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Pianist/Composer Orlando
Otey
At the age of two
Orlando Otey was placed at the piano by his mother. It was 1927 and
she had always hoped to have a son who would become a concert pianist.
This young pianist went on to give his first concert at the age of
four at the Teatro Iris in his native Mexico City.
By the age of five he
had toured Mexico and by seven he had toured Europe. He also began
composing at an early age, and when he was just 14 he composed his
first piano concerto, already having completed a list of other
compositions.
In 1940 at the age of 15
while on tour in Mexico giving programs of his own compositions that
included several mazurkas, nocturnes and etudes, Otey was heralded as The
Chopin of Mexico by critics and the press. Not only was
his playing of Romantic music remarkable, his own works were taken by
many to be compositions of Chopin, some critics quipping they were
works that Chopin forgot to write.
Aside from performing
throughout his teen years Otey became a faculty member at the
University of Mexico School of Music by age 17. He thereafter came to
the U.S. in 1945 and pursued studies at The Curtis
Institute of Music in Philadelphia upon a full scholarship for his
compositions. Otey studied with
Gian-Carlo Menotti and Vladimir Sokoloff.
In 1949 Otey was one of
3 pianists selected to represent the United States at the Chopin Centennial Piano Competition in
Warsaw, Poland (see New York Times clipping here).
Otey continued to
perform and compose, but also contributed to music education for many
year after. In 1968 he was heralded as the "Poet of
America" for his performances in Greece.
Bio....
Press & Review Links
New
York Times - September 11, 1949
The
Otey Music Theory System
5 Year Old Concert Pianist and Child
Prodigy...
Leticia Gómez-Tagle plays Otey Toccata
"Alacrán"
The
keyboard of Orlando Otey’s piano used when he was a boy - an 84
key 1876 Steinway found discarded in a
chicken
house of an hacienda near Mexico City.
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Music Theory
Otey devoted more than 50 years of
his life to music theory and a teaching method, organizing a systemic approach that allowed
his students to excel in the understanding of notation, scales, staffs,
rhythm and other aspects of music construction. 'The Otey Music Theory
System' is separated into 9 Patterns of Music that comprises a
holistic approach for students.
Both performers and composers gain
musical insights from Otey's method.
More
Detail....
The first page of Sonata "Tenochtitlán" 1948
Related Links
Tenochtitlán 1325
Detailed Liner Notes
Hear
Other Piano Recordings Performed By Otey
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The Chopin Of
Mexico
When Otey was 15 he
was dubbed "El Chopin de Mexico"
in the media in Mexico because
his compositions where so 'Chopinesque' in style. Otey would
also improvise in this style with piano virtuosity. This is a
title that Otey was not very enthusiastic about, though, it
followed him in the press for years after. Interestingly, a
number of parallels exist between Frédéric Chopin
and Otey, such as:
- Otey left his
native Mexico for the US ~age 20.
- Chopin left his native Poland for France ~age 20.
- both had mothers who were pianists.
- both were acclaimed 'best pianists' in their native countries as
youths.
- both supported themselves more as music teachers in their later
years, compared to concertizing.
- both wrote compositions reflecting their native homes, expressing
folk themes and/or nationalism.
- both composed Romantic style works. Certainly, Chopin was a
pioneer in this area, however, at a time when early 20th century
classical music was becoming more atonal Otey remained drawn to the
Romantic style, using extended rubato rhythmic phrasing along with
chromaticism, and counterpoint to further integrate emerging jazz
idioms, and taking salon genres such as the nocturne to even deeper levels of sophistication
than Chopin.
- both were told by doctors that they would die due to illnesses a
number of times along the course of their lives. More
Detail....
Orlando Otey was
described as "El Chopin Mexicano" in this 1958 XELA
article. |