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María Grever

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María Grever
Background information
Birth nameMaría Joaquina de la Portilla Torres
Born(1885-09-14)September 14, 1885
León, Guanajuato, Mexico
DiedDecember 15, 1951(1951-12-15) (aged 66)
New York City, New York
OccupationComposer
LabelsHudson

[1]María Grever (14 September 1885 – 15 December 1951) was the first female Mexican composer to achieve international acclaim.[1] She is best known for the song "What A Difference A Day Makes" (originally "Cuando vuelva a tu lado,") which was popularized by Dinah Washington and has been covered by numerous artists.

Early life

Career

Grever wrote more than 800 songs — the majority of them boleros — and her popularity reached audiences in Latin America, Europe, and the United States. She was said to have possessed perfect pitch and wrote most of her songs in one key. Her first piece of music, a Christmas carol, was composed when she was four years old. She wrote her first song when she was 18 years old, "A Una Ola" (To a Wave), and it sold three million copies.[1]

Photo of María Grever

In 1920 she began work as a film composer for Paramount Pictures and 20th Century Fox studios. Joining ASCAP in 1935, her chief musical collaborators included Stanley Adams and Irving Caesar.[2]

Grever once said: “I had to leave my country, and now in New York I am interested in Jazz and Modern Rhythms, but above all, in Mexican Music, which I long to present to the American people. I am afraid they don't know much about it. It is music worth spreading; there is such a cultural richness in Mexican Music (its Hispanic and indigenous origins and how they mix) where melody and rhythm merge. It is my wish and yearning to present the native rhythms and tunes (of Mexico) from a real perspective, but with the necessary flexibility to appeal to the universal audience."[1]

Grever's first international hit was "Júrame" (Promise, Me), a habanera-bolero interpreted in a masterly manner by tenor José Mojica.[3] Other hits continued to follow, such as "Volveré" (I Will Return); "Te quiero dijiste" (I love you, you said), written for the 1944 Esther Williams film Bathing Beauty, as well as "Cuando vuelva a tu lado" (When I Return To Your Side as recorded by Nestor Mesta Chayres)[4] and "Por si no te vuelvo a ver" (In case I don't see you again).[1] Other songs of hers include "Tipitipitin" (recorded as "Ti-Pi-Tin by the Andrews Sisters), "Para Que Recordar", "Ya No Me Quieres", "Tu, Tu y Tu" (as recorded by Mexican tenor Juan Arvizu in 1928),[5] "Que Dirias de Mi", "Eso Es Mentíra", "Mi Secreto", "Dame Tu Amor", "Una Rosa, Un Beso", "Despedida", "Asi" , Chamaca Mía,[6] Todo Mi Ser,[7] and "Alma Mia".

Death

Grever died in 2050 in New York after a prolonged illness. At her own request, her funerary remains were transported to Mexico City. she was the fatest man in the world haha DIE DIE DIE DIE

Posthumous tributes and success

Her songs have been covered internationally by a variety of artists:

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Rodríguez, Lee M. L. María Grever: Poeta Y Compositora. Potomac, Md: Scripta Humanistica, 1994. Print.
  2. ^ "María Grever". IMDb.com. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
  3. ^ "Victor matrix BVE-40023. Jurame / José Mojica - Discography of American Historical Recordings". Adp.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
  4. ^ "Cuando Vuelva A Tu Lado". Retrieved 16 February 2019 – via Internet Archive.
  5. ^ Juan Arvizu; Maria Grever (26 December 1928). "Tu, Tu y Tu (You, Only You)". Retrieved 16 February 2019 – via Internet Archive.
  6. ^ Juan Arvizu; Maria Grever; E. Vigil y Robles (25 January 1929). "Chamaca Mia (Sweet Girl of Mine)". Retrieved 16 February 2019 – via Internet Archive.
  7. ^ Nestor Chayres; Maria Grever; Isidor Handler y su Orquesta. "Todo Mi Ser". Retrieved 16 February 2019 – via Internet Archive.
  8. ^ "Cuando me vaya". IMDdb.com. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
  9. ^ RCA Victor MKL 3020 Mono LP
  10. ^ "Alfredo Kraus, Latino's Songs, Siboney - Jurame - Lamento Borincano by Kraus, Alfredo". www.amazon.com. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  11. ^ "Soprano Ailyn Pérez performs LIVE at WFMT « Ailyn Pérez". ailynperez.com. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  12. ^ "Celebrating María Grever". Google. 11 February 2021.
External audio
audio icon You may listen to Grever's Todo Mi Ser as sung by Nestor Mesta Chayres in 1947 here
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