Artist: Emilia Conde
LP: In a Pop Mood / In a Latin Mood
Here are a couple tunes (one in the pop mood, one in the Latin) from a wonderful 1970 Emilia Conde record I picked up for $3 in NYC's East Village on Monday. Sadly, there's very little info on Ms. Conde on the web—ie. nothing on Wikipedia, Google turns up no images, etc.—which is surprising, considering her resume outlined in the LP's liner notes and the fact that the Puerto Rican Cultural Association presents an "Emilia Conde Award" to an outstanding young artist every year. I did find an autographed copy of this same LP available for $10 here, if anyone's interested. I'd say it's worth it just to experience the "sense of discovery" and for the chest full of sparkly gems you'll end up with. Read the LP liner notes here:
Stunning! Masterful! Glamorous! Exciting! Beautiful!
The preceding exclamations are just a random sampling of the
superlatives with which concert, night club, radio and television
critics, and record reviewers, greeted the extraordinary artistry
of Emilia Conde as a classical vocalist and musician.
But if such response has exhausted the critics' bag of adjectives,
this new Audio Fidelity album in which Miss Conde reveals a new
dimension of her astonishing talent, is surely going to provoke
the necessity to invent new adjectives.
Although she has been singing popular songs for several years
now, it was not until very recently that Emilia made the decision
to enter the popular music idiom in a total way. "Something,"
she says, "was missing in classical music. With so much
discipline I could not express myself freely."
But if Emilia has freed herself from the restrictions of classical
music in order to involve herself full time in a style that permits
her the greatest opportunity to express herself, the expert
musicianship and the sophistication which she acquired in
the classical field has not been abandoned. Indeed, while
Miss Conde makes it abundantly clear, in this album, that
she can out-"now" the most "now" of contemporary pop singers
(that is, be responsive to and draw upon all elements of current
popular music from the cabaret genre to rock), there is nothing
shallow or ephemeral about her work. She brings to popular
music a high artist's grace, intelligence and polish that makes
everything she sings substantial and enduring.
In this album, one side of which is devoted to songs sung in
Spanish, her native language, and one side of which is in
English (she can sing, incidentally, in nine languages), Emilia
demonstrates an authority, vocal range and emotional
depth that makes of each song a true experience whether
you are familiar with the language in which it is sung or
not. Go immediately to Sunburst or I Can't Forget San
Francisco or Mi Calle Triste or Dia Tras Dia for the most
outstanding examples of her versatility and impact.
Born in Puerto Rico of French and Spanish parents, Emilia,
when she was just fifteen, received a government scholarship
to the renowned Eastman School of Music where she studied
classical piano, harmony, theory and voice. She began her
singing career as a protege of Pablo Casals and was
encouraged to develop her voice by such luminaries
as Jose Iturbi and Alexander Schneider.
Upon graduating from the Eastman School, Emilia played piano
concerts at New York's Carnegie and Town Halls and later
appeared as a soloist with various symphony orchestras
throughout the country. Extensive tours of Europe and Latin
America were followed by twenty weeks as singing star of
the Folies Bergere at the famed Tropicana in Las Vegas.
Immediately after that she was moved to the club's
Fountain Room as the star of a one-woman show. Also
among Emilia's credits are smash night club appearances
in Madrid, Mexico city, San Juan, Aruba, Curacao, Trinidad,
Lisbon, London and Toronto. Among her American triumphs
are an eleven week booking at Bimbo's 365 club in San
Francisco and an engagement at Act IV in Detroit which
prompted the Detroit Free Press critic to remark, "She
sends you away with a sense of discovery."
This "sense of discovery" with which the Free Press critic
left the Act IV that evening is something which everyone
who owns this recording can now share. And it will be a
"sense of discovery" that is repeated many times over,
for the multi-dimensional talent of Emilia Conde has a
weight and substance which gives forth
new gems with each hearing.
The preceding exclamations are just a random sampling of the
superlatives with which concert, night club, radio and television
critics, and record reviewers, greeted the extraordinary artistry
of Emilia Conde as a classical vocalist and musician.
But if such response has exhausted the critics' bag of adjectives,
this new Audio Fidelity album in which Miss Conde reveals a new
dimension of her astonishing talent, is surely going to provoke
the necessity to invent new adjectives.
Although she has been singing popular songs for several years
now, it was not until very recently that Emilia made the decision
to enter the popular music idiom in a total way. "Something,"
she says, "was missing in classical music. With so much
discipline I could not express myself freely."
But if Emilia has freed herself from the restrictions of classical
music in order to involve herself full time in a style that permits
her the greatest opportunity to express herself, the expert
musicianship and the sophistication which she acquired in
the classical field has not been abandoned. Indeed, while
Miss Conde makes it abundantly clear, in this album, that
she can out-"now" the most "now" of contemporary pop singers
(that is, be responsive to and draw upon all elements of current
popular music from the cabaret genre to rock), there is nothing
shallow or ephemeral about her work. She brings to popular
music a high artist's grace, intelligence and polish that makes
everything she sings substantial and enduring.
In this album, one side of which is devoted to songs sung in
Spanish, her native language, and one side of which is in
English (she can sing, incidentally, in nine languages), Emilia
demonstrates an authority, vocal range and emotional
depth that makes of each song a true experience whether
you are familiar with the language in which it is sung or
not. Go immediately to Sunburst or I Can't Forget San
Francisco or Mi Calle Triste or Dia Tras Dia for the most
outstanding examples of her versatility and impact.
Born in Puerto Rico of French and Spanish parents, Emilia,
when she was just fifteen, received a government scholarship
to the renowned Eastman School of Music where she studied
classical piano, harmony, theory and voice. She began her
singing career as a protege of Pablo Casals and was
encouraged to develop her voice by such luminaries
as Jose Iturbi and Alexander Schneider.
Upon graduating from the Eastman School, Emilia played piano
concerts at New York's Carnegie and Town Halls and later
appeared as a soloist with various symphony orchestras
throughout the country. Extensive tours of Europe and Latin
America were followed by twenty weeks as singing star of
the Folies Bergere at the famed Tropicana in Las Vegas.
Immediately after that she was moved to the club's
Fountain Room as the star of a one-woman show. Also
among Emilia's credits are smash night club appearances
in Madrid, Mexico city, San Juan, Aruba, Curacao, Trinidad,
Lisbon, London and Toronto. Among her American triumphs
are an eleven week booking at Bimbo's 365 club in San
Francisco and an engagement at Act IV in Detroit which
prompted the Detroit Free Press critic to remark, "She
sends you away with a sense of discovery."
This "sense of discovery" with which the Free Press critic
left the Act IV that evening is something which everyone
who owns this recording can now share. And it will be a
"sense of discovery" that is repeated many times over,
for the multi-dimensional talent of Emilia Conde has a
weight and substance which gives forth
new gems with each hearing.
12 comments:
Hey that is my aunt Emilia!
Unfortunately she passed away February 1998 and she is missed so very much. I love you tia!
Any questions drop me a note
danito2000@gmail.com
she my aunt too! we all think of her very much. we go to puerto rico where she is in peace. msnursemaria@gmail.com
this is Ronnie DeJesus and Emilia Conde is my Grandmas sister. She was a beautiful person and I remember her last days. May we love her music as she did.
Hi, My name is Pedro Quinones Music Writer and composer..When I was a kid in my teens I had the Honor to do Many shows with Emilia Conde City of New York,,she was one of my inspiration ,,for her love for music ,singer , actor , etc,,,she will always be in my heart,,,and God will always love her and have her in heaven Enjoing one of his Musical Creation .
From one of her Best Friend and Brother .. Pedro M. Quinones
This is Melodie De Jesus Born 1987 Emilia is my Grandmothers sister and my moms aunt...my moms Middle name is Emilia and my daughter is named emily close to her name... i remember alot about her even tho i was young even as she was older than the pictures posted she was still beautiful. Still remember the call we got when she passed away.and all the trophies and pictures of her.I thank u for doing these pages in honor of her before our family use to google her name and nothing would come up...Now we are able to show others her talent.Thank You.
It's wonderful to hear from Emilia Conde's family and loved ones! Thanks for all your comments—you can find more songs from her first album posted here:
http://homoerraticradioshow.blogspot.com/2010/03/emilia-conde.html
I was closest to my auntie Emilia I loved her so much, she was great .Words can't discribe the kind of person that she was. she was a great sister,aunt ,cousin , friend,and most of all a great mother to her sister and brothers. I remeber that went to see her and they told me she died i thought i was going to die with her if I only came a few mins earlier i could have said good bye I saw her their on her bed it felt she left this world in peace. But I knew that I was always visiting and watching over her .my mom had to put her in a home because the doctors say she was at best with people that knew about her sicknest.Sometimes there're things you don't want to do but you have to. I'm so happy to have spent so much time with her and I've wish that I haved always had her but we all have to leave at one point or another ,thank you my family to coment she would have love to see that here family loved her so much . I remember all the times I went to concerts with her she was never nervious ,she always give strenght to her student ,because she also was a teacher of music. so many times at the end of her career I use to do her hair ,wow I even have pics of so of them, but so sad that people who had no right to get her belongings and do whatever they wanted with her things without asking me if at least have a chance to keep some of here ,I was surpoise to be her will in witch i didn't see anything but that's okay the only things i want was her guitar that she loved so much ,but a least long before she even got sick she gave me some pituces and suff . I wonder want ever happen to her will ,apt belongings, house in puerto riso her instrument ,dresses and so on well may help those who did all this because it wasn't theres....titi I will always remember and love you more then life itself
Wow! Emilia was my voice teacher when I was between 18-21 years old. She used to live in an apartment building close to Carnegie Hall. I still have a suit that she gave me. Where is Emilia now? If she sees this message, I have a facebook account (Magalys Perez). I would love to hear from her.
Well, I should have read the comments. I got my answer, she died. She is very much living for me. I used to love traveling to New York every Saturday morning to visit her. She was a great influence in my life. I have never forgotten her, lately I was thinking about her, so I decided to check to see if I could find her on facebook. I know she did not have children, but I knew she had family in Puerto Rico. I will always remember her as a talented and lovely person.(Magalys Perez)
Hi my name is Nancy Rodriguez. Emilia was my dads cousin. I was very small when he talked about her. It's great to be able to hear from the family and people who knew her.
Emilia was my voice teacher for a few years in the early 1980s, and was a lovely person inside and out. Still have tapes of our some of my lessons as I am visually impaired, and she was very helpful in preparing my for my final class performances. Really sorry to hear of her passing, I miss her a lot.
Bob Rodriguez
Ms. Conde was my music teacher in 1980. Although she was playing Carnegie Hall, she gave me lessons nearly for free because we were poor and because we were Puerto Rican, like her. I remember she lived in the opulent Hemisphere House on 57th and I idolized her! She was stunningly beautiful, always elegant and yet very kind. She lost patience with me because I didn't practice but she was loving when she corrected me. I just want her family and friends to know that nearly 50 years later I have nothing but kind words and respect for her memory. Ines Trevino-Roth
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