__NOTOC__ Alirio Díaz (12 November 19235 July 2016) was a Venezuelan

classical guitar The classical guitar, also known as Spanish guitar, is a member of the guitar family used in classical music and other styles. An acoustic wooden string (music), string instrument with strings made of catgut, gut or nylon, it is a precursor of the ...

ist and composer, considered one of the most prominent composer-guitarists of South America and an eminent musician. He studied with Andrés Segovia, and gave concerts all over the world. A guitar competition named ''Concurso Internacional de Guitarra Alirio Díaz'' has been held in his honor in

Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (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 northern p ...

and other cities in Venezuela (the April 2006 contest was held in Carora). Many compositions have been dedicated to Díaz including Spanish composer Joaquín Rodrigo's ''Invocación y Danza''. Many talented and gifted students were invited and participated in his master classes in Alessandria Italy including his favorite student guitarist and composer Cris Alcamo.

Biography

The eighth of eleven children, Díaz was born in Caserio La Candelaria, a small village near Carora in western Venezuela. From childhood he showed a great interest in music. His uncle was his first guitar teacher. At age 16 he ran away from home to Carora, where he sought better schooling. He later went to Trujillo in the Venezuelan

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

and studied

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...

and

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

under Laudelino Mejías while working as a typesetter in a newspaper. He also studied English before going to

in 1945 to study the guitar at the Escuela Superior de Musica '' José Ángel Lamas'' under

Raul Borges Raul, Raúl, Raül, and Raüll are forms of a common first name in Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Galician, Asturian, Basque, Aragonese, and Catalan. The name is cognate of the Anglo-Germanic given name Ralph or Rudolph and the French ...

. In 1950, the Venezuelan government awarded him a scholarship to continue his guitar studies in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

under Regino Sainz de la Maza. That same year he performed his first guitar concert in Europe. In 1951 he went to Accademia Musicale Chigiana of

Siena Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...

(Italy), to study with Andrés Segovia. There he impressed Segovia greatly with his flawless technique and extensive repertoire. Three years later, he progressed to become the assistant and substitute to Segovia, and started performing in some of the most prestigious concert halls of Europe. In 1961, Spanish composer Joaquín Rodrigo's piece ''Invocación y Danza'', dedicated to Alirio Díaz, won the First Prize at the ''Coupe International de Guitare'' awarded by the '' Office de Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française'' (ORTF). In turn, Díaz obliged and the next year performed this very difficult solo piece. It has also been recorded by Díaz. This was one of many compositions dedicated to Alirio Díaz. Alirio Díaz performed all over the world combining

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

music with the works of modern

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n composers, such as Lauro, Sojo and Barrios Mangoré. He taught in Rome and performed in concert with his son Senio. During the European winter, he used to return to Venezuela to his native town, La Candelaria.

Europe

When the young Venezuelan musician concluded his studies, he traveled to Europe for a post-graduate degree. Soon after his arrival he was welcomed by a large group of representative figures of Venezuelan culture, and the Ministry of Education responded by approving a grant for Diaz. In November he attended the Conservatory of Music of Madrid, hosted by Regino Sainz de la Maza. Studying here had an excellent effect on Diaz and he gave successful recitals in the most important centers of Spanish culture including Ateneo de Madrid, Teatro Español, Palau de la Música in Barcelona, the Alhambra in Granada, Teatro Principal in Valencia. Close friendly relations developed with intellectuals and musicians

Gerardo Diego Gerardo Diego Cendoya (October 3, 1896 – July 8, 1987) was a Spanish poet, a member of the Generation of '27. Diego taught language and literature at institutes of learning in Soria, Gijón, Santander and Madrid. He also acted as lite ...

, Joaquin Rodrigo, Moreno Torroba, Mario Castelnuovo Tedesco, Garcia Nieto,

Narciso Yepes Narciso Yepes (14 November 19273 May 1997) was a Spanish classical guitar, guitarist. He is considered one of the finest virtuoso classical guitarists of the twentieth century. Biography Yepes was born into a family of humble origin in Lorca, ...

, Nino Rota, Emilio Pujol, Daniel Fortea, Eugenia Serrano, Federico Monpou, Xavier Montsalvage,Joaquin Achucarro and John Williams.

Italy

, Díaz continued his studies with Andres Segovia at the Chigiana Academy of that city. A couple of years later Diaz became not only the disciple of the Segovia but also his assistant and substitute at the Chigiana Academy. He befriended Venezuelan authors

Vicente Emilio Sojo Vicente Emilio Sojo (December 8, 1887 – August 11, 1974) was a Venezuelan musicologist, educator and composer, born in Guatire, Miranda (state), Miranda. Biography Vicente Emilio Sojo was born to a musical family. Most notable was the fact ...

and Juan Bautista Plaza. In a recital in Rome, Diaz was sponsored by the poet and Venezuelan ambassador Alberto Arvelo Torrealba. Based in Italy, he first toured throughout the European continent to eventually perform on five continents. He appeared as soloist with symphonic orchestras under the direction of conductors like

Sergiu Celibidache Sergiu Celibidache (; ; 13 August 1996) was a Romanian people, Romanian Conducting, conductor, composer, musical theorist, and teacher. Educated in his native Romania, and later in Paris and Berlin, Celibidache's career in music spanned over fi ...

, Leopold Stokowski,

Antonio Estévez Antonio José Estévez Aponte (January 3, 1916 – November 26, 1988), was a Venezuelan musician, composer and conductor who was born in Calabozo and died in Caracas. He founded the Central University of Venezuela Central is an adjective usua ...

, Andre Kostelanetz,

Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos (born Rafael Frühbeck; 15 September 1933 – 11 June 2014) was a Spanish conductor and composer. Frühbeck was born in Burgos, Spain to a family of German ancestry. He first took up conducting while on military serv ...

, Jose Iturbi, among others. Following in the footsteps of Vicente Emilio Sojo, he spent much of his time on their trips to Venezuela collecting folk songs. His guitar arrangements of these songs continue to be performed around the world. Díaz published many editions of his guitar arrangements and made recordings. His research is conducted from a critical, analytical and musicological point of view. He published a book called "Música en la vida y lucha del pueblo venezolano" ("Music in the life and struggle of the Venezuelan people") and wrote for various newspapers and Venezuelan magazines. Much of this work is also reflected in his autobiographical work ''Al divisar el humo de la aldea nativa'' ("On seeing the smoke from the native village"). He died in Rome on 5 July 2016.Venezuelan Guitar Titan Alirio Díaz Dies at 92—An Appreciation

Alirio Díaz International Guitar Competition

In Carora (Venezuela) since 1974 the Alirio Díaz International Guitar Competition pays tribute to the art of this Venezuelan virtuoso and celebrates his invaluable contribution to guitar learning on national and international levels.

References

External links