Eunice Katunda

Eunice Katunda (also spelled Catunda) (née do Monte Lima) was a Brazilian pianist, composer, music educator, lecturer, and poet. Katunda was born in Rio de Janeiro on March 14, 1915, and died at 76 years old on August 3, 1990 in São José dos Campos.

Education and career Showing signs of being a child prodigy, Katunda began playing the piano at just two years old. She learned piano with Mima Oswald from age of 5 to 8, then with Branca Bilhar from age 9 to 12, and then with Oscar Guanabarino from age 13 to 21.

In around 1934, she moved to São Paulo where she studied piano with Marieta Lion.

In 1946 she returned to Rio de Janeiro and began her studies with Hans-Joachim Koellreutter. In her compositional studies, she was especially interested in avant-garde and modern composers and she expanded her knowledge of counterpoint, musical aesthetics, orchestration, and arrangement. Katunda continued to compose until 1983, with her most prolific period being the 1950s and 1960s. She could speak and write in three languages, English, French, and Italian.

Personal life

Katunda's parents were Rubens do Monte Lima from Rio Grande do Sul and Maria Grauben Bomilcar, a native painter from Ceará. Her brother was Hélio do Monte Lima who was a sculptor who lived in São Paulo.

In 1934, she married a mathematician named Omar Catunda and the couple lived in São Paulo. They both used the surname Catunda until they separated in 1964 from which point she used the last name Katunda, altering the C to a K. Kater also wrote Eunice Katunda: Brazilian musician, a biography with a catalogue of her works.

Compositional style Katunda's musical style often combined serial music, 12-note technique, and Brazilian folk motives and elements. Her art engaged themes of socialism, political activism, nationalism, and was influenced by Afro-Brazilian culture. She composed in tension with both wanting her music to be accessible to the everyday listener but also enjoying the 20th century expansion of serialism.

Performances

Katunda's performances Katunda's first solo piano recital was on October 22, 1927, performed at 12 years of age. She played Branca Bilhar's Bailado Indígena and the venue was the National Institute of Music in Rio de Janeiro. Canções à Maneira de Época. Text by Vinícius de Moraes No. 1. Assim Como as Folhas, No. 2. O Mais Que Perfeito, No. 3. Anunciação, No. 4. O Anjo das Pernas Tortas, No. 5. Não Comerei, No. 6. O Espectro da Rosa, No. 7. Ser Subjetivo, No. 8. Refrão de Infância, No. 9. Teu Nome Duas Devoções Nordestinas No. 1. Bom Jesus do Calvário, No. 2. Encomenda de Almas Duas Líricas Gregas No. 1. Aóion (alternate title: Prenúncio do Sol), No. 2. Pois Que Tão Raramente (alternate title: A FlautaI) Due lirici di Ungaretti. Text by Giuseppe Ungaretti No. 1. Sono una Creatura Estro Africano N.1 (Duas Cantigas das Águas). Text: Bible or other Sacred Texts No. 1. Louvor de Oxum, No. 2. Louvor de Yemanjá Estro Romântico. Texts of No. 1 and 3 by Eunice Katunda, texts of No. 2 and 4 by Vinícius de Moraes No. 1. Consciência de Ser, No. 2. O Sono da Amada, No. 3. Rosa dos Quatro Espinhos, No. 4. Dialética Líricas Brasileiras. Text by Mário de Andrade No. 1. Moda do Corajoso, No. 2. Moda da Solidão-solitude Quatro Incelenças (Quatro cantigas de velório) No. 1. Incelenças Dos Cravos e Rosas, No. 2. Incelenças do Anjo-Serafim, No. 3. Incelenças do Anjo do Céu, No. 4. Incelença das Ave-Marias

Other vocal works Source: Negrinho do Pastoreio cantata for 3vv, flute, guitar, percussion, 1946 Homenagem a Schoenberg, clarinet, viola, cello, piano, 1949 Quintet, viola, cello, clarinet, bass clarinet, piano Seresta, 4 saxophones, 1956 Cantiga de Cego, viola and piano, 1966 Duas Serestas, guitar, 1972

Piano works Source: Variações Sobre um Tema Popular, for piano, 1943 Sonatina, 1946 Quatro Epígrafes: I-Calmo; II- Agitato rubato; III- Grave calmo e IV- Agitato molto, 1948 Quatro Cantos à Morte, 1948 Estudos Folclóricos,1952 Pianoforte Concerto, 1955 Seresta Piracicaba, 1956 Momento de Lorca, 1957 Trovador Obstinado, 1958 Quatro Momentos de Rilke, for piano, 1958 Sonata de Louvação, 1958, revised 1967 Seresta in A, 1967 Três Momentos em New York, 1969 Sonata Fúnebre, 1970 Poemas para Carla, 1977 Expressão Anímica, 1979 Cantos de Macunaíma, ca. 1980s La Dame et La Licorne, 1982, a six-movement suite

Large ensemble works

A Negrinha e Lemanjá, chorus, orchestra, 1955 Cantata do Soldado Morto, chorus, small orchestra, 1965 Cantata dos Marinheiros, chorus, orchestra, 1975