The waltz, traditional European dance by nature, arrived in Venezuela in the mid-nineteenth century to acquire there its own personality, mostly from a rhythmic standpoint. Its rhythm would radically differ from the European one. Since then it was called the Venezuelan waltz, although it would keep the harmonic and formal structure inherited from the norms of the European tradition. Over the years, its popular character was losing strength while gaining ground as a concert piece. In that status, it will later show an important development in the field of classical guitar.
The maestro Antonio Lauro
It is at this point when one of the most internationally recognized Venezuelan musicians get involved. This is Antonio Lauro, whom the Australian guitarist John Williams graciously called "the Strauss of the guitar", and whose creations are today a mandatory repertoire in the music conservatories over the world. Born in Ciudad Bolívar to Italian immigrant parents, Maestro Lauro made a brilliant career as a composer and performer in Venezuela, being regarded today as one of the main Latin American masters of classical guitar.
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| Antonio Lauro (1917 - 1986) |
His famous waltz "Natalia" – a short piece of fewer than three minutes (three sections that are repeated in full) but highly demanding – is one of the sixteen Venezuelan waltzes he wrote throughout his life and one of those pieces that cannot be missing from the repertoire of the instrument. The work dates from 1940 and for twenty-five years it was simply called Waltz N° 3, but thanks to a father's affection in the right circumstances it took the name of his daughter Natalia, who has been kind enough to let us refer to the story here in full detail:
“When dad composed the waltz, he still hadn't married my mom and it was about 10 years before I was born. The piece was part of a booklet that had three waltzes and that was number three. When I was 15 years old there was already an orchestral version. Dad asked me to dance it – it was played by the Daniel Milano orchestra. While dancing he dedicated the waltz to me and told me that from that day on the song would bear my name ... ".
(Correo del Orinoco, digital, August 6, 2010)
The brilliant rendition is by the Greek-born guitarist, Nicholas Petrou.
