Calibrating the focus: Pianistic consecration from the trajectories of Latin American stars of the 20th century

Abstract

The circuits of production, circulation and consumption that drive the classical music market are located mainly in Europe and North America. Despite the inequalities that place of birth imprints on the probability of becoming an international soloist, Latin America has been, during the 20th century, a prodigal pool of internationally recognized pianists. The multiple asymmetries in access to the classical music market have not prevented the international consecration of such brilliant figures, such as Teresa Carreño, Claudio Arrau, Martha Argerich, Bruno Gelber and Daniel Barenboim. This article proposes to describe the logics of international piano consecration from the prism offered by the trajectories of these Latin American artists, under the assumption that, by decentering the gaze (which traditionally contemplates the great centers from themselves), it is possible to illuminate these career logics and their transformations during the last century in a different and still productive way.