Sentimental, dynamic, exuberant, multi-talented and extremely eclectic, Francisco Mignone was a leading figure on the Brazilian music scene in the last century. With enormous intelligence and unwavering good humour, he traversed countless compositional styles and genres, from serialism to polytonality, from works of deep-rooted nationalism to those with a European flavour.

His sizeable catalogue encompasses all forms of vocal and instrumental music. It includes large-scale works full of powerful imagery and brilliant orchestral writing, such as the opera O Chalaça and the ballet Quincas Berro d’Água, as well as Festa das Igrejas and Maracatu de Chico-Rei, both of which have been recorded by the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra. Mignone also wrote finespun miniatures such as the 12 Studies for Guitar and the unforgettable Valsas de Esquina, for solo piano – works that reflect his intellectual relationship with Mário de Andrade, who eventually convinced him to embrace the aesthetic of musical nationalism.

Mignone studied at the São Paulo Conservatory, later going on to work with Vincenzo Ferroni at the Milan Conservatory. He moved to Rio de Janeiro in 1933, and began teaching conducting at the National Institute of Music (now the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro’s School of Music) in 1939.