Tocando el piano: A history and pedagogical analysis of select solo piano works of 20th- century Peruvian composers

This paper will focus on three seminal works for piano written by composers who established the legacy of classical piano music in Peru: Ernesto Lopez Mindreau (1892 -1972), Roberto Carpio (1900-1986), and Enrique Iturriaga (1918- ). Although Mindreau’s Marinera y Tondero, Carpio’s Tres Estampas, and Iturriaga’s Pregon y Danza have become well known within Perú, the works, in my opinion, deserve the attention of a wider and more international audience. I consider these works to be landmarks of the Nationalistic movement in art music in Peru. This paper will present an analysis of the music with regard to factors that influenced the compositional styles of Mindreau, Carpio and Iturriaga, especially the unique mix of Peruvian folk elements with more traditional European techniques that appear in their solo piano works. It will also contain detailed pedagogical suggestions on how to best approach this music for effective performances