Ariel RamĂrez
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Ariel RamĂrez (4 September 1921 â 18 February 2010) was an Argentine composer, pianist and music director. He was considered "a chief exponent of Argentine folk music" and noted for his "iconic" musical compositions. RamĂrez is known primarily for his Misa Criolla (1964). It allowed him to travel around Europe and Latin America to build his reputation. However, he wrote more than 300 compositions during his career, and sold over 10 million albums. Ariel RamĂrez was born in Santa Fe, Argentina. His father, who was from Spain and immigrated to Argentina, was a teacher and it had been thought RamĂrez would also pursue this career path but the job lasted for just two days due to "discipline problems". He initially pursued tango before switching to Argentine folklore. He began his piano studies in Santa Fe, and soon became fascinated with the music of the gauchos and creoles in the mountains. He continued his studies in CĂłrdoba, where he met the great Argentine folk singer and songwriter Atahualpa Yupanqui and was influenced by him. Ariel RamĂrez with Atahualpa Yupanqui c. 1962 Following a suggestion from Yupanqui, he visited the northeastern part of Argentina, and deepened his research into the traditional rhythms of South America. He spent time in Mendoza and Buenos Aires. At the same time continuing his academic studies as a composer at the National Conservatory of Music, in Buenos Aires. He made his first recording in 1946, with RCA; he made twenty records with that label until 1956. PlĂĄcido Domingo, JosĂ© Carreras and Mercedes Sosa are some of the artists to have recorded his work. He was also associated with Miguel BrascĂł and FĂ©lix Luna. RamĂrez went on to study classical music in Madrid, Rome and mainly in Vienna, from 1950 to 1954. Back in Argentina, he collected over 400 folk and country songs and popular songs and founded the CompañĂa de Folklore Ariel RamĂrez. RamĂrez had two daughters, Mariana and Laura, and a son, Facundo. (NB: The Washington Post reported in error that he had two sons.) He married musicologist Norma InĂ©s Cuello de RamĂrez. In 1964, the RamĂrez composition Misa Criolla marked the beginning of a period of high musical productivity for the composer, which also heralded the premieres of the works Navidad Nuestra and La PeregrinaciĂłn (both 1964); Los Caudillos (1965); Mujeres Argentinas (1969), and Alfonsina y el mar (1969), all produced in collaboration with writer FĂ©lix Luna. Misa Criolla and Alfonsina y el mar are probably his best-known compositions. ... Source: Article "Ariel RamĂrez" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
