Ricardo Castro: Nostalgie,

Castro (1864-1907) was a Mexican concert pianist and composer, considered the last romantic of the time of Porfirio Díaz. In 1879 his family moved to Mexico City where the boy entered the National Conservatory of Music and studied piano with Juan Salvatierra and Julio Ituarte, He studied harmony and counterpoint with Melesio Morales. He finished all his studies in just 5 years, half of the usual 10. He graduated in 1883. Castro began his musical career as a concert pianist and composer before finishing his studies. In 1882, he won two prizes. At 19, Castro finished his First Symphony in C Minor; the symphony was premiered in 1988, 81 years after his death. In 1883 the Government of Mexico chose some of Castro’s works to send to Venezuela for the Simon Bolivar centenary and later in 1884 he made a concert tour through United States. Castro received a scholarship from the Government of Mexico and went to Europe from 1903 to 1906 to give master classes in conservatories in Pa