Gonzalo Roig Lobo (Havana, 20 July 1890 – Havana, 13 June 1970) was a Cuban composer, pianist, violinist and musical director. He was a pioneer of the symphonic movement in Cuba. His most popular works are the zarzuela Cecilia Valdés and the song "Quiéreme mucho" (known in English as "Yours").
In 1902, he began to study piano, music theory and solfège and then later graduated in music studies at the Havana Conservatory. In 1907, he played part, as a pianist, in an ensemble (trio), and thus started his very active career in music, composed his first musical piece Voice of misfortune for piano and solo voice. Two years later, he began playing violin at the Martí Theater in Havana. In 1917 he traveled to Mexico, and worked there briefly, returning to Cuba the same year. In 1922, he was co-founder of the Symphony Orchestra in Havana, of which he became music director.
In 1927, he was appointed director of the Municipal Music Band of Havana. During his tenure as director (he held the position until his death) he made countless contributions to the Cuban music. In 1929 he founded the Orquesta de Ignacio Cervantes, which, a year later, was invited by the Pan American Union to lead a series of concerts in The United States of America. In 1931, while participating in the creation of the National Theatre, he composed and premiered (next year) his zarzuela, Cecilia Valdés, a typical example of the Cuban lyric theatre.
In 1938, he founded the National Opera in Havana, which he directed for a few years. He traveled frequently and gave performances in many parts of the world. He founded the Society of Cuban Authors, the National Federation of Authors of Cuba, the National Union of Authors of Cuba and the National Society of Authors of Cuba.
The music of Cuba, including its instruments, performance, and dance, comprises a large set of unique traditions influenced mostly by west African and European music. Due to the syncretic nature of most of its genres, Cuban music is often considered one of the richest and most influential regional music in the world. For instance, the son cubano merges an adapted Spanish guitar (tres), melody, harmony, and lyrical traditions with Afro-Cuban percussion and rhythms. Almost nothing remains of the original native traditions, since the native population was exterminated in the 16th century.
Ernesto Lecuona y Casado was a Cuban composer and pianist, many of whose works have become standards of the Latin, jazz and classical repertoires. His over 600 compositions include songs and zarzuelas as well as pieces for piano and symphonic orchestra.
"Quiéreme mucho" is a criolla-bolero composed in 1911 by Gonzalo Roig with lyrics by Ramón Gollury and Agustín Rodríguez. The song was inspired by Roig's wife, Blanca Becerra, and premiered in Havana in 1911 without much success. In 1917, it was included in the sainete El servicio militar obligatorio and performed by Becerra and Rafael Llorens to critical acclaim. Roig published and sold the rights to the song in 1921, and the first recording was made in the United States by singer Tito Schipa in 1923. The English version, "Yours", was published in 1931 in the United States. It featured lyrics in English written by Albert Gamse and Jack Sherr. Both versions have been extensively recorded and arranged by different musicians, becoming Latin music standards.
Dionisio Ramón Emilio Valdés Amaro, better known as Bebo Valdés, was a Cuban pianist, bandleader, composer and arranger. He was a central figure in the golden age of Cuban music, especially due to his big band arrangements and compositions of mambo, chachachá and batanga, a genre he created in 1952.
Ana Margarita Martínez-Casado is a Cuban actress and singer.
Cecilia Valdés is both a novel by the Cuban writer Cirilo Villaverde (1812–1894), and a zarzuela based on the novel. It is a work of importance for its quality, and its revelation of the interaction of classes and races in Havana, Cuba.
Rita Aurelia Fulcida Montaner y Facenda, known as Rita Montaner, was a Cuban singer, pianist and actress. In Cuban parlance, she was a vedette, and was well known in Mexico City, Paris, Miami and New York, where she performed, filmed and recorded on numerous occasions. She was one of Cuba's most popular artists between the late 1920s and 1950s, renowned as Rita de Cuba. Though classically trained as a soprano for zarzuelas, her mark was made as a singer of Afro-Cuban salon songs including "The Peanut Vendor" and "Siboney".
Cuban musical theatre has its own distinctive style and history. From the 18th century to modern times, popular theatrical performances included music and often dance as well. Many composers and musicians had their careers launched in the theatres, and many compositions got their first airing on the stage. In addition to staging some European operas and operettas, Cuban composers gradually developed ideas which better suited their creole audience. Characters on stages began to include elements from Cuban life, and the music began to reflect a fusion between African and European contributions.
Rodrigo Prats was a Cuban composer, arranger, violinist, pianist and orchestral director.
Eliseo Grenet Sánchez was a Cuban pianist and a leading composer/arranger of the day. He composed music for stage shows and films, and some famous Cuban dance music. Eliseo was one of three musical brothers, all composers, the others being Emilio and Ernesto (1908–1981). Emilio went on composing even after having a leg bitten off by a shark in 1930; Ernesto was a drummer who became leader of the Tropicana's orchestra.
Moisés Simons, was a leading Cuban composer, pianist, and orchestra leader. He was the composer of El Manisero which is considered by many to be the most famous piece of music created by a Cuban musician and has since been recorded by other musicians from around the world hundreds of times.
Pablo Zinger is a conductor, pianist, writer, composer, arranger, lecturer and narrator, specializing in the music of Ástor Piazzolla, tango, Spanish zarzuela, and Latin American vocal and instrumental music.
Marta Pérez Suárez was a Cuban-American mezzo-soprano and the first Cuban woman to sing in Milan's famed La Scala opera house in 1955.
After its arrival in Cuba at the end of the 18th century, the pianoforte rapidly became one of the favorite instruments among the Cuban population. Along with the humble guitar, the piano accompanied the popular Cuban guarachas and contradanzas at salons and ballrooms in Havana and all over the country.
César Pérez Sentenat (1896-1973) was a Cuban pianist and composer. He has been recognized as an important professor of classical piano in Cuba.
Julio Gutiérrez was a Cuban music director, pianist, composer and arranger. He was one of the main figures in the music scene of Havana in the 1940s and 1950s, and a pioneer of the descarga. As a songwriter, he is remembered for his 1944 bolero "Inolvidable", which has been performed by numerous artists.
Manolo Álvarez Mera(néManuel Ernesto Álvarez-Mera 7 November 1923 Havana, Cuba – 16 October 1986 New York City) was a Cuban-born tenor who flourished as a bel canto during the late 1940s and 1950s. Despite having an operatic caliber voice, he gained popularity singing in operettas, musical reviews, radio, television, vaudeville, and major night clubs in Cuba, New York, and Latin America. He became a Cuban exile in 1960 after the Cuban Revolution.
Alfredo Diez Nieto was a Cuban composer, conductor, and professor. He taught composition at Instituto Musical Kohly, the Amadeo Roldán Conservatory, the National Art School, and the Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana. He founded and conducted the Orquesta Popular de Conciertos. Diez Nieto composed orchestral works including three symphonies and chamber music for various instruments, using and transforming elements from Cuban folk music.
José Marín Varona was a Cuban composer, conductor, pianist and professor.
The Amphitheatre of Old Havana is an outdoor auditorium built by the Secretaría de Obras Públicas in 1936 on the Avenida del Puerto.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
