ABSTRACT
The northward migratory phenomenon from Mexico to the US during the late 20th and the 21st centuries can be understood as an aspiration to find a proper means to achieve creative goals for many artists. The case of Samuel Zyman is emblematic since his immigration and adaptation to North American society is an example of an integration that has not implied a disassociation with his homeland. Seen along the phenomenon of diasporas, the music composition process might be understood also as an act of transculturation that implies cultural and social transformations. This comprises the notions of “influence” and “evocation”, which play a pivotal role in Zyman´s music. Although his output has mainly been considered as neo-romantic, his piano music seems to gravitate toward a neo-modernism, as his influences in that music are Prokofiev, Bártok, Impressionism, and jazz. Three Short Piano Pieces, written soon after his arrival in New York, is a series of works that portray musical worlds deeply embedded in his imaginary. It is also an honest and personal rendering of Zyman’s musical identity.
