Alexandre Rey Colaço
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Alexandre Rey Colaço (born in Tangier, Morocco) was a Portuguese pianist of a French father and Spanish-Portuguese mother. He studied piano at the Conservatory of Music of Madrid and gave his first performance in Lisbon in 1881. A certain Count of Daupiás was present and so impressed that he offered Colaço a trip to Paris to continue his musical education. From there he moved on to Berlin to study at the Excola Superior de Música under Barth and Rudorff (piano) and Harertel and Bargiel (composition). Due to his outstanding talent, he was invited to teach piano at this school, whose director was the famous violinist Joachim, a great friend of Schumann and Brahms. In 1887, Colaço returned to Lisbon and became a Portuguese citizen. He was appointed piano professor at the Conservatory of Music and contributed largely to the cultural activities of this country as a performer, pedagogue and composer. His works are among the first to incorporate popular themes of a Portuguese national character. These works include pieces for the piano: the collection of Fados, the reference point of his personal creative style, Bailarico, Jota, Malagueña and Pequenas Peças; for piano and voice: Cantigas de Portugal. He also wrote the book called De Música, a consequence of his experience and reflections about musical art.
