Luis Cluzeau-Mortet

Luis Cluzeau-Mortet was a Uruguayan composer, as well as a violist and pianist, born in Montevideo in 1889 and who died in the same city in 1957. His work belongs to the Uruguay of the first half of the twentieth century and is significant for having been part of the nationalist impulse in his country's music, a current that sought to incorporate the Creole folklore into art music.

His musical initiation was entrusted to his grandfather, Paul Faget, and he then completed his training with María Visca, who taught him the string instruments. Between 1914 and 1930 he played the viola in the Uruguayan Chamber Music Association, while also giving numerous piano recitals. From the foundation of the OSSODRE in 1931 until his retirement in 1946 he was principal viola of this orchestra. In 1938 he presented concerts featuring his own works in several English cities and also visited Paris.

His output is usually divided into three periods. The first, from his youth and beginning in 1910, shows a romantic-impressionist character. The second, the most important from an aesthetic point of view, is nationalist in spirit and contains almost half of his catalogue; here his works for piano and for voice stand out. The third, which occupied the last decade of his life, reflects the influence of new European trends.

His most representative pieces are Pericón, from 1918, one of the Primeras piezas criollas for piano, premiered in Montevideo by Artur Rubinstein, and Canto de chingolo, for voice and piano, from 1924, recorded by RCA Victor in 1930. His total legacy comes to about two hundred works, of which only roughly a tenth has been published.