Ribas | Sinfonia extraída da ópera Tangerina DIGITAL

Juan Antonio Ribas is one of the key figures in 19th-century Portuguese music. Born in Ferrol on January 17, 1799, he was the second son of María Crespo and José Ribas, a military music master. From a young age, he—like his brother José María, who would go on to have a distinguished career as a flutist in London—showed exceptional musical talent. He and his family eventually settled in Portugal, where Juan Antonio continued his musical studies, learning to play the violin, cello, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, and trumpet.

At just 18 years old, he became the conductor of the orchestra at the Teatro de São João in Porto, succeeding José Francisco Edolo. In 1828, due to the Portuguese civil war, he was forced to flee to Santiago de Compostela, where he worked as the principal horn player at the cathedral. After just over a year in the Galician capital, Ribas moved to Madrid, where he worked as a double bassist and cellist. Finally, in 1835, he resumed his position as conductor of the orchestra at the Teatro de São João in Porto. He died in Oporto on August 15, 1869.

Various stylistic, formal, and material features of the manuscript suggest that this symphony was composed around the 1820s, during Ribas’s early period as director of the São João Theatre in Porto. It is plausible that the present symphony corresponds to the overture of an opera titled Tangerina, composed by Ribas himself, or alternatively, to a later addition incorporated into a preexisting opera by another author bearing the same title, within the context of his duties as director of the São João Theatre.

Orchestra: 2 flutes, 2 clarinets, bassoon, 2 trumpets, 2 French horns, trombone, violins, violas, basses.

Movements: Andante Marziale – Allegro vivace