Venezuela on Music Theory Print

Adina Izarra

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Adina Izarra (born 1959) is a Venezuelan musician, music educator and composer. Biography Adina Izarra was born in Caracas, Venezuela. She studied music under Alfredo del Mónaco in Caracas and received her Ph.D. in composition from York University, England, in 1988, after studying with Vic Hoyland. After 1988 Izarra returned to Caracas where she took a position as professor of composition at Simón Bolívar University. Between 1999 and 2001, she was a member of the executive committee of the International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM). Currently residing in Guayaquil, Ecuador, where she is a professor at the University of the Arts. She works in the areas of live electronics and audio-reactive visuals. She has a duet with Rubén Riera, who plays ancient and contemporary plucked string instruments, with whom she performs original improvisations, works by both, as well as covers a lot of old music, transformed through electronics. Adina has just received a Master’s degree in Digital Audiovisual Postproduction from ESPOL, Guayaquil and has a PhD in composition from the University of York, England.Currently residing in Guayaquil, Ecuador, working as a professor at the University of

Alba Quintanilla

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Alba Quintanilla (born July 11, 1944) is a Venezuelan composer, harpist, harpsichordist, pianist, singer, conductor, and pedagogue. Biography Quintanilla was born in Mérida, Mérida, and had her first contact with music through her parents, especially her father, Venezuelan painter, sculpturist, and pedagogue Luis Felipe Quintanilla Ponce. At age 10 she matriculated at the Escuela Superior de Música José Ángel Lamas, where she studied piano, harp, harpsichord, singing (soprano), composition, and conduction; her instructors there included Vicente Emilio Sojo, Raimundo Pereira, Juan Bautista Plaza, Gonzalo Castellanos Yumar, Evencio Castellanos, Cecilia de Majo, Evelia Taborda, Lidya Venturini, and Pablo Manelski. She continued her music studies at the Conservatory in Warsaw, Poland, during one of her sabbatical years (1970). There, she studied with conductor Ryszard Dudek and composer Witold Rudzinski. From 1982 through 1984 Quintanilla attended the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Mannheim in Mannheim, Germany, continuing her postgraduate studies in composition with Prof. Helmut Weindland. Quintanilla was the first woman to conduct the Venezuela Symphony Orches

Beatriz Bilbao

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Beatriz Bilbao (born 8 December 1951) is a Venezuelan composer. She was born in Caracas, Venezuela, and studied piano with Judith James and Gerty Haas, composition with Modesta Bor, and conducting with Alberto Grau and Gonzalo Castellanos in Venezuela. She continued her studies at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University Bloomington with Frederick Fox, Juan Orrego Salas and John Eaton and at the New England Conservatory of Music and the Cluj Napoca Conservatory in Romania. After completing her studies, Bilbao worked as a composer and music teacher. In 1991 she took a teaching position at the Instituto Universitario de Estudios Musicales (IUDEM) in Caracas and from 2001 to 2002 served as director of the Ministry of Culture’s Prudencio Esáa Music School. Her music has been performed internationally. Honors and awards *1995 Ramón Delgado Palacios National Prize for her piano work Secuencias Mestizas *1994 Munizipal Prizes for Trilogía Aborígen and Four Color Dances *1989 First Symphonic Composition Contest Seguros la Previsora prize for Concierto de las Tres Esferas Works Bilbao works with both electronic media and acoustic instruments, composing for orchestra, chamber ensembl

Carlos Almenar Otero

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Carlos José Almenar Otero (21 March 1926 – 7 August 2018) was a Venezuelan tenor and composer. Nicknamed “La voz de oro de Venezuela” (), he rose to international prominence after taking part in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer singing contest The Great Caruso, organised in 1951 to promote the film of the same name starring Mario Lanza. Early life and career Almenar Otero was born on 21 March 1926 in Aragua de Barcelona, the second of five children of a modest family. At his parents’ urging he initially studied law, but he abandoned his studies to pursue a musical career, singing in theatres and on radio. He shared the stage with contemporary artists including Alfredo Sadel on the radio programme La Caravana Camel. In 1951, when Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer organised the international singing contest The Great Caruso to promote its film of the same name, Almenar won the Venezuelan stage. At the final, held in Rio de Janeiro, he received honourable mention; the contest was won by the Brazilian baritone João Gibin. Career in Europe Later in 1951, Almenar travelled to Italy to study at the Milan Conservatory and received private lessons from the tenor Nino Piccaluga, a former La Scala star. He made his

Federico Ruiz (composer)

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Federico Ruiz Hurtado (born February 8, 1948) is a Venezuelan composer, arranger, and arts administrator. He has composed in diverse genres including symphonic, chamber, and electroacoustic music. Ruiz was born in Caracas, Venezuela. He was a student at the , where he studied composition with Primo Casale, Vicente Emilio Sojo and Evencio Castellanos; as well as contemporary compositional techniques with and Eduardo Kusnir. Ruiz graduated in 1974. In 1976, Ruiz founded the Quinteto Cantaclaro, which consisted of members Carola Marcano, Inés Feo La Cruz, Efraín Arteaga, Gonzalo Peña, and Felipe Izcaray. His music for film has earned wide popularity in Venezuela and many of his works are part of the repertoire of ensembles in El Sistema. Pianist Clara Rodríguez has championed and recorded Ruiz’s music. References External links *Federico Ruiz’s blog

Flor Roffé de Estévez

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Flor Roffé de Estévez (October 24, 1921 in Caracas – October 21, 2004 in Caracas) was a composer, writer, and professor of Venezuelan music. She came from a Jewish family, which migrated to the country at the beginning of the 20th century. Biography In 1937, she learnt to teach music at the School of Music José Angel Lick, where she learned piano from Moses Moleiro, musical theory from Eduardo Square, harmony from Antonio Estévez, and music history from Juan Bautista Square. In 1944, she studied music pedagogy at the New York Teacher’s College of the University of Columbia, and in 1945 at the Juilliard School of Music, and finally, at the New York Dalcroze School. She taught Dalcroze Eurhythmics (developed by Émile Jaques-Dalcroze (1865–1950)) at both the Normal School Gran Colombia and the High School of Music (now called the School of Music Juan Manuel Olivares). In 1958 she developed, on behalf of the Ministry of Education, seminars and workshops on the implementation of the music education program of the Ministry. From 1959 to 1963 she acted as National Minister of Education Supervisor. After a stay of several years in Paris, she founded in 1972, with the support of the Nationa

Josefina Benedetti

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Josefina Benedetti Punceles (born September 17, 1953) is a Venezuelan-American composer, musicologist and choral director. Biography Josefina Benedetti was born in New Haven, Connecticut to Venezuelan-born father. She studied piano in Caracas and London, finished her studies at the National Conservatory of Music, Juan José Landaeta, and studied choral conducting at the University Institute of Musical Studies, Magister Scientiarum, in Latin American. She received a musicology degree from the Universidad Central de Venezuela. She received the National Prize for Composition in 1989, 1993 and 1998, the Municipal Music Prize of the City of Caracas in 1990 and the José Antonio and Carmen Calcaño Foundation Composition Prize in 1993. She served as president of Jeunesses Musicales de Venezuela, (1991–96), the National Philharmonic Orchestra Foundation (1995–2000) and the music label Música y Tiempo (Music and Time). She has been Secretary General of the Venezuelan Music Council (UNESCO) and a member of the boards of the Venezuelan Society of Contemporary Music, the Teatro Teresa Carreño Foundation and Director of Culture of the Central University of Venezuela (2000–05). Works Benedetti is

Marco Antonio Rivera Useche

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Marco Antonio Rivera Useche (1895–1990) was a Venezuelan musician and composer. He was born in San Cristóbal on 19 June 1895 and died on 15 July 1990. He married Juanita Moreno Morales, with whom he had five children in 1937. Education Rivera was of humble origins. After completing primary education he began to work, eventually practicing the trades of carpentry, jewelry, heraldry and shoemaking. In 1910 he began studying music with the Italian master Nicolas Constantino Chicaroni (Vironto, Italy, 1857 - San Cristóbal, 1927), who had arrived in San Cristóbal in the company of other Italian musicians to be incorporated into the Táchira State Band, including Angelo Mottola (1881-1966), author the state Hymn of Anzoátegui. Career From 1912 Rivera became a full member of the TáchiraState band and from 1913 he started to receive a salary of Bs 100 per month. In 1916 he was exiled for a short period in Colombia for a confrontation with the president of the state, Eustace Gomez, cousin to the president of Venezuela, Juan Vicente Gómez. On his return he began to study English with a German professor named Sildner. He again went into exile in Colombia in 1919 but continued his musical studi

María Luisa Escobar

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María Luisa González Gragirena de Escobar (née María Luisa González Gragirena; known artistically by her married name María Luisa Escobar; also credited as Maritza Graxirena; 5 December 1903 – 14 May 1985) was a Venezuelan musicologist, pianist, composer, and caricaturist. She founded the Caracas Athenaeum in 1931. She also served as president of the Venezuelan Red Cross (Valencia, 1921; Caracas, 1922–23). Early life and education María Luisa González Gragirena was born in Valencia in 5 December 1903, the daughter of Henrique A. González and Maria Gragirena y Mijarez de González. At the age of five, she entered the Colegio de Lourdes where she began to study piano. A year later, she composed her first piece titled “Blanca, la niña Angélica” (Blanca, the girl Angélica). At the age of eight, she travelled with her parents to Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles, and entered the Welgelegen Habaai School where she studied French and English in addition to piano, violin, and musical composition, concluding with a Baccalaureate in 1917. With this union, she had another son, Toney Escobar González. With Saluzzo, and the musician/composer Pedro Antonio Ríos Reyna, in addition to other artists, sh

Marianella Machado

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Marianella P. Machado (born August 4, 1959) is a Venezuelan writer and composer. Biography Marianella Machado was born in Caracas, Venezuela, and studied at the Conservatorio de Musica José Ángel Lamas. She later continued her studies in composition with William Banch, and in 1981 she attended Indiana University School of Music in Bloomington on a Venezuenlan government scholarship, graduating with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in composition. Marchado returned to Venezuela, where she began work as a music teacher and composer. From 1987-88 she was a research assistant at the Rómulo Gallegos Center for Latin American Studies in Caracas. From 1989-93 she attended the University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music, working as a teaching assistant, and graduated with a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in 1993. In 1994 Machado began pursuing an interest in Spanish as second language and Hispanic literature. She attended the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures of the University of Cincinnati on assistantship where she graduated with a Master of Arts in 1996 and a PhD in Hispanic Literature in 1998. From 1998-2003 she worked as a professor at the Universidad Católica

Modesta Bor

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Modesta Bor (15 June 1926 – 7 April 1998) was a Venezuelan composer, music teacher and choral arranger. Formerly a promising pianist and music interpreter, she was forced to center her career around composing and teaching after being diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome in 1951. Life and career Modesta Bor was born in Juan Griego, Isla de Margarita. She studied in Caracas with Elena Arrarte, Juan Bautista Plaza, Antonio Estévez, Maria de Lourdes Rotundo and Vicente Emilio Sojo, graduating with a degree in composition in 1959. She continued her studies at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory with Aram Khachaturian. In 1960 she won her first National Music Prize with Sonata for viola and piano.After completing her studies, Bor returned to Venezuela to work as a composer, teacher and choir director, becoming head of the music department in the Central University of Venezuela Culture Department. She also served as director of the musicology section of Folklore Research of the National Service. She died in Mérida. Works Bor composed for orchestra, chamber ensemble, piano and vocal performance, writing more than 95 choral works for mixed and 130 for equal-voice choir. Selected works inc

Pablo Manavello

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Pablo Manavello (May 21, 1950 – January 18, 2016) was an Italian-born Venezuelan composer, guitarist, singer and songwriter. Career Manavello started his career in the early 1970s in Caracas and participated in more than 50 albums (including his own). He also worked for many Hispanic artists such as Ricardo Montaner, Yolandita Monge Chayanne, Carlos Vives, Shakira, Ricky Martin, Antonio De Carlo, Soraya, Melissa Paralamas, and many others, and scored films and TV shows. Manavello began his career in the mid-1960s with Los Memphis, a pop-rock band from Caracas influenced by The Beatles. Los Memphis released their first album in 1967 and another one in 1969 before disbanding. Later he founded Sangre, which released a self-titled album 1971. He worked as a session musician before collaborating with Juan Michelena in the protest album “Dicen que soy…” in 1977 and joining Vytas Brenner’s Venezuelan fusion band Ofrenda. In 1979 he released Cosas Sencillas, his first solo album and began a successful career as composer and producer of many Latin artists and bands. He then interrupted his career after receiving a scholarship from the Venezuelan Government to study film scoring in Berklee

Paul Desenne

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Paul Xavier Desenne Hable (7 December 1959 – 20 May 2023) was a Venezuelan cellist and composer. Biography Desenne was born on 7 December 1959, in Caracas, where he was also raised. In 1977, he was a founding member of the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra, for whom he later became the resident composer. He studied composition for 11 years in Paris. He won first prize in cello performance at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris. After returning from Paris, Desenne joined the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra and was El Sistema’s resident composer. In 2002, Desenne took a sabbatical from teaching and performance to concentrate on composition. by Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra conducted by Gustavo Dudamel. In 2006, Desenne became a Fellow at Civitella Ranieri Center in Umbria, Italy, and was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2009. He wrote a weekly column on music for the Venezuelan national newspaper El Nacional. On 20 May 2023, Desenne died from a heart attack in Boston, Massachusetts, at the age of 63. His widow Carmen Liliana Rojas Marulanda survives him. * “The Two Seasons of the Caribbean Tropics” (2003), * Palenkumbé (2007), an overture incorporating Latin rhythms and f

Reynaldo Hahn

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Reynaldo Hahn de Echenagucia (9 August 1874 – 28 January 1947) was a French composer, conductor, music critic, and singer. He is best known for his songs – mélodies – of which he wrote more than 100. Hahn was born in Caracas but his family moved to Paris when he was a child, and he lived most of his life there. Following the success of his song “Si mes vers avaient des ailes” (If my verses had wings), written when he was aged 14, he became a prominent member of fin de siècle French society. Among his closest friends were Sarah Bernhardt and Marcel Proust. After the First World War, in which he served in the army, Hahn adapted to new musical and theatrical trends and enjoyed successes with his first opérette, Ciboulette (1923) and a collaboration with Sacha Guitry, the musical comedy Mozart (1926). During the Second World War Hahn, who was of Jewish descent, took refuge in Monaco, returning to Paris in 1945 where he was appointed director of the Opéra. He died in Paris in 1947, aged 72. Hahn was a prolific composer. His vocal works include secular and sacred pieces, lyric scenes, cantatas, oratorios, operas, comic operas, and operettas. Orchestral works include concertos ballets, to

Simón Díaz

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Simón Narciso Díaz Márquez (August 8, 1928 – February 19, 2014), also known as tío Simón, was a Venezuelan singer, actor, TV host, comedian, and Grammy Award-winning composer of Venezuelan music. Some of his most popular songs include Caballo viejo, Tonada de luna llena and La vaca Mariposa. Díaz endeavored to recover the folklore and musical traditions of the Venezuelan Llanos (plains). This style of music has since been performed by artists such as Argentina’s Mercedes Sosa, Brazil’s Caetano Veloso, Spain’s Joan Manuel Serrat, Peru’s Susana Baca, Puerto Rico’s Danny Rivera, and Venezuelans Franco De Vita, Soledad Bravo, Juan Carlos Salazar, Carlos Baute and José Luis Rodríguez, among others. Many of Díaz’s works have been adapted by symphonies and choral ensembles throughout Venezuela, Artists from other disciplines have also utilized Díaz’s work. For example, German choreographer Pina Bausch included some of Díaz’s songs in her work Nur Du. Film director Pedro Almodóvar included Díaz’s song “Tonada de luna llena” as part of the soundtrack for his film The Flower of My Secret, sung by the Brazilian artist Caetano Veloso. After his father’s death in 1940, his family relocated to S

Teresa Carreño

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María Teresa Gertrudis de Jesús Carreño García (December 22, 1853 – June 12, 1917) was a Venezuelan pianist, composer, soprano, and conductor. Over the course of her 54-year concert career, she became an internationally renowned virtuoso pianist and was often referred to as the “Valkyrie of the Piano”. Carreño was an early adopter of the works of one of her students, American composer and pianist Edward MacDowell (1860–1908) and premiered several of his compositions across the globe. She also frequently performed the works of Norwegian composer and pianist Edvard Grieg (1843–1907). Carreño composed approximately 75 works for solo piano, voice and piano, choir and orchestra, and instrumental ensemble. Several composers dedicated their compositions to Carreño, including Amy Beach (Piano Concerto in C-sharp minor) and Edward MacDowell (Piano Concerto No. 2). Early life and education María Teresa Carreño García de Sena was born in Caracas, Venezuela, on December 22, 1853, to Manuel Antonio Carreño (1812–1874) and Clorinda García de Sena y Rodríguez del Toro (1816–1866). Her father was the son of (1773–1836) and came from a musical family. He gave her music lessons from an early age and ov