THE INFLUENCE OF SALSA IN THE CELLO WORKS OF WILLIAM ORTIZ

Abstract

Music for cello by Puerto Rican composers is widely unknown. Strikingly, it is barely known and recognized by Puerto Rican cellists themselves. This document introduces the cello repertoire of Puerto Rican composer William Ortiz to a larger number of performers, educators, and scholars. While Ortiz was raised and educated in the United States, his Puerto Rican identity plays a fundamental role in his music. This is evident in his interest to connect his experiences as a Nuyorican in the 1950s and 1960s to his compositional aesthetics. Ortiz’s works for cello are examined by identifying stylistic influences of salsa and the way in which the composer incorporates them into his music. This document begins by questioning the place of Puerto Rican music and musicians in a complex socio-political context related to the island’s colonial state. In reviewing Ortiz’s works for cello, focus is given to the rich rhythmic vocabulary he explores in his compositions. Attention is brought to the importance of salsa in defining the composer’s compositional aesthetics. In the second part of the document, other compositional elements are examined in each work. The document concludes with a transcription of the interview conducted with Ortiz.