Juan Francisco García (born June 16, 1892 - November 18, 1974) was a Dominican
merengue composer. He was one of several merengue musicians who sought to promote the genre in the early 20th century, along with
Juan Espínola and
Julio Alberto Hernández. Garcia was an educated musician who brought merengue to the upper-class of the country.
Biography
Juan Francisco García was born on June 16, 1892, in the city of
Santiago de los Caballeros
Santiago de los Caballeros ("James, son of Zebedee, Saint James of the Knights"), often shortened to Santiago, is the second-largest city in the Dominican Republic and the fourth-largest city in the Caribbean by population. It is the capital of ...
. From an early age García had an excellent musical ear and a knack for performing various musical instruments. He studied music theory with Maestro José García Oviedo and was later self-taught, he learned to play the cello and piano. The study method of Fetís was Garcia's main guide in the art of composition, which he mastered and from which created an extensive and valuable catalog of works of various genres.
His works are also permeated by the Dominican folklore, which he developed to a very high degree in works like the String Quartet No.1, which he composed in 1922 and premiered in Santiago de los Caballeros in 1929; and quisqueyana Symphony, completed in 1935 and was released on March 21, 1941, by the
Symphony Orchestra of Santo Domingo at the Olympia theater.
In 1925 he traveled to Cuba to make a tour as accompanist tenor Susano Polanco. On that occasion the Master Garcia met the poet Nicolás Guillén, who took the verses to compose the music of his song Mirror. The piece was premiered during that tour and a few years later, in 1930,
Eduardo Brito recorded in the city of
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
to make it known to the whole world.
García also composed Fantasía simastral in 1947, Fantasy concertante for piano and orchestra in 1949, and a large number of nationalist piano pieces. Among his best known works are also Mal de amor song, el Himno a la bandera, and the la criolla Margarita del Campo.
Juan Francisco García died on November 18, 1974, in
Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...
.
García's pupils included
Margarita Luna de Espaillat
Margarita Luna de Espaillat (July 31, 1921 – 2016) was a composer, pianist, and organist from the Dominican Republic.
Born in Santiago de los Caballeros, Luna de Espaillat began her studies under Juan Francisco García (composer), Juan Francisco ...
.
References
External links
Music and Dance - Dominican Republic
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia, Juan
Merengue musicians
1972 deaths
1892 births
20th-century Dominican Republic composers
People from Santiago de los Caballeros
20th-century male composers