Nationality: Venezuelan

Romantic Venezuelan

CARREÑO, Teresa

Born in Caracas, Venezuela, Dec 22, 1853
Died in New York, NY, June 12, 1917

Teresa Carreño was a pianist, singer (soprano), and composer born to a musical family. In 1862, Carreño’s family moved to New York in response to growing political instability in Venezuela. There, an eight-year-old Carreño made her professional debut, mentored by L. M. Gottschalk.
- In 1866, the family moved to Paris where the young composer continued to compose and perform international tours.
- As a young adult, Carreño would return to the States, eventually making New York her home.
Carreño was among the first female pianists to tour the United States, serving as a role model for new generations of American women who entered musical life as professional performers and composers.
As a composer, Carreño wrote ~ 80 works, most of them written earlier on in her career to be performed herself in concert.¹
Fun fact – As an international piano sensation, Carreño acquired the nickname, “Valkyrie of the piano.”
- Additional fun fact – In 1863, when Carreño was still a child, she performed for Abraham Lincoln at the White House. Decades later, in 1916, she returned to the White House to perform for Woodrow Wilson.

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13 Facts about Carreño via Interlude

Born October 29, 1892
Died June 13, 1962

Antonio Carrillo was a Venezuelan composer and multi-instrumentalist.
In addition to his work as a composer, Carrillo led a distinguished career as an educator. He founded the Duaca Music School, in addition to serving as director of the Escuela de Música San Felipe Neri and teaching at the Lara State Music School (now the Conservatorio Vicente Emilio Sojo).²

Image by Alfredo Cortina, courtesy of the Sphinx Organization

Born in Ciudad Bolívar, Aug 3, 1917
Died in Caracas, April 18, 1986

Guitarist and composer Antonio Lauro initially pursued piano as his primary instrument at the Caracas Conservatory but later changed to guitar after hearing Paraguayan guitarist Agustín Barrios.
Although Lauro wrote for a variety of media, he is best known for his guitar music.
- Lauro was particularly fond of Valses venezolanos (Venezuelan waltzes), “characterized by rhythmic vitality, teasing hemiolas and lyrical melody.” His music has a distinct sense of nationalism.
For years, Lauro toured South America with the folk music trio Los Cantores del Trópico.³
In the early 1950s, Lauro was imprisoned by the military junta for his democratic ideals. According to Naxos, Lauro “later shrugged off the experience, telling his friends that prison was a normal part of life for the Venezuelan man of his generation.” (!)⁴
Shortly before he died in 1986, Lauro received the Premio Nacional de Musica, the highest artistic award in Venezuela.⁵

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Biography from Naxos

Born in Guatire, Dec 8, 1887
Died in Caracas, Aug 11, 1974

Sojo was a composer, conductor and musicologist.
As Professor of Music Theory (1921), and later Director (1936), at the Escuela Nacional de Música, Sojo taught most major Venezuelan composers between 1930-1960.
Sojo co-founded the Venezuela Symphony Orchestra in 1930.
In 1982, the Instituto Vicente Emilio Sojo, a musicological institution focused on Venezuelan music, was founded in his honor.⁶
Biography from AllMusic