Ivo Cruz

Ivo Cruz was born in Corumbá, Brazil, on 19 May 1901, and died in Lisbon on 8 September 1985. He was a leading figure in Portuguese musical life of the twentieth century, both as a composer and through his work at the head of orchestras and choirs, and through his commitment to reviving the country's early repertoire.

His training began in Lisbon, with Timoteo da Silveira for piano and with Tomás de Lima and Tomás Borba for composition. While studying law at the University of Lisbon, between 1919 and 1924, he founded the journal Renascimento musical together with Eduardo Libório, devoted to research into early Portuguese music. He then moved to Munich, where he spent five years studying composition and conducting with Richard Mors, with Reuss at the Trapp Conservatory and, at the university, aesthetics and music history with Alfred Lorenz and von der Pfordten.

Back in Lisbon he launched several initiatives: the Sociedade Coral Duarte Lobo (1931) and the Lisbon Symphony Orchestra (1937), through which he introduced audiences to the great choral and orchestral repertoire. In 1938 he was appointed director of the Lisbon Conservatory, a post he held until his retirement in 1971. He also founded the Sociedade Pro Arte, dedicated to promoting Portuguese musicians, and wrote music criticism for several newspapers.

His legacy rests above all on his role as a conductor and as a promoter of early Portuguese repertoire, which clearly influenced his own music. His memoirs, O que fiz e o que não fiz, were published in Lisbon in the year of his death.