Carlos Chávez was an important Mexican composer and conductor of the 20th century. He was also an influential writer and educator, and a central figure in the introduction of Mexico's music to other parts of the world.

Chávez was born in 1899 in Popotla, a suburb within Mexico City. He was the youngest of seven children, and his father died when he was three years old. Raised by his mother, he started learning the piano from an older brother when he was nine. This was followed by piano lessons with Asuncion Parra, and he became a student of Manuel Ponce when he was 11. It was also around this time that Chávez developed an interest in orchestral music and independently started learning about other instruments and orchestration by analyzing the scores of composers such as Beethoven and Brahms. Around 1915, he started piano lessons with Pedro Luis Ogazón, and he also studied harmony with Juan B. Fuentes in 1916.

Chávez composed his Piano Sextet in 1919, and he performed in the 1921 premiere. The Mexican Revolution also ended that year, which led to the government promotion of the arts and a renewed interest and appreciation for the Indigenous cultures of Mexico. Chávez's first commission from the Mexican government was the ballet El fuego nuevo, which was based on an Aztec theme. He married Otilia Ortiz in 1922, and they traveled to Vienna, Berlin, Paris, and New York. He started writing music articles for the Mexico City newspaper El Universal in 1924, which became a life-long association. Chávez returned to New York from 1926 to 1928 and formed friendships with Aaron Copland, Henry Cowell, and Edgard Varese. He was appointed director of the newly formed Orquesta Sinfónica de México in 1928, and he became very influential regarding Mexican politics. A few months later, he was appointed director of the Conservatorio Nacional de Musica, and he reformed the curriculum. He served in this capacity until 1934, and he also composed several works during this time, including Cantos de Mexico, Sinfonia de Antigona, and Tierra Mojada. For much of 1938 and again in 1940, he conducted the NBC Symphony Orchestra in Toscanini's absence. By this time, he was widely known as the premier composer and conductor of Mexico, and he also remained active as a journalist with El Universal.

In the early '40s, after his return to Mexico, Chávez composed the ballet La hija de Colquide, String Quartet No. 3, and several choral works. He was appointed director general of the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes in 1947, and he formed the Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional, which was intended to be Mexico's top orchestral ensemble. Both organizations flourished under his leadership, but he eventually resigned so he could focus on composing. In the early '50s, he maintained a busy schedule as a guest conductor, and he composed three symphonies. By 1955 he had written over 200 articles for El Universal, and he had conducted over 100 different international orchestras. He returned to teaching at the Conservatorio Nacional de Musica from 1960 to 1964 and lectured in universities in the United States and England until the mid-'70s. Chávez suffered from increasing health problems in his final years and passed away in his home in Mexico City in 1978. ~ RJ Lambert, Rovi