Adeus, adeus para violoncelo e piano de Walter Smetak: uma redescoberta

Abstract

This master’s research presents a study of the work Adeus, adeus, for cello and piano, composed by Walter Smetak in 1948, in memory of Mahatma Gandhi. The main goal of this work is to relate the aesthetic and structural aspects of the piece to the sociohistorical and cultural context in which it was composed, with no intention of helping the performer in the process of interpreting the piece. To do so, the text addresses Walter Smetak’s artistic career, the socio-political and cultural circumstances in the city of Salvador -BA, the influence of the composer’s artistic production on the arts in general, the interconnection of the aesthetic purpose with the Eastern world and Hindu philosophy. The steps of the methodological procedure were: 1st – the collection of scores and literature involving the production of the Bahia Composers Group; 2nd – interviews with cellist Marcos Roriz, who debuted the work Adeus, adeus; and with composer Gereba Barreto; 3rd – edition of the score in digital format, for study, analysis and dissemination; 4th – analysis of the work and the conceptual, theoretical and technical correlations used by the composer, based on a procedure of intertextuality and idiosyncrasies. The results proposed in this research show that artistic productions are subordinated to different creative purposes, and it is necessary to re-establish the integration of artistic concepts, since the individuation of areas of knowledge into specialties is interfering in the identification of different creative processes and consequently in the interpretative choices corresponding to the structures in a musical work.