for access to Rafael’s unpublished manuscripts, allowing for the performance of Rafael’s adored Romanza. The all-Latin program also featured the music of Joaquim Turina, José Luis Elizondo, Gilberto Gagliardi, and Emmanuel Chabrier.

Links:
Luis Engelke at Towson University
Towson University Department of Music