Escaping the Ideological Framework of Tradition: Brazilian Choro Music for Piano

Historical and analytical studies on the development of choro music frequently focus on the development of this musical genre in a context of its popular contemporaneity. In this research, the genre is examined stylistically focusing on the study of rhythm, melody, form, musical texture, and feel in compositions for piano. The study surveys and examines solo piano compositions from two well-known Brazilian pianists, Ernesto Nazareth and Chiquinha Gonzaga. It centers discussion on the issues of compositional collaboration between conservatory-educated pianists and popular music pianists, the so-called “pianeiros,” in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This document also contains original compositions for piano intentionally integrating four choro sub-genres (waltz, maxixe, tango, and samba) as a musical indication of the author's complete understanding, mastery, and absorption of the essence of choro music.