Silvestre Revueltas

Silvestre Revueltas Sánchez, born December 31, 1899, in Santiago Papasquiaro, Durango, Mexico, was a composer, violinist, and conductor who also appeared on Broadway. He died on October 5, 1940, in Mexico City at the age of 40.

Revueltas pursued his musical education at the National Conservatory in Mexico City, St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas, and the Chicago College of Music. He performed as a violinist in recitals before Carlos Chávez invited him in 1929 to serve as assistant conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico, a position he held through 1935. Together, Revueltas and Chávez worked to advance contemporary Mexican music, and it was during this period that Revueltas began composing with sustained commitment.

In 1934, Revueltas received a commission to write the score for the film Redes, a project that created a rift between him and Chávez, who had originally anticipated writing the score himself before losing his position at the Ministry of Education. Revueltas departed Chávez's orchestra in 1935 to serve as principal conductor of a newly formed rival ensemble, the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional, which had a brief existence. That same year, he appeared on screen as a bar piano player in the film Vámonos con Pancho Villa, for which he had also composed the music. In 1937, he traveled to Spain during the Civil War as part of a tour organized by the leftist group Liga de Escritores y Artistas Revolucionarios. Following Francisco Franco's victory, he returned to Mexico.

In 1939, Revueltas appeared on Broadway in Mexicana, marking his credit in the American theatrical world. That same year he completed the film score for La noche de los mayas, which later became widely known through a 1960 arrangement by José Yves Limantour. His orchestral work Sensemayá, composed in 1938, is regarded by many as his masterpiece. His ballet El renacuajo paseador, written in 1936, received its premiere on October 5, 1940, the very day of his death from pneumonia, a condition complicated by alcoholism.

Revueltas came from a family with broad artistic distinction. His brother Fermín, who lived from 1901 to 1935, and his sister Consuelo were painters. His sister Rosaura, born around 1909 and died in 1996, worked as an actress and dancer, and his younger brother José Revueltas, who lived from 1914 to 1976, was a recognized writer. His nephew Román Revueltas Retes, son of José, became a violinist and conductor.

His compositional output spanned chamber music, orchestral works, ballets, film scores, songs, and piano pieces. Among his chamber works are four string quartets composed between 1930 and 1932, as well as Homenaje a Federico García Lorca from 1936. His film scores include Redes, Vámonos con Pancho Villa, El indio, Ferrocarriles de Baja California, Bajo el signo de la muerte, La noche de los mayas, and Que viene mi marido. His unfinished ballet La coronela, begun in 1939, was later orchestrated by Moncayo and arranged by Limantour. In 1976, his remains were transferred to the Rotonda de los Hombres Ilustres in Mexico City.