El Marabino - Music

Antonio Lauro August 3 1917 – April 18 1986 Was A Venezuelan Composer Considered To Be One Of The Foremost South American Composers For The Guitar In The 20th Century. Antonio Lauro Was Born In Ciudad Bolívar Venezuela. His 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 Waltzes 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 Waltzes 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 At Caracas In 1986 He Was Presented With The Premio Nacional De Música His Country's Highest Artistic Award. read less