Luis Pacheco de Cespedes

Luis Pacheco de Céspedes (25 November 1895 – 16 February 1982) was a Peruvian composer, violinist, and conductor.

Life and career

Luis Pacheco de Céspedes was born in Lima, Peru on 25 November 1895. He was trained as a musician in his native city by violinist Claudio Rebagliati (1843–1909) and musicologist and composer Luis Villalba Muñoz (1872–1921). In 1910 he went to Paris where he was a pupil of the writer Henri Duvernois.

After graduating from the conservatory he worked for many years as an arranger for the music publishing firm of Francis Salabert; specializing in orchestration.

With the onset of World War II, Céspedes left France for Peru where his compositional style transitioned into incorporating Peruvian folk music into his compositions. His wife, the American choreographer and dancer , was a collaborator, often designing dances to accompany his music. In 1941 he was appointed musical director of Radio Nacional del Perú, and was also active as a guest conductor of operas at the Gran Teatro Nacional del Perú. In 1946 he was the recipient of the government of Peru's Duncker Lavalle National Prize for his string quartet Siclla. three sonatas for violin and piano, the opera La Conquista, the symphonic poem Navidad en la Trinchera, and numerous compositions for ballet and film.