César Vuksic

Diálogos for wind quintet and piano

Quintet of the Americas met César Vuksic through his wife, Nelly Vuksic, Director of the Americas Vocal Ensemble when both groups were in residence at the Americas Society on Park Avenue in New York City.

Diálogos is programmatic music. The clarinet line is a musical portrait of a friend of Cesar’s whose lyrically serene monologue is interrupted by the flute, the oboe followed by the horn in an increasing conflicting dialoge.. after a climax, a sort of musical crisis,  the clar resumes his lyrical monolog. Now the disturbing dialogue comes from the bassoon and  the piano culminating in a dark somber climax. Again the clarinet continues his lyrical soliloquy, only to be brutally interrupted by all the instruments and the music develops into a very violent climax. Still once more the clarinet resumes his lyrical and philosophical monolog always searching for the light.

César Vuksic (1944-2014) was a widely recognized pianist, composer, and painter. Born in Argentina, in 1972 he moved to the United States to study at Ball State University in Indiana. This was followed by a few years teaching at Western Michigan University, time in Colombia and then back to the United States in 1982 where he lived until his death. He appeared throughout the USA, South America, Europe, and Japan as a recitalist, soloist with orchestra, and chamber musician. He premiered numerous compositions by South and North American composers, some of them written especially for him. As a composer, his own works were performed in the U.S. and Latin America by outstanding musicians and presented in concerts and festivals by musical organizations such as Buenos Aires New Music Association, Americas Society, North-South Consonance (New York), New York University, Western Michigan University, InterAmerican Music Festival (Washington, DC) , Meet the Composer, The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Queens Council on the Arts, Langston Hughes Cultural Center and the Americas Vocal Ensemble.  He served as the accompanist for the Brooklyn Conservatory Chorale.

Also of interest is his Tango Variations for Clarinet and Piano.