Composer Carlos Chavez Appointed To Charles Eliot Norton Lectureship

Carlos Chavez, prominent Mexican composer, will deliver the annual Charles Eliot Norton lectures next year. His talks will probably center around modern Mexican music.

The selection of Chavez was made by a committee headed by Archibald MacLeish, Boylston Professor of Rhetoric and Oratory. The committee also included Huntington Cairns, John P. Coolidge '35, director of Fogg Art Museum, Walter H. Piston '24, Walter W. Naumburg Professor of Music, and John M. Ward, chairman of the Department of Music.

Piston praised the selection of Chavez as Norton lecturer. "It is a fine thing to have him to speak here on himself and on Mexican music. He is surely the outstanding composer in Mexico today."

Major works of Chavez include the Sinfonia de Antigona and the Sinfonia India.

According to present plans, Chavez will use some type of accompaniment for the lectures. However, no decision has yet been made whether to employ an entire orchestra or only a piano.

In addition to composing, Chavez has conducted the Mexican National Symphony, and has been guest conductor of the New York Philharmonic. He served as director of Fine Arts in Mexico, and has written the book Toward a New Music.