Role

:

Composer

Country

:

Venezuela

Birth

:

July 19, 1898 in Caracas, Venezuela

Death

:

January 1, 1965 in Caracas, Venezuela

Period

:

Modern

Genre

:

Keyboard

 

Juan Bautista Plaza was a Venezuelan composer, musicologist, and educator who is considered one of the most important figures in the development of classical music in Venezuela. He was born on July 19, 1898, in Caracas, Venezuela, to a family of musicians. His father, Juan Plaza, was a composer and conductor, and his mother, Teresa de Plaza, was a pianist and music teacher. Plaza began his musical education at a young age, studying piano with his mother and later with the renowned Venezuelan pianist and composer Teresa Carreño. He also studied composition with his father and later with the Italian composer Vicente Emilio Sojo. In 1917, he traveled to Paris to study at the Schola Cantorum, where he studied composition with Vincent d'Indy and musicology with Charles Bordes. Upon his return to Venezuela in 1920, Plaza became a professor at the Conservatorio Nacional de Música y Declamación, where he taught composition, music history, and theory. He also founded the Orquesta Sinfónica de Venezuela in 1930, which he conducted until 1954. During this time, he also served as the director of the Conservatorio Nacional de Música y Declamación from 1936 to 1948. Plaza's compositions are characterized by their use of Venezuelan folk music and rhythms, as well as their incorporation of European classical music traditions. His most famous work is his Suite venezolana, which was composed in 1939 and is considered a masterpiece of Venezuelan classical music. The suite consists of four movements, each of which is based on a different Venezuelan folk dance. The first movement, "Galerón," is a lively dance in 6/8 time, while the second movement, "Vals," is a waltz in 3/4 time. The third movement, "Joropo," is a fast-paced dance in 6/8 time, and the final movement, "Danza negra," is a slow, mournful dance in 3/4 time. Plaza's other notable works include his Tres piezas infantiles for piano, which were composed in 1923 and are still popular with young piano students in Venezuela today. He also composed several choral works, including his Cantata criolla, which was composed in 1945 and is based on Venezuelan folk music and poetry. In addition to his work as a composer, Plaza was also a prolific musicologist and wrote extensively on Venezuelan music and culture. His most important work in this field is his Historia de la música en Venezuela, which was published in 1963 and is still considered the definitive history of Venezuelan music. Plaza's contributions to Venezuelan classical music were recognized with numerous awards and honors during his lifetime. He was awarded the National Prize for Music in 1958 and was named a National Artist of Venezuela in 1978. He died on March 11, 1965, in Caracas, Venezuela, at the age of 66. Today, Plaza's legacy lives on through his music and his influence on generations of Venezuelan composers and musicians. His work continues to be performed and studied in Venezuela and around the world, and his contributions to the development of classical music in Venezuela are widely recognized and celebrated.

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