Aldemaro Romero (March 12, 1928 – September 15, 2007) was a

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

n pianist, composer, arranger and orchestral conductor. He was born in

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

Carabobo State , anthem = '' Himno del Estado Carabobo'' , image_map = Carabobo in Venezuela.svg , map_alt = , map_caption = Location within Venezuela , pushpin_map = , pushpin_map_ ...

Biography

Romero was a prolific composer, creating a wide range of music, such as Caribbean, Jazz,

Venezuelan waltz The Venezuelan waltz is a hall dance and accompanying musical genre that was popularized in 19th-century Venezuela. The two main types of waltz were the hall waltz and the popular waltz. The former was typically performed on piano. Key musicia ...

es, including works for orchestra, orchestra and soloist, orchestra and choir, chamber music, and symphonic works. He began his musical studies with his father, Rafael Romero. In 1941, he moved to

Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...

and worked as pianist in nocturnal saloons and dance orchestras. In 1949, he toured in Cuba, and then went to New York. In 1952, he returned to Caracas and established his own dance orchestra. In 1951, Romero became an arranger at

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...

in New York. As a part of this contract, he released his record-breaking ''

Dinner in Caracas ''Dinner in Caracas'' is a 33-RPM LP album by Venezuelan composer/arranger/conductor Aldemaro Romero, released in 1955, under contract with RCA Victor. This album was to be the first of a very successful series of records, whose names began with ...

'' album, the first of his ''Dinner In...'' series featuring popular

Latin American Latin Americans ( es, Latinoamericanos; pt, Latino-americanos; ) are the citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their diasporas are multi-eth ...

music. In the United States, he collaborated with many musicians, including

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor and comedian. One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Martin was nicknamed "The King of Cool". M ...

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis made ...

, Stan Kenton,

René Touzent René ('' born again'' or ''reborn'' in French) is a common first name in French-speaking, Spanish-speaking, and German-speaking countries. It derives from the Latin name Renatus. René is the masculine form of the name ( Renée being the femin ...

Machito Machito (born Francisco Raúl Gutiérrez Grillo, December 3, 1909 – April 15, 1984) was a Latin jazz musician who helped refine Afro-Cuban jazz and create both Cubop and salsa music. Ginell, Richard S. ''Biography''. Allmusic, 2011/ref> He wa ...

and Tito Puente. He also toured extensively, performing in various countries:

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

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Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

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Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

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and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. Romero is considered the creator of the Venezuelan "New Wave" (''Onda Nueva'') genre, derived from the

joropo The joropo is a musical style resembling the fandango, and an accompanying dance. It originated in Venezuela and is also present in the eastern Colombian plains. It has African, Native South American, and European influences. There are differe ...

and Brazilian

Bossa Nova Bossa nova () is a style of samba developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is mainly characterized by a "different beat" that altered the harmonies with the introduction of unconventional chords and an innovativ ...

. In the 1970s, Romero recorded in Italy ''La Onda Maxima'' (1972) and ''Onda Nueva Instrumental'' (1976) with bassist/arranger Pino Presti and drummer Tullio De Piscopo. In addition to his work in popular music, Romero was also involved in concert music. He founded the Caracas Philharmonic Orchestra in 1979, and was its first conductor. He also guest conducted the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

, the English Chamber Orchestra, the National Radio Orchestra of Romania and the

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, that performs and produces primarily classic works. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable ...

Personal life

He is the father of biologist

Aldemaro Romero Jr. Aldemaro Romero Jr. (born September 11, 1951, in Caracas) is a Venezuelan/American scientist, communicator, and public intellectual. He has published more than 1,100 works, more than 30 books and monographs, and produced, directed, written and/or ...

; Elaiza Romero, director of choir; and Ruby Romero de Issaev, producer and marketing director for Arts Ballet Theatre of Florida in the U.S.

Awards

Awards granted to Aldemaro Romero include: * Peace Prize of the Soviet Intellectuals, Moscow Cinema Festival (Soundtrack for the

Simón Bolivar Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genu ...

epic film Epic films are a style of filmmaking with large-scale, sweeping scope, and spectacle. The usage of the term has shifted over time, sometimes designating a film genre and at other times simply synonymous with big-budget filmmaking. Like epics in ...

) (1969) * First prize in the Majorca Palms Festival * First prize in the Olympic Games Musical Festival in Greece * First prize in the Latin Song Festival in Mexico * Andrés Bello,

Diego de Losada Diego de Losada y Cabeza de Vaca (1511 – 1569) was a Spanish conquistador and the founder of Santiago de León de Caracas, the current capital of Venezuela. Losada was born in Rionegro del Puente, in what is now the province of Zamora. ...

Francisco de Miranda Sebastián Francisco de Miranda y Rodríguez de Espinoza (28 March 1750 – 14 July 1816), commonly known as Francisco de Miranda (), was a Venezuelan military leader and revolutionary. Although his own plans for the independence of the Spani ...

and the Work Merit orders from the Venezuelan Government * National Music Prize (2000) * Honorary degrees from the

University of Carabobo The University of Carabobo (Spanish: ''Universidad de Carabobo'') is an autonomous, public university of Venezuela located in Valencia, Venezuela. It offers graduate and postgraduate studies in different areas. The university offers a lot of gre ...

University of Zulia The University of Zulia ( es, La Universidad del Zulia, also known as LUZ literally meaning "light" in Spanish), is a public university whose main campus is located in the city of Maracaibo, Venezuela. LUZ is one of the largest and most important ...

, and Lisandro Alvarado University of Barquisimeto (2006)

Death

Aldemaro Romero died in

on September 15, 2007, at the age of 79.

Discography

* ''

'' (1954) * '' Dinner in Colombia'' (1956) * '' Flight to Romance'' (1956) * ''

Venezuelan Fiesta ''Venezuelan Fiesta '' is a 33-RPM LP album by Venezuelan composer/arranger/conductor Aldemaro Romero, released in 1956, under contract with RCA Victor. This was the second Romero's album with RCA Victor, featuring popular Venezuelan pieces, and ...

'' (1956) * ''

Criollísima ''Criollísima'' is a 33-RPM LP album by Venezuelan composer/arranger/conductor Aldemaro Romero, released in 1957, under contract with RCA Victor and distributed by Grabadora Venezolana de Discos. Track listing Miscellanea *The woman at the co ...

'' (1957) * ''Almendra'' (1957) * '' Sketches in Rhythm'' (1958) * ''

'' (1958) * ''

El Garrasí ''El Garrasí'' is a 33-RPM LP album by Venezuelan composer/arranger/conductor Aldemaro Romero, released in 1959, with the record label Cymbal. The album features popular Venezuelan pieces, continuing with the modernization of Venezuelan folk m ...

'' (1959) * ''La Onda Maxima'' (1972) * ''Onda Nueva Instrumental'' (1976)

References

External links

Aldemaro Romero Discography
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Romero, Aldemaro 1928 births 2007 deaths People from Caracas People from Valencia, Venezuela Venezuelan bandleaders Venezuelan classical musicians Venezuelan composers Male composers 20th-century composers Venezuelan conductors (music) Male conductors (music) Venezuelan folk musicians Venezuelan jazz musicians Venezuelan pianists Venezuelan film score composers Male film score composers Venezuelan record producers Latin jazz musicians 20th-century pianists Male pianists 20th-century male musicians Male jazz musicians