ANTÔNIO CARLOS GOMES Burrico de Pau
ABOUT THE COMPOSER
Born 1836 in Campinas , Brazil ; died 1896 in Belém , Brazil
• Born into a musical family , both Gomes ’ father and older brother were conductors . He studied at the Conservatory of Rio de Janeiro . Shortly after graduating , Gomes produced his first two operas , which were both considered great successes .
• As a result of his fame , the Emperor of Brazil Dom Pedro II offered Gomes a Royal Scholarship to study in Italy , which was experiencing its golden age of opera . Gomes studied in Milan and composed his next work , II Guarany , which premiered at La Scala . The work was a huge hit and was performed all over Europe .
• Later in his career , Gomes wrote an anti-slavery opera inspired by the fight for liberation of enslaved Black people in Brazil .
THE WORLD AT A GLANCE
1894
MUSIC Gustav Mahler ’ s Symphony No . 2
ART Henri Matisse ’ s Woman Reading
ABOUT THE PIECE
• Gomes composed this work in 1894 . It was written for string quartet and quintet and was one of the last works he completed toward the end of his life .
• The work , which translates to “ Wooden Donkey ,” is the fourth movement of his Sonata in D .
• This piece depicts a dream during which Gomes pictured himself traveling to heaven on a donkey , portrayed through a constant galloping rhythm .
• The work is often performed as a stand-alone work .
TECHNOLOGY Auguste and Louis Lumière patent the Cinématographe , a combination of movie camera and projector
HISTORY The Korean Donghak Peasant Revolution
10 BALTIMORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA