| Antonio Lauro |
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| CATEGORIES ABOUT ANTONIO LAURO | |
| venezuelan musicians | |
| lauro, antonio | |
| venezuelan classical guitarists | |
| venezuelan composers | |
| composers for guitar | |
| 1917 births | |
| 1986 deaths | |
Antonio Lauro (born August 3 1917 in Ciudad Bolívar , Venezuela , died April 18 1986 in Caracas ) was a Venezuelan Guitarist , considered to be one of the foremost South America n Composer s for The Instrument in the 20th century. BIOGRAPHY Antonio Lauro's father, an Italian immigrant, was a barber who could sing and play the guitar so he taught his son what he could, but died when Antonio was still a child. After the family moved to Caracas , Lauro pursued formal musical study (piano, composition) at the ''Academia de Música y Declamación'', where the distinguished composer Vicente Emilio Sojo (1887-1974) was one of his teachers. A 1932 concert performed in Caracas by Agustín Barrios , the legendary Paraguayan guitarist and composer, so much impressed the young Lauro (already an accomplished folk guitarist) that he was persuaded to abandon piano and violin in favor of the guitar. From 1933, Lauro studied with Raúl Borges (1888-1967), and was introduced to the traditional Classical Guitar Repertoire . In the next decade, Borges' pupils would also include Rodrigo Riera , José Rafael Cisneros , and Alirio Diaz . These colleagues, especially Díaz, were later responsible for unveiling Lauro's works to an astonished international audience, introducing these unheard-of works 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 1935-1943 (Lauro sang bass and played both guitar and '' Cuatro ''), he toured nearby countries to introduce them to Venezuelan Music . Lauro was particularly attracted to the myriad colonial parlour ''valses'' ( Waltz es) created 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 (created by a Hemiola in which two measures of 3/4 become a single measure of 3/2), such music was precisely the sort of folkloric raw material which the likes of Smetana , Béla Bártok or Granados had elevated to national art in Europe. A concert whose programme was entirely comprised of such ''valses'' ( Waltz es) by the distinguished Venezuelan pianist Evencio Castellanos (1914-1984) convinced Lauro that the guitar, too, should have comparable 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 instant 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 occasionally 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 1951-1952, 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 freshly formed “Trio Raúl Borges”. In the following 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 everywhere. Lauro was appointed professor of guitar at several distinguished schools including the '' Juan José Landaeta Conservatory'', and was named president of the Venezuela 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. POPULAR WORKS ]] Seis por derecho: a ), unpublished until 1983, named after one of the composer's nieces. '''El Marabino''' (a more common term is ''maracucho'') refers to a native of Maracaibo , an important city where Lauro himself lived for a time. Lauro once told his pupil Luis Zea that he had named a new composition '''Maria Luisa''' after his wife, and that the piece was as difficult as she was – a comment which later caused ''Señora'' Lauro to burst into laughter. In fact, it is a very romantic work, the second section of which was inspired by Chopin's Waltz in A flat, Op. 69, No. 1. '''Angostura''' is the ancient name for Ciudad Bolívar , Lauro's birthplace. Lauro wrote the impressive Suite Venezolana, consisting of '''Registro''' (Prelude), '''Danza Negra, Canción''', and '''Vals''', during his imprisonment in 1951-52. The curiously named first movement, Registro, refers to the sort of improvising (''registrar'') a musician might do to warm up his hands or to explore a new or unfamiliar instrument; it is therefore equivalent to the Italian term '' Ricercar e'' as it was used originally used in the Renaissance. Lauro used the identical title for the first movement of his Suite para piano. The '''Danza negra''' is a very difficult piece, frequently selected as the main or final challenge in international guitar contests, demanding not only a mature technique but a solid command of intricate Venezuelan rhythms as well. It is mainly an Afro-Venezuelan dance which quotes a Venezuelan folksong named San Pedro; another popular tune, '''La Tumba''', is quoted in both of the last two movements, a typical ''canción de serenata'' (serenade song) and a ''vals''. In 1971 Lauro wrote the waltz '''El niño''', dedicated to his eldest son, Leonardo. The first three of the Four Valses Venezolanos were composed in Ecuador in 1938-40 while Lauro was touring there with the ''Trio Cantores del Trópico''; years later, after the pieces had been published, Lauro decided to name them after his niece '''Tatiana''', her sister '''Andreina''', and his own daughter '''Natalia''', respectively. The latter is by far Lauro's most famous work, commonly known as ''Vals criollo'' (the title under which it was recorded by Andrés Segovia ), or as ''Vals No.3'' (the title under which it was published in 1963). The fourth waltz, '''Yacambú''', is in Rondo form having curious Chromaticism s and unexpected harmonies; it was named after a picturesque mountainous area of western Venezuela. El Negrito (referring to Lauro's youngest son Luis Augusto) and '''La Gatica''' (the kitten, a nickname for his wife) were published together in 1984; they were intended to be played as a pair. Lauro's '''Tríptico''' consists of three pieces in E minor which the composer collected together to comply with a request from Andrés Segovia . The first of these, '''Armida''', is a contemplative canción named after the composer's sister. '''Madrugada''' ("before dawn") is an appoggiatura study inspired by one of Sojo's few original works for guitar. Lauro composed this piece in 1974, shortly after the death of his beloved ''maestro''. '''La Negra''' was the nickname of Lauro's niece Armida, the daughter of his sister of the same name; this little waltz was composed in August, 1976. Lauro's Variaciones Sobre Una Canción Infantil {Link without Title} carries the dedication "Homage to the guitarists of the XIX Century;" that is, to Sor, Giuliani, Carcassi, and the others of their generation who loved the theme and variations form. The first half of the melody is the children's song ''Palomita Sentada'', but the second half is original to Lauro, who found the little tune too brief to be developed successfully. '''Carora''' became a favorite of Guitar Virtuoso Alirio Díaz; when Lauro invited him to title the piece, Díaz chose the name of his home town (and that of his friend Rodrigo Riera ), a city in Lara State , in western Venezuela. LEGACY The works of Antonio Lauro have long been very popular with guitarists worldwide, yet there have been few recordings devoted exclusively to him. However, several recordings by John Williams and David Russell , in a fashion very similar to what these two virtuosos had already done for Agustín Barrios Mangoré, have set Lauro's fame in the honorific place he deserves. John Williams is quoted as having justly referred to Antonio Lauro as being the " Strauss of the guitar". BIBLIOGRAPHY
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