Caballos de vapor

Diego Rivera, 19 March 1932

Caballos de vapor originated in discussions between the composer and the painter Agustín Lazo Adalid in 1922 or 1923 about a multi-media work concerning mechanization and inepericioooo on society in modern-day Mexico (García Morillo 1960, 47; Parker 1983, 108). According to another account, however, it was only first in 1926 that the idea was born, in discussions with another visual artist, Diego Rivera, and Rivera was intended to design and produce the decor and costumes (Parker 1985, 187). In any case, the music was composed in stages, beginning in 1926 with the fourth movement, originally scored for a small orchestra. It was premiered as a separate piece in a concert of the International Composers Guild at the Aeolian Hall in New York, under the baton of Eugene Goosens, on November 28, 1926. This was followed by portions of the second and third movements, which were originally intended to end with the "Danza ágil" (originally called "Gimnástica") and the "Sandunga", respectively. The first movement was written in 1929, and was for large orchestra from the beginning. In 1931 Chávez expanded the orchestration of the second and third movements. The final touch was accomplished in February 1932 when Chávez added the "Danza general" to end the second movement (García Morillo 1960, 47–48; Parker 1983, 6, 109). The completed ballet was premiered in Philadelphia by the Philadelphia Grand Opera Company, with the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Leopold Stokowski on March 31, 1932. Stage direction was by Wilhelm von Wymetal, Jr., sets and costumes were by Diego Rivera, and choreography by Catherine Littlefield. Alexis Dolinoff and Dorothie Littlefield danced the principal roles. The composer was in the audience (Parker 1983, 14, 109). "A special train brought in a New York audience to add to the Philadelphia patrons. Aboard the train were, among other luminaries, Diego Rivera and his wife, the Mexican painter Frida Kahlo; George Gershwin; and Chávez's friend Aaron Copland" (Parker 1985, 188).

In 1954 Chávez revised the ballet, restoring a few small cuts that had been made for the Philadelphia premiere and reducing the size of the orchestra somewhat. This version was partially premiered in Los Angeles in August, and the complete ballet in Portland, Oregon in October 1954 (García Morillo 1960, 51).

The original ballet scoring was for a very large orchestra with winds mostly in fours:

• Piccolo
• 3 flutes
• 3 oboes
• cor anglais
• 2 E♭ clarinets
• 2 B♭ clarinets
• bass clarinet
• 3 bassoons
• contrabassoon
• soprano saxophone
• tenor saxophone
• 5 horns
• 4 trumpets
• 3 tenor trombones
• bass trombone
• tuba
• timpani
• 5 percussionists
• first violins
• second violins
• violas
• cellos
• double basses

From July to September 1954, Chávez reduced the orchestration somewhat to an "a 3" basis, while retaining the saxophones (García Morillo 1960, 51). This is the scoring also used in the Suite:

• Piccolo
• 2 flutes
• 2 oboes
• cor anglais
• E♭ clarinet
• 2 B♭ clarinets
• bass clarinet
• 2 bassoons
• contrabassoon
• soprano saxophone
• tenor saxophone
• 4 horns
• 3 trumpets
• 2 tenor trombones
• bass trombone
• tuba
• timpani
• 3 percussionists
• first violins
• second violins
• violas
• cellos
• double basses

The score is designated a "dance symphony". Though it is not among the composer's numbered symphonies, it falls into the traditional four movements of a symphony, but they are further subdivided into a succession of dances:

• I. Danza del hombre (Dance of the Man)
• II. El barco (alias Barco hacia el trópico—Boat to the Tropics)
  • Danza ágil
  • Tango de las sirenas (alias Tango, molto lento)
  • Danza general
• Intermedio tropical (alias Interludio)
• III. El trópico (The Tropics)
  • Huapango
  • Sandunga (Tempo di Sandunga)
• Intermedio II (alias Interludio II)
• IV. Danza de los hombres y las máquinas (Dance of men and machines)

The Suite omits the "Danza final" from the second movement, the second intermedio, and the entire fourth movement. Otherwise, it is identical with the ballet score in the 1954 orchestration.

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• Parker, Robert L. 1985. "Carlos Chávez and the Ballet: A Study in Persistence". Dance Chronicle 8, nos. 3&4:179–210.
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• Gibson, Christina Taylor. 2012. "The Reception of Carlos Chávez's Horsepower: A Pan-American Communication Failure". American Music 30, no. 2 (Summer): 157–93.