Caamaño, Roberto

Caamaño, Roberto, Argentine composer, pedagogue, and pianist; b. Buenos Aires, July 7, 1923. He studied piano and composition at the Conservatorio Nacional de Música in Buenos Aires. He toured as a pianist in Latin America, North America, and Europe (1944–61). He concentrated his activities in Buenos Aires, where he was on the faculties of the Universidad del Litoral (1949–52), the Conservatorio Nacional de Música (1956–74), and the Universidad Católica Argentina (from 1964); he also was artistic director of the Teatro Colón (1961–64). In 1969 he became a member of the Accademia Nacional de Bellas Artes. In 1971 he received the Gran Premio of the Argentine Sociedad de Autores y Compositores. He publ. the valuable compendium Historia del Teatro Colón (three vols., Buenos Aires, 1969) and Apuntes para la formación del pianista profesional (Buenos Aires, 1979).

Works

orch.:Variaciones americanas (1953–54; Buenos Aires, July 10, 1955); Bandoneón Concerto (Buenos Aires, Aug. 2, 1954); 2 piano concertos: No. 1 (1957; Washington, D.C., April 18, 1958) and No. 2 (Buenos Aires, Aug. 9, 1971); Tripartita for Wind Orch. (1966); Harp Concerto (1973–74; Washington, D.C, May 1, 1974); Guitar Concerto (Buenos Aires, Nov. 30, 1974). chamber: 2 string quartets (1945, 1947); Piano Quintet (1962); various piano pieces. vocal:Magnificat for Chorus and Orch. (1954; Louisville, Ky, March 25, 1955); Cantata de la paz for Chorus and Orch. (Buenos Aires, July 3, 1966); Canto a San Martin for Reciter, Chorus, and Orch. (1979; Buenos Aires, June 13, 1980); Te Deum for Chorus and Orch. (1980; Buenos Aires, Nov. 28, 1981); songs.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire