Gonzalo Brenes

Gonzalo Brenes Candanedo (May 18, 1907 – January 5, 2003) was a Panamanian composer, musicologist, civil servant, politician and educator. He was known for his work collecting and publishing Panamanian folk music. His compositions blended Panamanian folk songs with European classical music. He served a term in the National Assembly of Panama, and from 1953 to 1960 he was Panama's Secretary of Culture. He taught at several institutions in Panama, including serving as the Advisory Director of Panama's National Institute of Music.

Early life and education The son of Don Agustín Brenes and Aurora Candanedo Gutiérrez, Gonzalo Brenes Candanedo was born on May 18, 1907, in David, Chiriquí, Panama. He studied piano in his youth with a variety of teachers, and began his higher education studies in music at the National Institute of Panama after winning a music scholarship through a performance competition in 1923. There he was a pupil of Dr. José Dolores Moscote with whom he studied music until he graduated in 1927. He pursued further studies at the Leipzig Conservatory (now the University of Music and Theatre Leipzig) in Germany where he was a pupil of composer Sigfrid Karg-Elert. He studied for four years at the conservatory from 1927 until his graduation in 1931. There he learned to speak German, and was heavily influenced by the music at St. Thomas Church, Leipzig which he attended regularly while in that city. He also made the acquaintance of composers Richard Strauss and Igor Stravinsky during his time in Germany.

Composer and researcher Brenes was highly impacted by his studies with Karg-Elert who emphasized the importance of using folk music as a source of inspiration for music composition in keeping with his own ideas of nationalism as it impacted music composition. Karg-Elert encourgaged Brenes to examine the music of his own people and culture to inspire his music composition writing, and accordingly his music composition writing while studying under Karg-Elert embraced Panamanian music forms like saloma, cumbia, and tamborito in combination with classical European music. This interest in Panamanian music blossomed further in Brenes's later career as a musicologist and folk song collector. His passion for Panamanian music was further reinforced after Brenes returned to Panama in 1931 when he read Narciso Garay’s Tradiciones y cantares de Panamá.