Main content

Brazilian Modernist Godfather

Katie Derham explores her secret family connection to the Brazilian modernist movement of 1922, in which iconoclastic poets and composers reshaped national identity forever.

In 1922, the centenary year of Brazil鈥檚 independence, a group of artists in S茫o Paulo organised a Modern Arts Week of music, poetry, and talks. At the time, the work was greeted with anger and derision. Today, one hundred years on, the Semana de Arte Moderna is recognised as a pivotal moment in the development of art, and in forever changing the identity of Brazil itself.

This is the story of those revolutionary modernist artists, including Heitor Villa-Lobos and Oswald de Andrade, who advocated 鈥渃annibalism鈥 in order to liberate Brazil from colonial history and European ideals.

But this is also the secret story of Radio 3 and 麻豆官网首页入口 Proms presenter Katie Derham, and her close personal connection to one of the great Brazilian modernists, the poet Manuel Bandeira. He was Derham鈥檚 father鈥檚 godfather, and great-grandmother's lover, discreetly dedicating poems to both of them.

As Derham delves into her family history, and immerses herself in a bold, radical, creative period of Brazil鈥檚 history, she will gather contributions from:

- Katie鈥檚 Aunt Sasha.
- David Slavitt, an American poet, translator, and author of more than 100 books.
- Saulo Gouveia, Professor of Portuguese language and Luso-Brazilian Culture courses at Michigan State University.
- Cyro Baptista, Brazilian percussionist.
- Kenneth David Jackson, Professor of Luso-Brazilian literatures and cultures at Yale University.
- Alexandre Dias, founder of the Brazilian Piano Institute, which collects and digitises rare recordings.
- Leslie Bary, Professor in Latin American Literature and Comparative Literature at the University of Louisiana, Lafayette.

Producers: Redzi Bernard & Phoebe McIndoe
Exec Producer: Jack Howson
Mix Engineer: Mike Woolley

A Peanut & Crumb production for 麻豆官网首页入口 Radio 3.

Available now

44 minutes

Last on

Sun 10 Sep 2023 18:45

Broadcast

  • Sun 10 Sep 2023 18:45

What was really wrong with Beethoven?

What was really wrong with Beethoven?

Georgia Mann and neurosurgeon Henry Marsh explore the puzzle of Beethoven鈥檚 poor health.

Classical music in a strongman's Russia 鈥 has anything changed since Stalin's day?

What composer Gabriel Prokofiev and I found in Putin's Moscow...

Six Secret Smuggled Books

Six classic works of literature we wouldn't have read if they hadn't been smuggled...

Grid

Seven images inspired by the grid

World Music collector, Sir David Attenborough

The field recordings Attenborough of music performances around the world.