University of Texas Press

Juan Carlos Paz: A Latin American Supporter of the International Avant-Garde

Author(s): Michelle Tabor
Source: Latin American Music Review / Revista de Música Latinoamericana, Vol. 9, No. 2
(Autumn - Winter, 1988), pp. 207-232
Published by: University of Texas Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/780294
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Michelle Tabor Juan Carlos Paz: A Latin
American Supporter of the
International Avant-garde

The Argentine Juan Carlos Paz (1901-

1972) was largely self-taught composer, a writer about music, a private
a
teacher of composition, and a music critic who never held an official
academic position. He was unique in two respects in the Latin American
musical world. First, he was almost alone in his opposition to the search
that prevailed there, during the first half of this century, for musical
autonomy through nationalism and folklore. Second, he was among the
few composers anywhere in the world during the mid 1930s to adopt
the twelve-tone method of composition. As a consequence of his unpopu-
lar views about musical nationalism and his early adherence to dode-
caphony, Paz was professionally isolated during the 1930s and 1940s.
His isolation gradually diminished after 1945, when younger Latin
American composers became interested in the European avant-garde.
Because of this change in attitude, Paz has come to be regarded through-
out Latin America as an important and influential composer and writer
about music.' However, Paz remains relatively unknown outside of
Latin America. This article provides information about Paz's professional
accomplishments and writings and presents an examination of Paz's
compositions, with particular emphasis on three works written after he
adopted dodecaphony.
In spite of difficulties in his professional endeavors, Paz managed
to gain both national and international recognition for some of his com-
positions. He was awarded in 1924 the first prize in the composition
contest of the Orchestra Faculty Association of Buenos Aires for his
Poema sinfonico (1924). He was also awarded two financially lucrative
first prizes in 1957 and 1958 for music that he wrote for two Argentine
films. Paz's biographer, Jacobo Romano, states that his Passacaglia for
orchestra (1936, second version 1953) was performed at the meeting
of the International Society for Contemporary Music in Paris in 1937.2
However, other sources claim that in addition to the 1937 meeting, some
of his works were also performed at ISCM meetings in Amsterdam in
208 : Michelle Tabor

1933 and New York in 1941.3 His Terceracomposiciondodecafdnicafor

clarinet and piano (1937) appeared in Cowell's New Music in 1943,4
and Mu'sicapara piano y orquesta(1964) was performed at the Third Music
Festival of the Pan American Union in Washington, D.C., in 1965.5
Paz is the author of more than fifty articles that have appeared in
Latin American journals and of four books.6 His writings, which deal
almost exclusively with the music of the twentieth century, reveal an
uncompromising defense of the ideals of the avant-garde. Generally,
these writings highlight his great concern for the state of musical compo-
sition in Latin America and his conviction that composers from that
continent can make significant, lasting contributions to Western music
only if they adopt novel compositional techniques. He believes that Latin
American composers should therefore reject tradition; more specifically,
reject tonality, folklore, and nationalism. His interest in the state of
art music in Latin America is also evident in his founding of and active
participation in organizations intended to foster a greater understanding
and appreciation of contemporary music through performances, publica-
tions, and lectures.7
His book, Introducciona la musica de nuestrotiempo(hereinafter referred
to as Introduction),contains an exposition of his thoughts (some of which
date from around 1930) about the music of this century.8 Most of the
musical developments are scrutinized from the viewpoint of which com-
positional techniques did or were likely to extend the boundaries of the
musical language. For example, Paz believes that atonality and dode-
caphony are the only developments of the first half of this century that
significantly expanded compositional procedures. Hence, it is his opinion
that while there is much to admire in the music of a composer like Debus-
sy, such as contributions in the areas of rhythm, timbre, and nonfunc-
tional harmonies, it nevertheless remains within the bounds of tonality.
Therefore, his music does not truly confront or create alternatives to
the problem of the dissolution of the tonal system. Not surprisingly,
Paz is unsympathetic to the ideals of neoclassicism.
With respect to the second half of the twentieth century, Paz believes
that microtonality, electronic music, and aleatory techniques are among
the compositional developments that may lead music in new directions.
He concludes that whereas dodecaphony constitutes the beginning of a
series of revolutionary developments in music before 1950, its later stage
of integral serialism, as exemplified in the music of Stockhausen and
Boulez, constitutes not the cutting edge of the avant-garde but rather
the end of a movement. He cites the above-named composers' reduced
output during the 1960s as evidence of an impasse precisely because
their works do not truly expand the musical language. These last obser-
vations by Paz reflect his own growing dissatisfaction, after about 1950,
 Juan Carlos Paz: Supporterof the InternationalAvant-garde : 209

with the twelve-tone method of composition, an attitude that is con-

sistent with his lifelong interest in new and different compositional pro-
cedures.
In Introductionand other writings, Paz justifies his radical views about
musical trends in several ways. First, he is convinced that the conditions
of this century are completely different from those of all previous eras
during which Western music has existed. He sees the end of the tonal
era as the end of a long musical development that began during the
Renaissance. In his view, the history of music from the fifteenth to the
early twentieth centuries can be considered to consist of a gradual in-
crease of chromaticism that culminates in atonality, and dodecaphony
signals the beginning of a new era. Second, it is his opinion that this
century is different from previous times because of the unprecedented
and ever-increasing speed with which changes of all kinds take place.
Paz concludes that musical developments of the twentieth century have
been, and continue to be, in a state of "permanent revolution." He be-
lieves that any composer who does not strive to remain in the vanguard
will only fall ever farther behind the latest developments.
The second part of this article consists of a discussion of Paz's compo-
sitions. His extant works date from 1921 to 1964, and they are written
for solo instruments (particularly the piano), chamber ensembles, and
orchestra. According to various writers, Paz's compositions of the 1920s
and early 1930s display the influences of nationalism and neoclassicism.9
The great majority of works written during the 1920s are for solo piano,
and they include Tres piezas liricas (1922); Preludio, coraly fuga (1923);
Primerasonata en mi bemolmayor(1923); and Seis baladas (1927-1929). Paz
began an extensive study of the music of Sch6nberg, Webern, and Berg
around 1930, when he first became acquainted with their works. His
Tres invencionesa dos voces(1932) for piano are, according to Francisco
Kr6pfl, neoclassical in conception, but they also contain elements of
serialism that foreshadow Paz's next compositional phase.'? Paz's earliest
dodecaphonic compositions, such as Primera composiciondodecafdnica(1934)
for flute, English horn, and cello, Segundacomposiciondodecaf6nica(1934-35)
for flute and piano, Terceracomposiciondodecaf6nica(1937), and Cuarta
composicionen los docetonos(1938) for solo violin exhibit very rigid, straight-
forward, simple applications of the tone row, applications that remain
unchanged in all his works until 1945.
Muisica 1946 for piano, written from 1945 to 1947, marks the begin-
ning of Paz's last compositional period, which extends to 1964. Most
writers are of the opinion that Paz's best compositions were written dur-
ing this last period."1 The works completed after 1945 contain more
flexible serial procedures, experiments with nontraditional forms, and a
free or nonserial type of atonality. And the pieces written during the
210 : Michelle Tabor

1960s reflect a greater reliance on intuition in their composition. In

Continuidad1953 for an unspecified instrumental ensemble, durations,
timbres, and dynamic levels are serialized.'2 According to Romano,
Invencidn(1961) for string quartet contains influences of Webernian
pointillism; Nucleos for piano (1962-64) is constructed in accordance
with the principles of a free association of intervallic and rhythmic cells;
and Galaxia 64 for organ and Concrecidn1964 for flute, clarinet, bassoon,
French horn, trumpet, trombone, and tuba are good examples of Paz's
idea that the music creates its own structure, so that no a priori notions
of form affect the compositional process. 3 Musica para piano y orquesta,
completed in 1964, illustrates Paz's uses of free atonality, intervallic
relationships, and sectional, nontraditional forms. More detailed analyses
are provided of the following three works: Cuarta composicionen los doce
tonos, one of Paz's earliest twelve-tone pieces; Mutsica 1946, a work that
signals a change of direction away from Paz's early, simple uses of dode-
caphony toward his later, more complex applications of serial procedures;
and Mutsicapara pianoy orquesta,one of his last compositions.
Cuarta composicionen los doce tonos for solo violin exemplifies Paz's early
serial compositional procedures which indicate that, though he admired
and was influenced by Sch6nberg's ideas and music, he applied the
Viennese composer's methods in his own independent manner."4 The
introductory Lento in measures 1-3, shown in Example 1, presents the
row on which the entire piece is based. In a clear contrast with Sch6n-
berg's usage, the row appears only in the untransposed prime and retro-
grade forms, and very few pitches appear out of order during the course
of the 306 measures of this composition. The reliance on only two forms
of the row precludes the exploitation of possibilities inherent in the hexa-
chordal combinatoriality of Po with I1. Of course, the medium of the
solo violin in itself limits the vertical aspects of the music. The row con-
tains tonal implications that Paz does not hesitate to highlight, as in
Example 2. The retrograde form of the row in this example implies g
minor, with pitch classes that make up the dominant seventh chord on
beats 2 and 3 of measure 74 and the tonic chord at the beginning of
measure 75. Indeed, the augmented fourth C-F# on beat 3 of measure
74 resolves to the major sixth Bb-G on beat 1 of measure 75, in ac-
cordance with traditional voice-leading practices. Examples 1 and 2 show
Paz's preference for simple, barline-oriented rhythms that encompass
infrequent metric changes. The durations range only from sixteenth
notes to dotted half notes during the course of the work. The strictness
in the usage of the row contrasts with the free, through-composed nature
of the four sections (or movements, as Sargent calls them).l4 One could
characterize this through-composed technique as a kind of continuous
variation of the row because no two statements of the row are identical.
 Juan Carlos Paz. Supporterof the InternationalAvant-garde : 211

Example 1. Cuarta composicidnen los doce tonos, mm. 1-3.

Len-Tc v r
-P" el-lzl ~-'1.a.>_
=
Lerth' i VSw

Musical examples 1-4 are from Cuartacomposicidnen los docetonos:?Copyright Editorial

Coopertiva Interamericana de Compositores, and Copyright Institute Interamericano de
Musicologia 1943. Used by permission of Peer International Corporation, exclusive agent
for the world.

Example 2. Cuarta composicionen los doce tonos, mm. 74-75.

14Po / qv _

1 cesct., - Cil

Table 1 shows an outline of the sections of Cuarta composicio'nen los doce

tonos. According to Sargent, this work is neobaroque in conception be-
cause it is loosely patterned after the forms and rhythms of the baroque
suite. 14

Table 1. Sections of Cuarta composicionen doce tonos

Measures Tempo Predominant

Meters

1-3 Lento 4/4

4-48 Allegro Moderato 4/4
49-52 Lento 4/4
53-96 Andante Molto 3/4
97-179 Animato 6/8
180-306 Allegro Moderato 2/4

In spite of a rigid adherence to only two forms of the row, Paz achieves
some flexibility in their statements through various means. For example,
pitch classes are often repeated, as in measures 26 and 27, shown in
212 : Michelle Tabor

Example 3. Measures 265-269 in Example 4 contain several other tech-

niques for the creation of flexibility. The first beat of measure 266 shows
an overlapping of two presentations of Ro with the simultaneous sound-
ing of the last and first pitch classes of the row. The simultaneous pre-
sentation of pitch classes, as in measures 266, 267, and 269, in itself
destroys their ordering within the row. And the last note of measure
268 functions as the last pitch class of Ro as well as the first pitch class
of Po. In conclusion, twelve-tone rows in this work, and in all other
dodecaphonic pieces written by Paz before 1945, exhibit a rigid, simple
adherence to only the untransposed prime and retrograde forms of rows.
Through-composed structures, repetitions of pitch classes, vertical for-
mations, and overlapping of rows are among the few attempts to mitigate
this rigidity.

Example 3. Cuarta composicidnen los doce tonos, mm. 26-27.

p _ p pV PV-

Example 4. Cuarta composicionen los doce tonos, mm. 265-269.

. /~o /+> o RiT.- ..

I

'm;- 11

Mu'sica 1946 for piano can be considered to be transitional between

Paz's early dodecaphonic pieces and the late, nonserial, atonal com-
positions.1" The works of this last period display far more original, com-
plex, and flexible applications of compositional procedures than do the
earlier pieces. Paz must have been pleased with the results of this new,
more flexible approach, because late in his life he stated that he would
have liked to call Musica 1946 his Opus 1, and he referred to the works
written prior to 1945 as forming part of his "prehistory.'"6 This dis-
cussion is limited to a detailed examination of the following two aspects
of Mutsica 1946: the treatment of the row and the overall form, because,
 Juan Carlos Paz. Supporterof the InternationalAvant-garde : 213

more than any others, these two aspects exemplify Paz's independent
adoption of dodecaphony. The treatment of the row will be considered
first.
Musica 1946, a piece twenty pages long,17 is based entirely on the fol-
lowing row, as shown in Example 5. Many applications of this row are
typical of a twelve-tone piece written around 1945 that displays influences
of someone like Schinberg. But other procedures contrast with the treat-
ment of rows by the Viennese composer. For example, consistent with
Paz's practice, only the untransposed prime and retrograde forms of the
row are utilized. Therefore, there is no exploitation of the possibilities
inherent in this row's hexachordal combinatoriality of Po with I5.

Example 5. Twelve-tone row of Muzsica1946.

- ?
04k U bo r, b
ord.e r
nos.: o /, 3 S.- f 7 /0/ I

Musical examples 5-11 are from Mtsica 1946 and are used by kind permission of Ricordi
Americana SAEC, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Within the strict limitations the composer has set for himself, various
means of achieving variety are evident. For example, the many appear-
ances of the two forms of the row, very few of which are identical, could
be termed a kind of continuous variation, a treatment of the row which
is similar to that of Cuarta composicionen los doce tonos. However, this tech-
nique of continuous variation is carried much further in Musica 1946,
primarily because of the greater rhythmic, textural, and other contrasts
in the later composition. The row, either wholly or partially, is some-
times combined with itself through the appearance of the same pitch
classes in different musical lines at slightly different times. Their double
appearance cannot be termed imitative in the conventional sense because
the two statements are very different from each other. These different
statements can be considered to be varied appearances of the row. Mea-
sures 53-55 on page 3 of the composition, shown in Example 6, contain
an illustration of this combining technique. The second hexachord of
R0 appears in measure 53 in the right-hand part. That same hexachord
begins again, nonimitatively, on the third beat of measure 53 in the
left-hand part and continues through measure 54.
The frequent appearances of vertical sonorities, which create unordered
aggregates of pitch classes, also achieve freedom from the strictures of
214 : Michelle Tabor

Example 6. Musica 1946, mm. 53-55, page 3.

53 / i't.
{9
f

the row. These vertical presentations of the row are carried much further
than those in Cuarta composicionen los doce tonos (which contains several
triple stops), because Muisica 1946 contains aggregates of up to nine dif-
ferent pitch classes. The first completely linear appearance of the row
does not occur until page 6. However, the row can be determined long
before page 6 (specifically, at the end of page 1, in measure 25) because
different parts of the row do appear linearly at various times.
The first phrase of the unmetered section labeled J = 76 on page 4
of the piece, shown in Example 7, contains a technique that permeates
the composition. It consists of what appears to be a deliberate interrup-
tion of an emerging pattern, in this case row segmentation, which is one
more procedure that permits continuous variation in the presentations
of the row. Po is combined with Ro. In a comparison of the dyads of
P0 and Ro, any potential contrapuntal interplay that could take place
between the two forms of the row is defeated with the repetition of row
member 7 in the left hand (PO). Furthermore, the third, sixth, and sev-
enth quarter notes also break the pattern of dyads with the appearance
of trichords. The pattern of dyads in Ro is broken at the sixth quarter
note, when 3 and 2 are repeated with only 1. This phrase is also typical
of the entire composition in that there are few instances of omissions
or appearances out of order of pitch classes. On the other hand, the
frequent repetitions of pitch classes permit variety in their groupings.

Example 7. Musica 1946, first phrase of J = 76, page 4.

R - , Ia1l, I-- -
,t_ - -r i. ,- _1

Pon hT
sod, r
con sotdincun h-sta, ?
 Juan Carlos Paz: Supporterof the InternationalAvant-garde : 215

Example 8. Mulsica 1946, canon on page 19, line 3.

(tblossa o rno r0to )

I
i P
*n5 mf i5 A w

presents a striking difference between this piece and works by Sch6n-

berg. The only systematic uses of such devices are found on pages 19
and 20 of the composition. Strict canons at the octave, like the one in
Example 8, appear on lines 3 and 5 of page 19 and on line 1 of page 20.
The last page of the work contains most of the very few systematic seg-
mentations of the row. During the course of most of that page, the row
appears segmented into four trichords in both the P0 and Ro forms,
which sometimes appear combinatorially. The third line of page 20,
shown in Example 9, contains canonic treatments of the trichords. The
term canonic treatment,rather than canons, is used because, while the pitch
class content of the trichords remains identical, the ordering and intervals
of the pitch classes within the trichords do not. For example, at the be-
ginning of the line, the second trichord of Ro (8, 7, 6) appears in the
right hand on the first half note and in the left hand on the second half
note. The second appearance of that trichord differs from the first be-
cause the distances from 6 to 7 and from 7 to 8 are those of interval
class 1 in the first half note and those of interval classes 11 and 13 in the
second half note. The diagonal arrows, from upper left to lower right,
indicate the canonic treatment of the trichords. On the sixth through
ninth half notes, two groups of two trichords appear canonically. These
are grouped together with brackets, and crossing arrows indicate the
canonic treatment. One more intervallic relationship between the tri-
chords can be seen in this example. In terms of interval content only,
the trichords of P0 form the following set types, so that the second and
fourth trichords have the same interval content:18

trichords row members set types

1 0, 1, 2 0, 1, 3
2 3,4,5 0, 1,6
3 6, 7, 8 0, 1,2
4 9, 10, 11 0, 1,6
216 : Michelle Tabor

The diagonal arrows from lower left to upper right indicate this inter-
vallic relationship, except at the twelfth to thirteenth and fourteenth
to fifteenth half notes, where the diagonal arrows indicate the same tri-
chords (the third and first trichords, respectively, of P0). Rows appear
vertically and horizontally. Each complete row in Example 9 is enclosed
within a circular marking. The P0 and Ro presentations are so labeled.
These markings and labels indicate the overlapping of rows and, from
the sixth half note to the end of the example in the right hand, the elision
of rows.

Example 9. Musica 1946, canonic treatment of trichords, page 20, line 3.

9 _ -
j
9
a Hi
-
__,
c1^IO9?

Other treatments of the row in Musica 1946 are commonly encountered

in dodecaphonic music that displays influences of Schonberg. For ex-
ample, the commonly used procedure of overlapping various presenta-
tions of the row appears in Example 6. Ro appears in the right hand in
measures 54-55. It overlaps with the continuation of the second hexa-
chord of Ro in the left hand in measure 54. Still another appearance of
R0 begins in measure 55 in the left hand, and it overlaps with the pre-
sentation of the row in the right hand in measures 54-55. Example 10
shows an instance of the frequent elison of row forms through common
tones. The last two row members of R0 at the end of measure 65 also
function as the first two row members of P0. One other characteristic
that this piece shares with Schonberg's compositions is that of the careful
avoidance of octave doublings.
The sectional, nontraditional form of Musica 1946, as outlined in
Table 2, reflects Paz's search for new means of musical organization.
An examination of this composer's use of forms is interesting because,
in spite of his great admiration for Sch6nberg's music, he found fault
with the Viennese composer's use of conventional forms in conjunction
 Juan Carlos Paz. Supporterof the InternationalAvant-garde : 217

Example 10. Misica 1946, mm. 65-67, page 3.

'
Ro
F-~ P -

!-UsHih 47h:^- ":r-

with dodecaphony. The first section, labeled Moderato, tranquilo, con-

sists of three Moderato, tranquilo subsections interspersed with two Piu
mosso subsections. This initial section is characterized by constantly
changing meters, frequent changes in dynamics, durations that range
from thirty-second notes to quarter notes, frequent wide leaps, a variety
of touches, and sonorities that range from one to eight simultaneous
pitch classes. Examples 6 and 10 are representative of the first section.
The second section, on page 4, labeled J= 76, presents a marked con-
trast to the first one. It consists of two unmetered lines that contain
four phrases of continuous legato quarter notes in the style of a chorale.
Example 7 shows the first phrase of this section. Sections similar to this
one reappear later in the composition and will be discussed presently.
The section labeled Grave '= 92 appears only once.
The Mosso moderato section that begins on page 5 marks an im-
portant juncture in the composition. Another clear contrast with pre-
ceding material is heard, and this is the first of four sections with the
same label that share some general characteristics. The first Mosso mod-
erato section contains the first complete linear presentation of the row.
The first, third, and fourth Mosso moderato sections are unmetered.
All four sections are dominated by running eighth notes, long legato
lines, and two planes of sound that are mostly linear and sometimes
chordal. Interspersed among the Mosso moderato sections are three
sections marked Allegro vivace and one marked Molto moderato. The
Molto moderato section is choralelike and similar to the choralelike
section on page 4. One final statement of a choralelike section marked
J = 76 is found on the last page of the composition, where the row is
segmented into trichords. A line from this final choralelike section ap-
pears in Example 9.
The first two sections marked Allegro vivace, on pages 6-7 and 9-10,
 Table 2. Form of Mutsica1946

I I I
Moderato, J= 76 Grave Mo sso Allegro Mosso Allegro Molto Moss
tranquilo p. 4 1= 92 mocierato vivace moderato vivace moderato mode
J1= 108 2 un- pp. 4-5 4J= 100 J = 116 1= 100 J = 116 J= 76 J=
pp. 1-2 lmetered pp. 5-6 pp. 6-7 pp. 7-9 pp. 9-10 pp. 10-11 pp. 1
mm. 1-38 ]lines 6 uIn- Motivic Mostly Ends 13 un
Chorale met ered 2-note eighth with On p. 11 meter
Piu mosso line s slurs notes 1 un- 1 un- lines
pp. 2-3 1st Long, metered metered Eigh
mm. 39-56 line ar legato line line notes
pressen- lines Motivic Increas- 2 pla
a Tempo I tati( mn 2 planes 2-note ingly
p. 3 of row slurs chorale-
mm. 57-69 Eighth like
notes
Piu mosso, Long,
risoluto legato
p. 3 lines
mm. 70-77 2 planes
 Table 2 (continued)

Tempo I
p. 4
mm. 78-84
220 : Michelle Tabor

are characterized by frequently changing meters and dynamic levels,

durations that range almost without exception from eighth notes to half
notes and very short motives and two-note slurs. The third (and last)
Allegro vivace section differs from the first two in several respects. It is
much longer, being five pages in length, and, like the opening Moderato
tranquilo, two subsections labeled Allegro energico are interspersed
among three Allegro vivace subsections. The two Allegro energico sub-
sections display the most obvious instances of similarities between sec-
tions in the entire composition, as can be seen in Example 11. The first
subsection is seven measures long, and the second subsection is longer,
because in addition to seven measures there is a series of unmetered
whole and half note chords. The seven measures of the first Allegro
energico and the first seven measures of the second Allegro energico are
rhythmically identical, and their contours are very similar but not iden-
tical. The dynamic levels and touch indications are slightly different.
Similarities between all other sections appear to be very general, and
they include characteristics such as tempos, long lines, lengths of motives,
and durations. Perhaps these very general similarities are intended to
preclude conventional techniques of repetition and contrast.

Example 11. Mutsica1946, first Allegro energico subsection, page 15.

RPlegro e er J1 ^

First eight measures of second Allegro energico subsection, page 16.

J= /52
Olle3ro enerr;c_o

i j A Ai A

M
us 1a=
-1 r fff P
f-is_ ~t

Mu'sica 1946 is the first of Paz's compositions that display the com-
poser's increasing maturity and mastery of the twelve-tone method of
composition. Most of the characteristics of the works written from 1934
to 1945 are present in Musica 1946, but many of them are carried much
further or are more complex than those found in the earlier pieces.
 Juan Carlos Paz: Supporterof the InternationalAvant-garde : 221

The third composition examined in this article is Musica para piano y

orquesta(1964), one of Paz's last works. This piece is made up of three
movements marked to be played without pauses. The focus will be on
the second movement because its small dimension makes it more practi-
cal for inclusion in this article and because analysis of the first and third
movements does not add significantly to the knowledge gained through
an examination of the second movement. The second movement, which
is sixty-three measures long, is a slow middle movement labeled simply
J= 72. It is preceded by a movement labeled Allegro moderato (J = 100)
and is followed by a movement labeled Allegro energico (J= 96-100).
The second movement contains two principal means of organization.
On the structural and perhaps more obvious level, certain motives are
reiterated, and they mark the divisions between sections. On a more
subtle level, unity is maintained through the consistent use of certain
intervals.
The structural-motivic organization, as outlined in Table 3, will be
discussed first. The movement opens with long-held aggregate sonorities
in the strings, over which individual pitch classes are each played by a
different instrument, in the manner of Klangfarbenmelodie (see Example
12). Motive X, as shown in Example 13, serves as a means of articula-
tion between the different sections of this movement. It consists of five
pitch classes, an outline of a G major triad in second inversion, with
its major seventh, and a repetition of the first pitch class, together with
the same pattern a minor ninth lower. It appears a total of five times,
beginning in measures 4, 17, 38, 46, and 53, as shown in Table 3. The
first, second, and fifth statements of the motive are the most readily
heard, because they appear in the piano. The third and fourth state-
ments appear in the strings, which at those points accompany the piano.
The pitch classes of motive X are never altered in any of its appearances.
However, their durations are slightly altered. The fifth statement of the
motive is the longest because it is presented twice. The pitch classes re-
main the same the second time, but they move downward rather than
upward. After a measure of rests, the last pitch class, together with its
counterpart a minor ninth lower, is heard once more and held two
measures.
The X motive introduces different elements as it marks the beginning of
five of the six sections of the movement. The first four sections (through
measure 45) contain a gradual rhythmic acceleration due to ever-shorter
note values. The last two sections exhibit longer durations, similar to
those found at the beginning of the movement. Measures 1-16, which in
Table 3 are shown to comprise the first section, are characterized by
fairly uniform rhythms, with a prevalence of quarter notes in measures
1-8 and eighth notes in measures 9-16. The dynamic levels are mostly
piano and mezzo forte. The second statement of motive X in measure
222 : MichelleTabor

Example12. Musica para piano y orquesta,second movement, mm. 1-3

(sounding instruments only).

Fl. 1C - P i g I

Ob.4 -
I - II
P

Clar.
in Bb I I

in Eb

Tpt. - -Ii-

"Timp. 11 ip II

I
Cel.
-
Vl.I - ,
iCbo

- f-p
Vc. 0 I
jf P f-P

D. B. ) = , J

? ------___ f-P
Musical examples 12-17 are from Mtisica para pianoy orquesta:'Copyright 1964 by Juan
Carlos Paz. Used by permission of Peer International Corporation, exclusive agent for
the world.
 Juan Carlos Paz: Supporterof the InternationalAvant-garde : 223

Example 13. Mutsicapara piano y orquesta,motive X.

_7t aernc r d
=

17 heralds the appearance of dotted rhythms. This second section is

characterized by a more full sonority, as more instruments are heard,
and by a dynamic level that rises to forte. Measure 30, the beginning
of the third section, is the one point of punctuation that does not co-
incide with a presentation of motive X. Here, the sonority becomes
more sparse and the general dynamic levels drop from forte to piano and
mezzo forte. The tempo quickens, with the marking of un poco animado,
and triplets appear for the first time, while the dotted rhythms from the
previous section continue. Sixteenth and thirty-second notes appear four
measures later, in measure 34. The third statement of motive X begins
in measure 38 in the strings, and it marks the beginning of the fourth
section of the movement.
The last two sections, measures 46-63, contain several elements that
are similar to those in the first two sections, or measures 1-29. The
fourth appearance of motive X in measure 46 in the low strings co-
incides with a more full sonority, similar to that of the first twenty-nine
measures. Right after the end of the fourth statement of motive X, the
appearance of Klangfarbenmelodiein measures 49-52 recalls the presence
of this technique in the first eight measures of the movement. In yet
another similarity with earlier sections of the movement, the dotted
rhythms of sections two, three, and four disppear, and the more uniform
durations become longer in the last two sections, with no value being
shorter than an eighth note. The last, most extensive appearance of
motive X is found in measures 53-60, and it marks the beginning of the
last section. This time, as in the earlier part of the movement, motive X
is heard prominently in the piano. The last three measures, measures
61-63, consist mainly of three groups of seven rising eighth notes in the
piano, as shown in Example 14. The beginning pitches of each of the
three groups are G, C, and E, an outline of a C major triad in second
inversion, which is a transposition of the first three pitches of motive X.
 Table 3. Musica para piano y orquesta(1964)

SecondMovement

m. 30: Un Poco
Animado
mm. 1-16 mm. 17-29 mm. 30-37 mm. 38-45 mm.

mm. 1-8: Gradu

long-held chords tion
in strings; sim
Klangfarbenmelodie mm
mm.
Kla

mm. 4-6: mm. 17-18: mm. 38-40: mm.

motive X, pft motive X, pft motive X, vlas mo
and cellos and

m. 9: mm. 25-28: mm. 40-41: mm.

motive Y, flutes motive Y-Z motive Y, 3 mot
and celesta once in pft, times simul- cele
(flute melody) 3 times in taneously in
celesta celesta
 Table 3 (continued)

mm. 15-16:
motive Y-Z,
flutes

mm. 1-8: mostly New: dotted Dotted rhythms Dotted

quarter notes rhythms continue disa
New: triplets m.
in m. 30;
mm. 9-16: 16th and 32nd
mostly eighth notes in m. 34
notes
New: thin Textu
texture rese
tha

Dynamic level Dynam

Mostly p and mf rises to f Mostly p and mf Mostly p and mf rise
226 : Michelle Tabor

Example 14. Mutsicapara piano y orquesta,mm. 61-63, piano part.

9:3I% L(
7
z P
PI

3:~~~~~&
pd-v ped.
P tcd

Example 15. Mulsicapara pianoy orquesta,motive Y-Z.

Y zI

A second motive, labeled Y-Z and shown in Example 15, appears

frequently at significant points throughout the second movement. The
motive is divided into two parts becuse they often appear separately,
and motive Y appears much more frequently than does motive Z. Motive
Y-Z is made up of descending interval classes 5 and 6. Motive Y first
appears in measure 9 in the flutes, doubled in the celesta, as shown in
Table 3. This measure is important because eighth notes become preva-
lent at this point for the first time, and the flute presents the first ex-
tended melody of the movement. An almost complete version of motive
Y-Z, without the final note of Z, appears in the flutes in measures
15-16, and measure 16 marks the end of the first section. The complete
form of motive Y-Z appears four times in succession from the second
half of measure 25 to the end of measure 28, which is one measure be-
fore the end of the second section. Motive Y-Z first appears in measure
25 in the right-hand part of the piano and then is repeated three times
in the celesta. The three pitch classes of the Y motive are played simul-
taneously in the celesta in measures 40 and 41, where the third state-
ment of motive X ends. A complete statement of motive Y-Z, plus a
second statement of motive Y (or Y-Z-Y), appears again in the celesta
 Juan Carlos Paz: Supporterof the InternationalAvant-garde : 227

in measures 47-48, in conjunction with the fourth apearance of motive

X in measures 46-48. Motive Y is heard for the last time in the celesta,
in measure 62, the penultimate measure of the movement. At the inter-
vallic level of organization, a relationship exists between motives X, Y,
and Z. All three motives begin with interval-class five, the X motive
ascending and the Y and Z motives descending.
Elements of serialism are evident in the appearances of different forms
of the Y motive. This motive permeates the entire movement in various
transpositions of its prime, retrograde, inversion, and retrograde in-
version, as illustrated in measures 21 and 22, which are shown in Ex-
ample 16. Each appearance of the Y motive is circled and labeled ac-
cording to the manner in which it is transformed. For example, Y3 in
the piano, left hand, at the beginning of measure 21 is Y transposed up
three half-steps. YRI10 in the flute in measure 22 is the retrograde-
inversion of Y, transposed up ten half-steps. Furthermore, if one con-
siders only the intervallic structure of motive Y (interval classes 5, 6,
and 1, which constitute the 0, 1, 6 set) without regard to contour, order-
ing, or the use of inversion (which means that interval class 5 is equiva-
lent to its inversion, interval class 7), then this motive truly does per-
meate this movement. With reference to Example 16, the Y motive
constitutes the 0, 1, 6 set in which its members retain certain inversions
of intervals in a specific order. In addition, this example contains three
instances of the 0, 1, 6 set (at the beginning of measure 22 in the clarinets
and low strings, respectively, and at the end of measure 22 and begin-
ning of measure 23 in the piano, left hand), which cannot be considered
Y motives. These 0, 1, 6 sets have only interval content in common
with the Y motive and not ordering or inversions of certain intervals.
In Example 17 the piano part in measures 10-13 consists of a succes-
sion of 0, 1, 6 sets in the left hand, beginning with the fourth eighth
note. Occasionally these sets overlap, so that one note is a member of
two sets (as in the fourth eighth note of measure 10 and the first note of
measure 12). The organization of this movement according to inter-
vallic relationships is by no means limited to 0, 1, 6 sets. For example,
one other intervallic relationship that has not been discussed in detail
consists of the use of successions of interval class 5, as in the Z motive.
In Example 17, the piano, right hand, and the first four eighth notes of
measure 10 in the left hand present different versions of the Z motive.
A careful examination of the second movement of Juan Carlos Paz's
Muisicapara pianoy orquestareveals the use of certain intervals and motives
to create a unity that is not immediately apparent. Paz's search for non-
traditional means of organization is reflected in both the overall form
of this piece and in its construction on smaller levels. The very free
serialism and the nonserial atonality are typical of one of the directions
228 : Michelle Tabor

Example 16. Muisicapara piano y orquesta,mm. 21-22 (sounding instru-

ments only).

taken by composers who did not care to explore the rigors of integral
serialism, so prevalent about ten years prior to the writing of this work.
In spite of Paz's rhetoric about the need to reject tradition, and in spite
of his professed lack of interest in making his music easily accessible to
listeners, certain elements, such as the traditional arrangement of fast-
slow-fast movements in Musica para pianoy orquesta,tonal implications in
tone rows and motives, and rather square, barline-oriented rhythms,
 Juan Carlos Paz. Supporterof the InternationalAvant-garde : 229

Example 17. Muisicapara piano y orquesta,piano, mm. 10-13.

aI .^ I -^

--^J---t b r - ytv~~~~~~~~~~~-------

help to create sonorities that make works like Misica 1946 and Musica
para piano y orquestaquite accessible to the listener.
Juan Carlos Paz became a pioneer in Latin American musical de-
velopments during the 1930s with his rejection of musical nationalism
and his adoption of dodecaphony. His earliest twelve-tone compositions
are rudimentary examples of this technique. By the time he wrote Muisica
1946, he had had about twelve years to perfect his procedures, and the
pieces written from this time onward show originality in the applications
of Schonberg's method. In a wider international context, the twelve-tone
method of composition had not yet been widely embraced by composers
when Musica 1946 was written. By the end of World War II, in addition
to Berg and Webern, only a few other less well-known students of Sch6n-
berg adhered to dodecaphony. A small number of other composers
adopted the twelve-tone method of composition independently, and Paz
is among these. Others include Ernst Krenek around 1930, Frank Martin
around the mid 1930s, and Luigi Dallapiccola in the early 1940s. Milton
Babbitt's Three Compositionsfor piano were not completed until 1947. As
Paz's musical output illustrates, he never stopped his search for new
compositional techniques, and he never wavered in his belief that the
ideals of the international avant-garde could provide those new tech-
niques.

Notes

I wish to thank Professor Douglass Seaton for his thoughtful com-

ments on an earlier version of this article.
230 : Michelle Tabor

1. Several authors evaluate Latin American music and Juan Carlos

Paz's significance in Isabel Aretz, relatora, AmericaLatina en su musica
(Mexico, D. F.: Siglo Veintiuno Editores and UNESCO, 1977).
Luis Heitor Correa de Azevedo in "La musica de America Latina"
(pp. 53-70), considers Paz to be among the most influential musical
personalities in Latin America during the first half of this century.
Correa de Azevedo sees Paz as a pioneer of new music, as well as
an important figure for younger composers such as Mauricio Kagel,
who studied composition with Paz. Roque Cordero, in "Vigencia
del muisico culto" (pp. 154-173), cites Paz's Primeracomposiciondode-
caf6nica(1934) as a refutation of the assertion that Latin American
composers have been slow to adopt European technical developments.
However, Cordero does emphasize the fact that Paz was almost alone,
for about twenty years, among his Latin American colleagues in his
search for new sonorities. Juan Orrego-Salas, in "Tecnica y estetica"
(pp. 174-198), considers Paz to be among the most important early
supporters of internationalism, in opposition to the prevalent line
of nationalism. According to Orrego-Salas, these two separate ten-
dencies came together in composers like Alberto Ginastera after the
middle of the century. In "Estudio comparativo dentro de la pro-
duccion musical Latinoamericana" (pp. 199-225), Jose Maria Neves
evaluates Paz as a composer who was always open to new techniques,
an intellectual leader of young composers, and a force for change,
particularly through his activities in organizations such as Agrupacion
Nueva Musica.
2. Jacobo Romano, Vidas de Paz (Buenos Aires: Editorial Gai, 1976),
pp. 39, 46.
3. See the biographical sketches of Paz in the publications by Instituto
Interamericano de Musicologia of his 3a Sonatina, Op. 25, and IVa
Composicionen los 12 tonos, Op. 37, in 1942 and 1943, respectively
(available from Theodore Presser Co., Bryn Mawr, Penn.); David
Henry Sargent, "Juan Carlos Paz, Self-Taught Twelve-Tonalist and
Innovative Argentine Composer," D.M.A. thesis, University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1975; Ann Arbor: University Micro-
films International.
4. New Music 16, no. 2 (January 1943). See Steven E. Gilbert, "The
Ultra-modern Idiom: A Survey of New Music." Perspectivesof New
Music 12 (1973-74): 285, musical examples from Third Composition
in Twelve Tones on pp. 286-289. In this article. Gilbert evaluates
Paz's music as combining "a secure, conscious and straightforward
use of the twelve-tone system with classical forms and gestures in a
manner suggestive of the twelve-tone works of Arnold Schoenberg."
 Juan Carlos Paz: Supporterof the InternationalAvant-garde : 231

Gilbert goes on to state that ThirdComposition in TwelveTonesis com-

to
parable Schonberg's Piano Suite, Op. 25.
5. Musicaparapianoy orquesta (Washington, D.C.: Pan American Union,
1964) is available in miniature score from Theodore Presser Co.
6. More than fifty titles of published articles are listed in Romano,
Vidasde Paz, pp. 96-97. However, in Dictionaryof Contemporary Music,
1974 ed. John Vinton, s.v. "Paz, Juan Carlos," there is a state-
ment that Paz wrote two hundred articles about contemporary music
and composers. The four books are La musicaen los EstadosUnidos
(Mexico, D.F.: Fondo de Cultura Econ6mica, 1952; segunda edicion,
1959); Introduccion a la mutsicade nuestrotiempo(Buenos Aires: Edi-
torial Sudamericana, 1955; segunda edicion, 1971); ArnoldSchoenberg,
o elfin de la eratonal(Buenos Aires: Editorial Nueva Vision, 1958);
and Alturas,tensiones,ataques,intensidades (Buenos Aires: Ediciones de
la Flor, 1970).
7. For more detailed information about Paz's activities in these organi-
zations, see Sargent, "Juan Carlos Paz," pp. 9-21, 166-170; The
New GroveDictionaryof Music andMusicians,1980 ed., s.v. "Paz,
Juan Carlos," by Susana Salgado.
8. An English translation of the 1971 edition of this book may be found
in my unpublished Ph.D. dissertation "Towards Theories of Twenti-
eth Century Compositional Practices: A Translation of, and Com-
mentary upon, Juan Carlos Paz's Introduccion a la mulsicade nuestro
tiempo"Florida State University, 1986; Ann Arbor: University
Microfilms International.
9. Romano, Vidasde Paz, p. 39; Sargent, "Juan Carlos Paz," pp. 5-7;
Dictionaryof Contemporary Music, s.v. "Paz."
10. Introductory remarks by Francisco Kropfl in Juan Carlos Paz, Tres
invenciones a dos voces(Buenos Aires: Ricordi Americana SAEC, 1982
reissue of 1936 edition by Grupo Renovacion, in commemoration
of the tenth anniversary of the composer's death).
11. Aretz, AmericaLatina.
12. This composition is discussed by Paz in Introduction, pp. 662-665 of
the translation in my dissertation.
13. Romano, Vidasde Paz, pp. 70-77.
14. See Sargent, "Juan Carlos Paz," pp. 22-143 for analyses of the
following early dodecaphonic compositions by Paz: Terceracomposicion
dodecafonica for clarinet and piano, Cuartacomposicion en los docetonos
for solo violin, Cancionesybaladasfor piano (1936), and Diez piezas
sobreuna seriedodecaf6nica for piano (1936).
15. Juan Carlos Paz, Muisica1946 (Buenos Aires: Ricordi Americana
SAEC 1955).
232 : Michelle Tabor

16. Romano, Vidas de Paz, p. 35; Jorge Zulueta, La obrapara piano de

Juan Carlos Paz (anatlisisy manuscritos)(Buenos Aires: Editorial Gai,
1976), p. 50.
17. Reference is made primarily to page numbers because the presence
of many unmetered sections renders the numbering of measures
impractical, except early in the work.
18. The sets are labeled according to the method set forth in Allen
Forte, The Structureof Atonal Music (New Haven: Yale University
Press, 1973).