Brazilian composer Ernst Mahle died on Monday evening in Piracicaba at Born in Stuttgart, Germany, Mahle moved to Brazil with his family in 1951, at the age of 22. He became a naturalized Brazilian citizen in 1962 and developed his entire career there as a composer, performer and teacher. As a prolific composer, author of a catalog that exceeds 2,000 works.
Mahle studied at the Conservatório Dramático Musical de São Paulo and at the Escola Livre de Música Pró-Arte. As part of his training, he also attended international vacation courses in Lucerne (Switzerland), Darmstadt (Germany) and Salzburg (Austria), where he was a student of Olivier Messiaen, Wolfgang Fortner and Ernest Krenek. He also studied conducting with L. von Matacic, Rafael Kubelik and Mueller-Kray.
In 1953 he founded the Pró-Arte de Piracicaba, today the Maestro Ernst Mahle School of Music of Piracicaba, Empem, which belongs to the Piracicabano Educational Institute of the Methodist Church. There, for more than 50 years, he served as artistic director, teacher and conductor.
