Lorenzo Álvarez Florentín

Infobox musical artist
Name = Lorenzo Álvarez


Img_capt =
Background =
Birth_name = Lorenzo Álvarez Florentín
Alias =
Born = birth date|1926|08|10
San Cosme y Damián, Paraguay
Died =
Genre = Paraguayan Poet
Occupation = Violinist Musician.
Years_active =
Label =
Associated_acts =
URL = Don Lorenzo Alvarez Florentín the romantic violin of Asuncion, was born on the day of San Lorenzo, August 10, 1926, in San Cosme and Damian, a historical place by its Reductions, located in the Department of Itapua, a few kilometers from the departmental capital, of Encarnacion Paraguay.

"Soul and Violin", "Night whistle", "Go Albirroja Go", the most popular song dedicated to the Paraguayan football team, and several symphonic poems and more than sixty years of artistic war punctuate the life of this remarkable author, composer, director and interpreter of violin, who also have acquired a great expertise in the field of music. He chose the Bachelor's degree in journalism from the National University of Asuncion.

His parents were Don and Doña Ramona Alvarez Turiano Florentín.

Childhood and Youth

His parents witnessed the inclinations toward music that Lorenzo, as a child and as self-taught, at 8 years old had learned to play the violin that he had made him an able luthier. This instrument accompanied him thereafter, until today, since he has been playing it for 70 years already.

First Steps

He revolutionized the atmosphere of the dance parties, in the early 60's, with his Lorenzo Alvarez and his " International Rhythms Orchestra", which innovated the repertoire when he created selections, including polkas and foreign hits, with which he printed a vibrant and emotional touch to his successful presentations across the country for over a decade.

He once decided that he wanted to be a musician, because music was his great passion, and knowing his abilities playing the violin, an instrument that requires great virtuosity to play it and that he had learned to play from very young.

He moved at age 11 to the department’s capital, Encarnacion, to begin his musical studies in a cultural environment that would enable him to be under protection of important teachers, who would guide him to improve himself through knowledge.

The Molinas brothers were the ones who gave him the first thrust in the field of musical studies and is precisely with them that he formed an orchestra. They composed and directed it, and Alvarez was part of the orchestra. Thus he took the first steps as a professional musician.

Trajectory

He stayed for more than a decade in the region where he was born.

In the year 1950, he moved to Asuncion to face the great challenge of trying to conquer that market, adding his talent as an interpreter of the violin, perhaps in any orchestra that required his skills while he was mastering his studies in higher and professional levels with the most recognized and renowned professors.

In the year 1952, his reputation as a high performer of violin had gotten in the circles where professional musicians triumph. Leonardo Alarcon, author of "Akói Rohayhu" and an extraordinary musician and composer, trumpeter of the Musicians Band of the Police Capital, a former pupil of Salvador Déntice, and that year had formed a large Typical orchestra that bore his name, invited him to be one of the members and young Lorenzo Alvarez had the opportunity to work, since then, with the real exponents of musical artistic enterprise, in the professional field.

New directions

After engaging in the activity of interpreter of violin, for several decades, and integrating famous bands and subsequently directing his own orchestras, he abandoned the practice in 1970 to devote himself exclusively to deepen his studies of violin and expand his knowledge of harmony and composition. He remained as a performer in the Symphony Orchestra of the City of Asuncion (OSCA), which he joined since its beginning in 1957, until his retirement in 1992.

More knowledge

Among his priorities included improvements in his interpretations of violin studies and theory and sight-reading, and was Alfredo Kamprad who was his student at the Normal School of Music, where in 1955 acceded to the title of senior professor of violin , with special honors, after the final test consisting of his concerto for the instrument, offered in the municipal theater.

There he had to interpret the piece Hungarian Rhapsody, by Gubert.

With Rodolfo Bagnati he studied theory and music sight-reading, harmony with Juan Carlos Moreno Gonzalez and a year later he completed his preparation studying composition with the professor Florentín Giménez After staying one year in the typical music band, formed and led by professor Leonardo Alarcon, he took an important step in his career, as the renowned composer and conductor Florentín Gimenez invited him to be part of his first violin group, which in the mid-fifties, had a reputation hard to match. This was such because when he created and ran the famous orchestra "Florentín Gimenez and his Typical and Modern" composed of 14 members, all known figures of music like Oscar Escobar, Carlos Centurion, Juan Carlos Miranda Jorge Alonso, among others, signed contracts to appear in the most important social events in the entire territory of the Republic of Paraguay

His works

Among his most famous works are: "Soul and Violin," a kyre `y(joyful) whose interpretation requires great skill in violin performance," Night Whistle"," Sweet Melody, "Cirilo R. Zayas”. First Prize in Composition Contest organized by the Municipality of Asuncion in 1959. They are also by him "My little loving mom", "Che haitéma lo mitâ", "Purahéi", "Gustaví", "Mirtha Elizabeth", "Luisito", "Maria Victoria" and "Gladys Sunilda", all with Rudi Torga, dedicated to his children, in addition to the symphonic poems: "Jasy Retâ", "Sailor on the High Seas", "Malecón del Puerto", "Journey to the Horizon", among others.

When he was 78 years old he was continuing to develop an intense activity within the field of music, then held the baton of the Folk orchestra José Asunción Flores, the National Conservatory of Music, which makes presentations at Buenos Aires. In this institution he exercises teaching violin, also conducts special presentations, either with his son Luis, with Juan Cancio Barreto or Berta Rojas, and recordings of materials that will remain as testimony of the career of this extraordinary performer, composer and director, who contributed with his works for the enrichment of our popular music.

Bibliography

* Sounds of my land.
* EVP - Wikipedia
* [http://www.evp.edu.py/index.php?title=Portada Enciclopedia Virtual Paraguaya - Portal]

External link

* [http://www.musicaparaguaya.org.py/lorenzo_alvarez.html Lorenzo Alvarez]