Art Music of Venezuela

Composers

2012-10-21T17:58:00.001-07:00

1.- Aldemaro Romero

2.- Antonio Lauro

3.- Anselmo Lopez

4.- Conny Méndez

5.- Gustavo Matamoros

6.- Ignacio Figueredo

7.- Juan Vicente Torrealba

8.- Rubén Cedeño

9.- Sylvia Constantinidis

10.- Teresa Carreño

Juan Vicente Torrealba

2012-10-21T14:53:00.001-07:00

Juan Vicente Torrealba was born on December 20^th, 1917 in Caracas, Venezuela. He is known for playing various instruments, especially the harp, which has become his passion. At a very young age his parents settled in Camaguán, Guárico state, in the heart of the Venezuelan plains. This is where he learned to play guitar, cuatro and later the harp, an instrument that has accompanied him since he was 16. He started giving public recitals at age 18 but “feeling that he would never reach the standard to which he aspired” (Wikipedia), he started working as a bookkeeper for a newspaper.

In 1947 he formed his own musical group called “The Torrealberos”, which included his brother Arturo, his nephew Santana Torrealba Leon, and vocalist Ángel Custodio Loyola. In 1948 he returned to Caracas, where his reputation as a folk musician took him on tour through different locations both in America and in Europe during the 1960s and 70s. In 1971 he recorded the Rhapsody llanera with a full orchestra, and continued incorporating improvements in the sound of his harp with addition of keyboards and electronic amplification.

In 1978 Torrealba dissolved his group and created a dance orchestra in which he experimented with salsa. It was called the Juan Vicente Torrealba and his Super Beat 80. In 1981 he signed with the label Torrealba Sonográfica , with which he made his last recordings before retiring from music in 1986. Among the reasons was the lack of promotion he felt towards folk music.

During his career he recorded some 130 albums and composed more than 300 songs. Among the numerous awards and recognitions received, Torrealba was appointed Honorary Professor Military Academy of Venezuela , Cultural Heritage of Universal Music by the Colombian department of Meta, and in the Mexican city of Xalapa a square, a street and a park bear his name

Discography:

195 -	The purest music and Bella Vzla	Largo Bank BL500
195 -	The purest music and Bella Vzla	Largo Bank BL501
195 -	The purest music and Bella Vzla	Largo Bank BL502
195 -	The purest music and Bella Vzla	Largo Bank BL504
195 -	Symphony Del Palmar	Largo Bank QBL1201
195 -	Reasons Llaneros	Largo Bank QBL1202
19 -	Concert In The Plain Vol.1	Largo Bank QBL1204
19 -	Serenata Llanera	Largo Bank QBL1207
19 -	Peasant	Largo Bank QBL1209
19 -	Concert In The Plain Vol.2	Largo Bank QBL2204
19 -	Concert In The Plain Vol.3	Largo Bank QBL2207
19 -	Concert In The Plain Vol.4	Largo Bank QBL2206
19 -	The golden age of Torrealberos	Largo Bank QBL2210
19 -	Harp Solos	Largo Bank QBL2212
19 -	Rhapsody Llanera	Largo Bank QBL2214
19 -	Alma Llanera	Largo Bank QBL2215
19 -	Concert In The Plain Vol.5	Largo Bank QBL2216
19 -	Concert In The Plain Vol.6	Largo Bank QBL2217
19 -	Stampede Electronics	BASF (10,002)
19 -	I would	BASF (10,004)
19 -	Suenos Del Llano	BASF (10,009)
19 -	Summer Ranger	BASF (10,038)
19 -	Maria Teresa	BASF (10,040)
19 -	Al Son De Juan Vicente	BASF (10,047)
19 -	Conticinio	BASF (10,050)
19 -	Stampede Electronics Vol 2	BASF (10,052)
19 -	Mexico	BASF (10,054)
19 -	Aragua and Llano	BASF (10,056)
19 -	Flights Immortals	BASF (10,057)
19 -	Colombia	BASF (10,058)
19 -	Torrealberos Classics	BASF (10,059)
19 -	Caribbean Music	BASF (10,060)
19 -	Ranger I	BASF (10,063)
19 -	Alma Llanera	BASF (10,075)
19 -	Celebs Torrealberas	BASF (10,081)
19 -	Venezuelan Waltzes Vol 1	------
19 -	Venezuelan Waltzes Vol.2	------
1975	Al Son De Juan Vicente (Vol. 3)	BASF
1977	Italy In Rhythm Tropicale	BASF
1997	To the sound of JVT Vol 1 (CD Reissue)	Sonogram
1997	Colombia (CD Reissue)	Sonogram
1997	Mexico (CD Reissue)	Sonogram
1999	'm Ranger Vol.1 (CD Reissue)	Sonogram
1999	Conticinio (CD Reissue)	Sonogram
2001	Aragua and Llano (CD Reissue)	Sonogram
2001	Caribbean Music (CD Reissue)	Sonogram
2001	Venezuelan Waltzes (CD Reissue)	Sonogram

Compilations:
1996	18 Greatest Hits	Sonogram
2001	40 Years 40 Hits	Velvet

Appears on:
1972 Maria Teresa Chacin The Paraulata

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Vicente_Torrealba
http://clientes.folletoweb.com/glorias/biografias/torrealba.php
http://www.musicallanera.net/biografias/juan_vicente_torrealba.htm
http://sincopa.com/traditional/artists2/juan_vicente_torrealba.htm

Images:

http://www.google.com/search?q=Images+of+Juan+Vicente+Torrealba&hl=en&prmd=imvnso&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=g1GEULX8Be630AG-uYGQAg&ved=0CB8QsAQ&biw=784&bih=747

Anselmo Lopez

2012-10-21T14:43:00.004-07:00

Anselmo Lopez, also known as the King of Bandola and/or Mandolin, was born on April 21, 1934 in Chaparrito, Barinas, Venezuela. “The Bandola is one of many varieties of small pear-shape chordophones” (Wikipedia) or an instrument that makes sound by way of a vibrating string or strings stretched between two points. It is primarily found in Venezuela and Colombia.

Anselmo Lopez first took interest in music when he heard the harp and the cuatro. But his true love for music starts when he held a mandolin in his hands the very first time at age 12. Since then, he has been devoted to extracting the best melodies of the instrument. His first appearance with the mandolin was in Fiesta Criolla program broadcasted by Radio Barinas, in 1963. From there, he began a career upward, along which he recorded over 75 albums, 27 LP and 7 cd’s.

His love of music encouraged him to teach courses on executing or playing mandolin at universities and schools. He also worked in the Ministry of Education programs designed to spread awareness of the mandolin. The Venezuelan star has participated in major national and international festivals and has performed at renowned scenarios in Cuba, Panama, the United States, Colombia, France and Spain. He has also made acting appearances in the movies The King and the mandolin, Doña Bárbara, One People and Water Blood. Some of his works includes Alborotao, Bandola of Chaparrito, espellejao Carnival, The Hawk Cousin, Galerón Barinas, The Catira Old, My Nostalgia is a Rope, Remembering Portuguesa, San Lorenzo, My Old Dear, Three Ladies, You took my love , Buzzer.

Discography:

1968 Viajando Al Llano

1970 Raudales De Mi Región

1972 Bandola Quitapesares

1973 Bandola Internacional

1974 Arpa y Bandola

1975 Cimarrón

1976 Esta Es Mi Bandola

1976 Bandola Del Llano Adentro

1977 Lluvia En El Llano

1980 Folklore Puro

1981 Bandola De Chaparrito

1982 El Rebusco Con Bandola

1982 Anselmo López Vol. 1

1982 Anselmo López Vol. 2

1982 La Cruz De Mayo

1982 Instrumentales Criollos

1983 Recio

1997 Clásicos De Oro
1999 16 Grandes e Inolvidables de Anselmo Lopez Vol. 2

1999 La Mejor Bandola

2007 El Rey De La Bandola

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anselmo_L%C3%B3pez_(musician)

http://clientes.folletoweb.com/glorias/biografias/anselmo.php

http://foro.cuandocalientaelsol.net/viewtopic.php?f=91&t=6725

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandola

http://www.dictionarist.com/bandola

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandolin

Images:

http://www.google.com/search?q=Su+bandola&hl=en&prmd=imvnso&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=JYqAUIndBYT30gHzhYHYCg&ved=0CCQQsAQ&biw=1225&bih=438

2012-10-20T07:36:00.003-07:00

In ancient times, Venezuela was paradise for the Indians who lived on its beaches, in its tropical forests, and on the gentle grassland of the llanos. There were three main groups: the Carib, Arawak, and the Chibcha.

Christopher Columbus was the first European to visit Venezuela. He came in 1498 during his third voyage to the New World, and landed on the Peninsula de Paria. Following the coast, he explored the Rio Orinoco Delta and concluded that he had found much more than another Caribbean island. More explorers came a year later, and it was Alonso de Ojeda who gave the country its name. Arriving at Lake Maracaibo, he admired the stilted houses that the Indians who gave the country its name. Arriving at Lake Maracaibo, he admired the stilted houses that the Indians had build above the lake and called the place Venezuela - "Little Venice."

Venezuela may have been a quiet outpost on the edge of the Spanish Empire, but it gave birth to the man who would one day turn that empire on its head: Simon Bolivar. With the help of British mercenaries, Bolivar and his followers campaigned againts the Spanish tirelessly, marching accross the Andes and liberating Colombia in 1819, Venezuela in 1821, and Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia in 1825. Much of his army was composed of native Venezuelans.

Web site cited: http://www.geographia.com/venezuela/history.htm

Ignacio Figueredo

2012-10-19T10:58:00.001-07:00

Ignacio Figueredo: (The Joropa)

Ignacio Ventura Figueredo, also known as Indio Figueredo, was a Venezuelan folk musician and harpist. Ignacio Figueredo was born in Algarrobito, Apure, Venezuela on July 31st 1899. At a young age of 11, he made his first public appearance in San Juan de Payara (Apure state). He started acquiring popularity in 1914 when he composed El Gaban, which came to be known as one of the genres of Joropo. The Joropo is a musical style having African and European influences accompanied by a dance in which there is hand turns, feet movement and waltz turns.

Some of other popular works he composed were Las Tres Damas, Guayabo Negro, Verdún, Guachamarón and La Periquera. Later he composed one of his most famous pieces known as Maria Laya, which was dedicated to a lady he met at a party. It was included as an example in many teachings and manuals.

In 1935, he married Mercedes Castillo, with whom he had 11 children. In 1947, during one of his presentations, he was heard by Fredy Reyna, Reinaldo Espinoza Hernandez and Antonio Estevez, who were all much respected musicians at the time. "They decided to take him to Caracas where he astonished and captivated the public with his skills in the execution of the harp. From then he began to be called "Indio Figueredo" which means "The Indian Figueredo."

In 1950s, he started performing on radio and on national stages. During this time, he also started teaching his skills to other well known musicians and composed 400 pieces which were recorded and released to the public. During the 1950s till his death on September 3rd, 1995 in Apure, he continued composing music, he was given recognition by the president of Venezuela, and a short film was made about his life. Even after his death, musicians continue performing his pieces and publishers continue releasing books containing his music and his work.

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignacio_Figueredo

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joropo

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fredy_Reyna

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Est%C3%A9vez

Image:

http://www.venezuelatuya.com/biografias/indio_figueredo.htm

Rubén Cedeño

2012-10-19T10:37:00.002-07:00

Occupation Music, Compositor, writer, Lyric singer, painter, lecturer.

Rubén Cedeño (born 21 May 1952 in Caracas), is a Venezuelan musician, writer and speaker on metaphysical subjects. He was a disciple of Conny Méndez, who in 1946 founded the Metaphysical Teachings in Venezuela. He was one of her students and they had a very close relationship based on the teachings and their friendship as well. Rubén Cedeño has been writing and speaking publicly on Metaphysics for many years and as a result of his efforts, he founded or inspired the foundation of metaphysical groups in Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, Ecuador, Bolivia, El Salvador, Peru, Mexico, Panama, United States, Spain, Italy, France, Belgium and Switzerland. He wrote more than 300 books, some of which have been translated to English, Italian, French and Portuguese and hold a place in many national libraries, such as Library of Alexandria, Egypt, Library of the Congress (United States), National Library of Spain, Jewish National and University Library,[4] National Library of Italy. His core message can be summarized in positive thinking, self-knowledge, the Inner Christ, the Seven Aspects of God, forgiveness practice and compassionate love.Rubén Cedeño holds a place in the Encyclopedic Music of Venezuela and he is among the most famous musicians of Venezuela. He graduated from the Conservatory of Music “Juan Manuel Olivares” in Caracas, Venezuela as a Professor of Singing. In Hungary, he specialized in Kodaly method and composed the Hungarian merengue “Having Chereznye Palinka”.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubén_Cedeño

IMAGES

http://www.rubencedeno.com/PAGINAS/cv_english.htm

Antonio Lauro (1917 - 1986)

2012-10-19T10:36:00.000-07:00

Antonio Lauro was born in Ciudad Bolívar, Venezuela. His father was a barber who sang and played the guitar, but he died when Antonio was five years old, and the family moved to Caracas. Antonio studied the piano and composition at the Academia de Música y Declamación, where his teachers included the distinguished composer Vicente Emilio Sojo (1877-1974). A 1932 concert by Agustín Barrios, the legendary Paraguayan guitarist and composer, convinced the young Lauro (already an accomplished folk guitarist) to abandon piano and violin and concentrate upon the guitar. From 1933, he studied with Ral Borges (1888-1967), who introduced him to the traditional classical guitar repertory. In the next decade, Borges pupils would also include Rodrigo Riera, José Rafael Cisneros, and Alirio Díaz, who was responsible for exposing Lauro's works to an international audience and introducing them to the likes of Andrés Segovia and John Williams.

Like many South Americans of his generation, Lauro was a fervent cultural nationalist, determined to rescue and celebrate his nation's musical heritage. As a member of the Trio Cantores del Trópico in 1935-43 where he sang bass and played both guitar and cuatro, Lauro toured nearby countries to introduce them to Venezuelan music. Lauro was particularly attracted to the myriad colonial parlour valses created in the previous century by accomplished national composers such as Ramón Delgado Palacios (1867-1902). Unfailingly melodic, alternately wistful and brilliant, and characterized by a distinctive syncopation, such music was precisely the sort of folkloric raw material which the likes of Smetana or Granados had elevated to national art in Europe. A programme of such valses by the distinguished Venezuelan pianist Evencio Castellanos (1914-1984) convinced Lauro that the guitar, too, should have such pieces in its repertory. Among his first efforts in this genre were the pieces later known as Tatiana, Andreina, and Natalia, composed sometime between 1938 and 1940; their popularity inspired still others. In addition to his guitar pieces. Lauro composed dozens of works for orchestra, choir, piano and voice; many of which remain unpublished. He sometimes experimented with modern compositional techniques, but most of his guitar music remains essentially on the Calle real or "main street", an expression used by musicians of Lauro's generation to refer to a straight and direct route, without distracting harmonic detours.

In 1951-2, the military junta of General Marcos Pérez Jiménez imprisoned Lauro for his principled belief in democracy. Lauro later shrugged off the experience, telling his friends that prison was a normal part of life for the Venezuelan man of his generation. He had continued composing even in prison, and after his release immediately returned to performing with a pioneering professional classical guitar trio, the Trio Raúl Borges. In the next decades Lauro's compositions were published, recorded, and performed throughout the world, and his contributions to his nation's musical life were recognized and acknowledged. Lauro was appointed professor of guitar at several distinguished schools including the Juan José Landaeta Conservatory, and was named president of the Venezueland Symphony Orchestra. In spite of his modest insistence that he was a composer rather than a performer, he was persuaded by his friends to embark upon a solo concert tour which began in Venezuela and culminated in a triumphant 1980 performance at London's Wigmore Hall. Shortly before his death in 1986, he was presented with the Premio nacional de música, his country's highest artistic award.

http://www.naxos.com/person/Antonio_Lauro_21857/21857.htm

Antonio Lauro's Seis por Derecho performed by Alirio Diaz

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pT4az_Fzfqo&feature=player_embedded

Antonio Lauro's Image

http://www.allmusic.com/artist/antonio-lauro-mn0001783882

Image:

https://www.google.com/search?q=antonio+lauro&hl=en&tbo=d&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=956EUMz1AYmy0QHN2YCYBQ&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAA&biw=1280&bih=603&sei=-56EUPjeD6Pz0gHd8oDoCA

Conny Méndez

2012-10-19T10:33:00.000-07:00

Juana María de la Concepción, commonly referred as Conny Méndez, was born on 11 April 1898 in Caracas, Venezuela, and died in Miami, 26 November 1979. She was a composer, singer, writer, caricaturist, actress and metaphysican.

Her parents were the poet Eugenio Méndez y Mendoza and Lastenia Guzmán. Her primary and secondary schooling was in Caracas and New York City. In New York, Méndez studied plastic arts at the Art Student's and music in the New School of Music. During the 1920s, she returned to Caracas, and collaborated as a writer and caricaturist in different magazines and newspapers, including El Nuevo Diario, Elite and Nosotras. These cartoons were collected in the work Bistury: Album de caricaturas (1931).

In 1946 Méndez founded the Christian Metaphysics movement in Venezuela, under the influence of Count Saint-Germain. During the first years of the 1950s, she worked as an actress in Camas separadas of Terence Rattingam, directed by Horacio Peterson at the Caracas Theater Club. In 1955 she published her autobiography titled Memorias de una loca (Memories of a crazy woman) and in 1967 her book Del guayuco al quepis. However it was in the field of composition and musical interpretation, where she did her more fruitful work. Her folk and popular music included more than 40 compositions, like: Chucho y Ceferina, La Negrita Marisol, Venezuela Habla Cantando, and many others.

The last years of her life were exclusively dedicated to the study of Christian metaphysics. In 1977 she published a series of works about this topic, among them: Metafísica al alcance de todos (1977) and Misterios develados (1979).

Conny Méndez died in Miami, 26 November 1979.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conny_Méndez

Conny Méndez Biografía ORIGINAL 1º parte

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbQu2D76vZY&feature=plcp

Image: http://micuatro.com/personajes/2010/05/conny-mendez/

Gustavo Matamoros

2012-10-19T10:32:00.000-07:00

Gustavo Matamoros is a Venezuelan composer, interdisciplinary artist, community organizer and educator who has established his residence in Miami, Florida, US, since 1979.

Gustavo Matamoros studied at the University of Miami from 1979 to 1983. He has taught critical and creative listening at the Design and Architecture Senior High School (DASH) and at the Miami International University of Art and Design. Matamoros has also offered periodical lectures about his work with sound.

In 1985, Gustavo Matamoros was one of the founders of the South Florida Composers Alliance, a Miami based organization. Some year later he also participated in the foundation of the Subtropics Experimental Music and Sound Arts Festival, which was created (according to art critic Lysa Oberkreser) “in order to expose Miami to a new music and the fine art of sound.” Since their inception, Matamoros has been the artistic director of both the SFCA Subtropics Festival and the Interdisciplinary Sound Arts Workshop (iSaw). During the 1990s Gustavo Matamoros also co-founded PUNTO Experimental Music Ensemble together with Cuban composer Armando Rodriguez

Gustavo Matamoros catalog of compositions includes numerous pieces for solo electroacoustic media or electroacoustics combined with traditional instruments. It also includes a wide variety of works based on contemporary and experimental techniques such as mixed media, installations, sound portraits, radiophony, text and video. He has composed a series of “Retratos” (Portraits) based on sound materials produced by the subjects portrayed on the pieces. Venezuelan composers Marianela Arocha and Adina Izarra have referred to those pieces as follows: “From the 90’s onward many forms of mix repertoire are present, also more research and improvising can be seen among the (Venezuelan) composers. Like in Gustavo Matamoros Retratos where each performer chooses its own material which the composer transforms on tape and sets for the interaction in concert. The composer himself speaks of gesture and morphology: all sounds are possible and allowed; all of them make sense within different contexts”. Some of the subjects for those “Potraits” are: guitarist and composer Flores Chaviano, oboist and composer Joseph Celli, poet Bob Gregory, double-bassist Luis Gómez Imbert and composer Ricardo Dal Farra.

Gustavo Matamoros has studied and explored the sound characteristics of an uncommon musical instrument, the musical saw. He has composed many pieces based on the utilization of this instrument and has also utilized other instruments of his own creation on his pieces. Matamoros organized a musical saw quartet called SEE that included the following performers: Ryan Agnew, Ulrike Heydenreich and Stephanie Lie. They offered their first performance during an ACA residency with Robert Ashley at Smyrna Beach.

Gustavo Matamoro’s music has been presented at numerous cultural events in the US, Latin America and Europe. He has co-directed the WORD(S) SOUND Festival in São Paulo, Brazil and is the producer of FISHTANK a radio journal of new and experimental music broadcast by WLRN in Miami. He has collaborated with a long list of prominent artists such as: Davey and Jan Williams, Fred Longberg-Holm, Dinorah Rodríguez, Helena Thevenot, Lou Mallozzi, Charles Recher, David Manson, Shahreyar Ataie, Jacqueline Humbert, Malcolm Goldstein, Russell Frehling, Alison Knowles, David Dunn and Rene Barge.

Gustavo Matamoros received two Musical Composition National Prizes in his native country, Venezuela. In the US, he has received multiple grants and commissions from art, music, media, visual and theater organizations, as well as government organizations such as the Florida’s Art in State Buildings and the Florida Consortium's 2000-Visual and Media Arts Fellowship.

Work cited:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustavo_Matamoros

http://www.yborfilmfestival.com/2005/artists/gustavo_matamoros.html

Image: http://www.instantencore.com/contributor/contributor.aspx?CId=5011982

Welcome to Art Music of Venezuela

2012-10-05T14:16:00.002-07:00

Venezuelan music is full of vibrancy as a mixture of different cultures ranging from their indigenous peoples, to the Spanish Conquistadores, to the African-Creole influences have combined and evolved together over the past centuries. Venezuelan music is ever-changing as it continues to move with the times and open up to bigger audiences. Despite the constant innovations and new styles, Venezuelan music is deeply rooted in the past. No more can that be seen than in the impactful art music composers of the beautiful country. The following art music composers have been influenced by the many different cultural music styles of Venezuela, and this inspiration is seen in their works. These composers have also had their own impact on Venezuelan music and continue to do so.

Images:

http://www.msnsymbols.com/symbols/msn-music-note-symbol/

http://mapsof.net/map/venezuela-flag-map

Aldemaro Romero (b Valencia, 12 March 1928; d Caracas, 15 Sept 2007)

2012-10-05T14:14:00.000-07:00

Aldemaro Romero was an arranger, composer, and pianist. He was known as an innovator of Venezuelan music, the onda nueva (new wave) by updating the traditional joropo style incorporating rhythms inspired by bossa nova, he also helped increase the visibility of Venezuelan music on an international level. His training started under the tutelage of his father, Rafael, a professional pianist. By age nine his was a known name on Venezuelan radio where he sung and played guitar on the radio show, La Hora Infantil.

At age 13 he and his family relocated to Caracas where he played in local orchestras and nightclubs. After a tour of Cuba in 1949, Romero made his debut in the U.S., where he played in New York City. He returned home to Caracas where he founded his own dance orchestra. In 1948, Romero traveled to New York to work as an arranger and piano accompanist for the record label RCA Victor. He went on to sign a recording contract with RCA Victor and recorded the hit album Dinner in Caracas. It proved to be one of the best-selling albums in the history of the South American charts.

Also, it reinvented the traditional Venezuelan folk melodies and became an international hit as well as introducing a creative point in Latin American jazz. In 1952, he began the famous sequel of recordings titled Dinner in… (Caracas, Rio, Buenos Aires, Columbia and Mexico). During his time with RCA, Romero was an arranger and conductor for famous singers Dean Martin, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Stan Kenton, to name a few. In 1969 Romero won the Moscow Cinema Festival's Peace Prize of the Soviet Intellectuals for his composition for the Simón Bolivar motion picture epic. He founded the Caracas Philharmonic Orchestra and served as its first conductor. He also conducted the London Symphony Orchestra, the English Chamber Orchestra, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. He died in Caracas on September 15, 2007 after a lengthy digestive illness.

Source: Aldemaro Romero Archive http://merrick.library.miami.edu/specialCollections/asm0038/

Video performance by Aldemaro Romero http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvuiajRqvaY

Source: http://www.allmusic.com/artist/aldemaro-romero-mn0000514571

Image:http://www.jazzmusicarchives.com/aldemaro-romero.aspx

Discography:

Year Title Label

1970	La Nueva Onda en Mexico	Vampi Soul
1974	Onda Nueva: The New Wave	CBS Records
1992	Almendra	Sony BMG / RCA
1993	Dinner in Colombia	BMG
1993	Dinner in Caracas	RCA Victor / BMG
1994	Onda Nueva	ANS
2004	El Fabuloso	Pony Canyon Records
2004	La Onda Maxima	Deja Vu
2005	Istituto Italo: Latino Americano Roma	Deja Vu
2005	La Onda Nueva: Remixed by Nicola Conte &…	Deja Vu
2008	Me Compartiría	Universal Distribution

Sylvia Constantinidis (b Caracas, 1962 - present)

2012-10-05T14:03:00.000-07:00

Sylvia Constaninidis is a Venezuelan-American pianist, composer, and conductor or European heritage. She began music lessons at the age of three in Caracas. She and her family moved to Paris to continue her studies at the Ecole Martenot and L'Universite Sorbonne de Paris. After returning to Venezuela, she worked as a pianists playing with orchestras and touring, she later went on to receive her Bachelors of Arts and Music at the Universidad Central de Venezuela.

After receiving a scholarship in the 1990s she moved to South Florida where she attended the University of Miami to pursue her Masters in Piano Performance and later a second masters in Music Theory and Composition. Sylvia began composing at the early age of twelve and her compositions have been performed on radio throughout five continents. She has written music for films by commission, in addition to commissions for piano, ensembles and orchestra. She has won many awards for her music scores including the ERM International Masterworks of the New Era Composers Competition in 2007 for her composition “The Macondo Poems,” which later was nominated for a Grammy. As a pianist, and also as, composer, she has participated in music festivals in Spain, France, England, Czech Republic, her native country of Venezuela, as well as Central, South and North-America.

A strong advocate for music education, Sylvia in 2002 represented the State of Florida in Washington D.C., at the Music Educators National Conference (MENC) as part of a national team, whose members spoke for the importance of music education and music programs in the school system. Her interview on Primeros Pasos' (First Steps) on the benefits of music education for early childhood development has been broadcasted on more than seventy stations. Sylvia teaches music at several colleges and universities in South Florida. She serves regularly as a judge of music competitions and grant selections, she is also a board member and chairman of several arts and culture committees. She has founded and managed ensembles, orchestras and music organizations to support and promote New-Music.

Source: Sylvia Constantinidis http://sylviaconstantinidis.tripod.com/biography.html

Source: American Music Center http://www.amc.net/sylviaconstantinidis

Image: http://sylviaconstantinidis.tripod.com/id28.html

Catalogue of Works:

“Rubi n Stone”, Op. 69, for orchestra, 2009

“Pierrot et Colombine”, Op. 68, Concerto for violin, marimba and orchestra, 2009

“Bomarzo”, Op. 67, Concerto for cello and orchestra, 2010

“Schönheit”, Op. 66, for piano solo, 2009

“Fiddeling Suite”, Op. 65, for string orchestra, 2010

“Medusa”, Op. 64, for flute and manipulated sources, 2009

“Cantos de Espanha”, Op. 63, Concerto for harpsichord and orchestra, 2008-9

“Nostalgia”, Op. 62, Concerto for piano and orchestra, 2006-9

“Suite Apartaderos”, Op. 61, for clarinet and piano, 2008

“Suite Margaritenha”, Op. 60, for clarinet and piano, 2008

“French Songs Cycle”, Op. 59, for voice and piano, 2005-9

“Tango”, Op. 55, for cello and piano, 2008

“Retablos”, Op. 54, for violin and marimba, 2007

“Treize Études”, Op. 53, for orchestra, 2006-7

“Études de Concert”, Op. 52, for cello and piano, 2007

“Études de Concert”, Op. 51, for piano

“Density”, Op. 50, Etudes for two pianos, 2007

“Sonatina for Joy”, Op. 49, for piano, 2007

“Alleluhia”, Op. 48, for choir and orchestra, 2007

“Prelude and Toccata”, Op. 47, for piano, 2006

“Visions”, Op. 46, for Clarinet and String Quartet, 2006

“Lunette”, Op. 45, for Clarinet, Violin, Viola, Cello, Marimba and Piano, 2006

“Amaranta Suite”, Op 44, for two pianos, 2006

“Suite a Deaux”, Op. 43, for cello and piano, 2005-6

“Pochoclo”, Op. 42, for oboe and clarinet, 2005

“Macondo Poem”, Op. 41, for Piccolo, Flute, Oboe, Clarinet & Bassoon, 2005

“Petit Fugue”, Op. 40, for String Quartet, 2005

“Fugue a Deaux”, Op. 39 for flute, two violins and Cello, 2005

“Resonance”, Op. 38, for piano solo, 2005

“Heraclium”, Op. 37, for chamber ensemble, 2006

“Lunch Break”, Op. 36, for chamber ensemble, 2006

“Rubi & Stone”, Op. 35, for flute, oboe, clarinet in Bb, French horn, bassoon, 2 violins, viola and cello, 2005

“Variations on a Twelve-Tone Row”, Op. 34, for 2 flutes, clarinet in Bb, French horn and bassoon, 2005

“Imaya’s Miserere”, Op. 33, for choir and orchestra, 2004

“Scenes”, Op. 32, for woodwind quintet, 2004

“El Yaguarey”, Op. 31, for clarinet in Bb, cello and piano, 2004

"Amaranta", Op. 30, for woodwind quintet and Piano, 2004

“Walimai”, Op. 29, Symphonic Poem for orchestra, 2004

“Rejoice”, Op. 28, for flute and string orchestra, 2003

“Christmas Jambouree”, op. 27, for bells, flute and string orchestra, 2003

“Tocatta Amazonica”, Op. 26, for piano, 2003

“Fandango”, Op. 25, for orchestra, 2003

“Dance of the Butterflies”, Op. 24, for string orchestra, 2002

“Rubi’ n Stone”, Op. 23, for piano, 2002

“Sunrise”, Op. 22, for viola and piano, 2002

“The First Thanks Giving”, Op 21, Children Opera, 2002-3

“Ponce de Leon”, Op. 20, Children Opera, 2001-2

“Lincoln”, Op. 19, Children Opera, 2000-1

“Music for Strings”, Op. 18, for string orchestra, 2001-2

“Suite Tipica”, Op. 17, for string orchestra, 2001

“Suite Indigena”, Op. 16, for string orchestra, 2000-1

“Spanish Rhapsodie”, Op. 15, for orchestra, 2000

“Latin Rhapsodie”, Op. 14, for orchestra, 2000

“Impressions”, Op. 13, for piano solo, 1999

“Sonatine No.1”, Op. 12, for piano solo, 1999

“Suite Infantil”, Op. 11, for piano solo, 1997

“Impresiones de Colores”, Op. 10, for ochestra, 1995

“Valses Criollos”, Op. 9, for piano solo, 1990

“Variaciones Folkloricas”, Op. 8, for piano solo, 1989

“Arreglos Corales”, Op. 7, for choir, 1988

“Piano Etudes”, Op. 6, for piano solo, 1984-7

“Misa Antigua”, Op. 5, for voices, 1984-6

“Piano Miniatures”, Op. 4, for piano, 1983-5

Teresa Carreño (b Caracas, 22 Dec 1853; d New York, 12 June 1917)

2012-10-05T13:58:00.001-07:00

Teresa Carreño was a pianist, composer, conductor, and singer. Her father, Manuel Antonio Carreño a politician and amateur musician, started Teresa's music lessons at an early age, awakening in her a strong sense of self-criticism to which she attributed much of her success. Her earliest compositions, short piano pieces, date from her sixth year. The brilliance of her piano playing provided motivation for her family's decision to leave Venezuela, in order both to bring her to broader attention, and to complete her musical education. At eight years old she moved to New York where she began studies with Gottschalk. Teresa made her debut in New York's Irving Hall on November 25, 1862. In January 1863, she performed for the first time in Boston, and her first published composition, entitled "Gottschalk Waltz" dedicated to the composer, appeared in Boston later in the year. In the fall of this same year, she performed for Abraham Lincoln in the White House. In March 1866 she and her family sailed for Europe where they later settled in Paris. In Paris, Teresa became acquainted with other famous pianists and composers. After studies in Paris with Mathias and Anton Rubinstein, Teresa began her career at the young age of twelve.

After her mother died of cholera, she and her father traveled to Spain where she gave concerts in Madrid and Zaragoza. She composed many of her piano works during this time, most well before her twentieth birthday. Her career took off fast and never slowed down. She toured the world, focusing on Europe, but with stops in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Cuba, the U.S., and Venezuela. Carreño returned to Venezuela, for the first and only time, where she lived for close to two years. She contributed to the classical music scene through compositions, she helped compose a patriotic chorus in honor of Simón Bolivar's birth, managed an opera company, and helped plan a conservatory of music. She pursued a brief, but somewhat successful, career as an opera singer and made her debut in New York City.

She was married four times and had five surviving children. She spent the bulk of her life living in Germany where she taught music and performed with the Berlin Philharmonic. In September 1916 she left Berlin and traveled to the United States for the last time. During a tour of Cuba in 1917 she fell ill. After returning to New York, Teresa Carreño died on June 12, at the age of sixty-four. Teresa Carreño was hailed as one of the most accomplished pianists of her day. In 1938 her ashes were ceremoniously laid to rest in Venezuela.

Source: Oxford Music Online http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.ezproxy.lib.umb.edu/subscriber/article/grove/music/05013?q=teresa+Carreño&search=quick&pos=1&_start=1#firsthit

Source: Teresa Carreño Biography http://specialcollections.vassar.edu/exhibits/Carreño/bio.html

Teresa Carreño plays Chopin http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIyDCnrhn6o

Compositions by Teresa Carreño http://imslp.org/wiki/Category:Carre%C3%B1o,_Teresa

Image:

http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/teresa-carreno-317.php

2012-10-03T14:21:00.001-07:00

Welcome to Venezuela’s Art Music Blog

In this blog you will find some of the most principal music compositors of the history of Venezuela. But first you need to have a background of the country

History and Culture

In ancient times, Venezuela was paradise for the Indians who lived on its beaches, in its tropical forests, and on the gentle grassland of the llanos. There were three main groups: the Carib, Arawak, and the Chibcha. They lived in small groups and all of them practiced some degree of farming; the land, however, was bountiful enough so that this was not always a necessity. They could easily hunt, fish for, and gather their food. The most advanced of the three were the Chibcha who lived on the eastern slopes of the Andes. Though they never developed large cities, their agricultural skill were formidable: they terraced parts of the Andes and built sophisticated irrigation channels to water their crops.

Christopher Columbus was the first European to visit Venezuela. He came in 1498 during his third voyage to the New World, and landed on the Peninsula de Paria. Following the coast, he explored the Rio Orinoco Delta and concluded that he had found much more than another Caribbean island. More explorers came a year later, and it was Alonso de Ojeda who gave the country its name. Arriving at Lake Maracaibo, he admired the stilted houses that the Indians had build above the lake and called the place Venezuela - "Little Venice." A year after that the Spanish established their first settlement, Nueva Cadiz, which was later destroyed by a tsunami. Early colonization in Venezuela was much less rampant than it was in other parts of South America, and the colony was ruled with a loose hand from Bogota. It was much less important to the Spanish than the mineral-producing colonies of Western South America, but Venezuela would later surprise the world when massive oil reserves would be discovered.

Venezuela may have been a quiet outpost on the edge of the Spanish Empire, but it gave birth to the man who would one day turn that empire on its head: Simon Bolivar. With the help of British

mercenaries, Bolivar and his followers campaigned against the Spanish tirelessly, marching across the Andes and liberating Colombia in 1819, Venezuela in 1821, and Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia in 1825. Much of his army was composed of native Venezuelans. Independence did not prove easy for the new nation. Civil strife, wars, and dictatorships raged in the country well into the next century. Though some dictators sought real reform, most milked their positions for personal gain. Border disputes with the British colony of Guyana erupted in the 1840s, and although they never boiled over into full-fledged warfare, Venezuela still disputes the border to this day.

In the early 1900s, the conflict-ridden nation finally began to get on its economic feet with the discovery of oil, and by the 20s Venezuela was beginning to reap the benefits. Unfortunately, most of the wealth remained with the ruling class, and the plague of dictators continued until 1947 when Romulo Betancourt led a popular revolt and rewrote the constitution. The first president-elect in Venezuela's history took office the same year, the novelist Romulo Gallegos. Unfortunately, he was ousted by another dictator and the country did not experience a non-violent presidential succession until 1963. For the next 25 years, things went comparatively well. An oil boom in the mid-1970s saw enormous wealth pour into the country, though, as always, the vast lower class benefited little. Oil prices dropped in the late 80s and once again the country was thrown into crisis. Riots swept through Caracas and were violently repressed, and two coup attempts took place in 1992. Right now, the nation's stability and future are uncertain.

Despite a rough history, Venezuelans are infamous in South America for their easy-going nature and fun-loving spirit. Their national mythology hails back to the days when independent and rugged settlers tamed the lawlessness of the llanos, a heritage not unlike that of the American West. Most Venezuelans them come from a mix of European, Indian, and African roots, while a minority are exclusively white, black, or Indian. Roman Catholicism is the overwhelmingly dominant religion.