Eduardo Serrano - Biography

Biography

Serrano studied Music Theory and violin basics at the Escuela de Música y Declamación de Santa Capilla; (today "The José Ángel Lamas Conservatory"). Although his beginnings were bound to popular music, his vocation as composer also took him to write Christmas songs, waltzes and film music. His most enduring works are in an old form called "Merengue Venezolano" or "Venezuelan merengue", which was the dance rage in Caracas during the first half of the 20th century, but is not the same form as the Dominican dance of the same name. His song Esperanza was part of the soundtrack of the Venezuelan-Argentinan co-produced film La Balandra Isabel Llegó esta tarde (1949). His first composition was a pasodoble titled Guitarra Mía. He stood out as a composer in the early 1930s with pieces like Barlovento, Frente al mar, Tardes de Naiguatá and Campesina, among others. "The 1940s were my golden years as a composer" he said once. During those years, worked as drummer at the orchestra of the Broadcasting Caracas, and conducted the orchestras of many Broadcastings of Caracas. Eduardo Serrano was one of the first professional creators of incidental music for the national cinema. In addition, he has had an important influence in Venezuelan popular music, and is one of his more respected figures. He obtained the National Music Prize in 1988.

Eduardo Serrano died on October 13, 2008, at the age of 97.

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