Calcaño, José Antonio (1900–1978)

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Calcaño, José Antonio (1900–1978)

José Antonio Calcaño (b. 23 March 1900, d. 11 September 1978), Venezuelan composer. Calcaño was born and educated in Caracas. After studying for a year at the Academy of Music in Bern, Switzerland, he returned to Caracas, where he had an outstanding career as a music teacher, music historian, and choir director. His compositions contributed greatly to giving Venezuelan music its particular character. His best-known work is the ballet Miranda en Rusia. Also well-known is his cantata "Desolación y gloria," written in honor of Simón Bolívar. Calcaño's book La ciudad y su música (1958) presents an overview of the musical life of Caracas from colonial times to the 1950s.

See alsoMusic: Art Music .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Perli, Rebeca. Vida coral de José Antonio Calcaño. Caracas: Lagoven, 1990.

                             Oscar G. PelÁez Almengor