Paul Desenne

Paul Desenne

Works for Cello

Suite (1976), for cello solo.

Pizziguasa (1985), for 3 cellos.

Los ricochelos (1985), for 3 cellos.

Guasa N. 1 (1983, rev. 1989), for 8 cellos.

Pizzi-quitiplás (1989), for 3 cellos.

Aeroglifos (1994), for 3 cellos.

Preludio y quitiplás (1995), for 3 cellos.

Los birimbaos (1996-97), for 4 cellos.

Toccata tropical (2001), for cello and orchestra.

The glass bamboo frog consort (1995-2001), for 4 cellos (or more).

Concerto (2001-02), for cello and orchestra.

Pax de Deux sans Trois: Concertino (2001-02), for cello, flute and orchestra.

Jaguar Songs (2008), for cello solo.

A Valentine Duet, for cello and flute.

Dragoncello (2008), for 6 cellos and string orchestra.

Bossa do fim (2014), for 4 cellos.

Uytre (2011-12), for 4 cellos.

Sonata (2011-12), for cello and violin.

Shabono, danzas de guerra Yanomami (2016), for 12 cellos.

Pájaro Guaracha (2001), for 4 cellos (or multiples of).

Works for Viola

“Tango Sabatier”: Sonata (2003), for viola and piano.

Nid d’abeille, Nid d’amour: Trio (2003), for viola, apregina (five string viola with a low E), violin, or cello.

Sources:

  • Desenne, P. Bio. Paul Desenne. http://www.pauldesenne.com

  • Furman Schleifer, M., and Galván, G. (2016). Latin American Classical Composers, A Biographical Dictionary. London: Rowman & Littlefield.

  • Harvard Radcliffe Institute. (2010). Paul Desenne. Harvard Radcliffe Institute. https://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/people/paul-desenne

  • LA Phil. STRAUSS, JR. (arr. Paul DESENNE). LA Phil. https://www.laphil.com/musicdb/artists/1451/strauss-jr-arr-paul-desenne

  • The Sphinx Cello Catalog. (2021, October, 2). Paul Desenne. [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/IspWrpdGhU8

Paul Desenne

Venezuelan, French, and American composer and cellist, born December 7, 1959, died May 20, 2023.

Paul Desenne was born to a French father and an American mother in Caracas, Venezuela, in 1959. Desenne began studying composition at 14 years old with Yannis Ionnidis and in 1977 he served as a founding member of the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra as a cellist in the ensemble. Later, he moved to Paris to study cello with Michel Strauss and Philippe Müller and composition with Marc-Olivier Dupin and Luc Ferrari. In 1985, Desenne earned the “Premier Pix, Premier Nommé” for cello performance at the Conservatoire Supérieur de Paris. After his return from Paris, Desenne joined the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra and worked as El Sistema’s resident composer.

Desenne was a 2006 fellow at the Civitella Ranieri Center in Umbria, Italy, a 2009 Guggenheim Fellow, a 2010 fellow of the Harvard Radcliffe Institute, and has received grants from Meet the Composer in New York and from FESNOJIV (El Sistema) in Caracas.

Desenne’s music explores the complex interplay of his own tricultural experience. His compositional approach is steeped in the traditions of Baroque and Renaissance music just as much as it employs contemporary techniques and the elaborate rhythmic counterpoint that is characteristic of Latin American concert-music. The musical environments of the Caribbean, the Andes and the Orinoco-Amazon basin have deeply influenced Desenne's work; he creates sound worlds that allow the unique voices of many local cultures to mix together in forms ranging from symphonies to chamber music and solo pieces.

In addition to his work as a composer, Desenne was a weekly music columnist for Venezuela’s national newspaper El Nacional. He has published satirical essays in Colombia’s celebrated arts magazine Revista Número and from 2002 to 2004, Desenne wrote a weekly political satire for radio that aired in his home city, Caracas. He is also a painter.