Andrés Gaos Berea

Category: Musician and composer
Birth Date: 31st March 1874 (†13th March 1959)
Birth Place: A Coruña
 Curriculum

When he was still very young he showed his skills at music. When he was ten he won a prize as violinist. In 1884, he was admitted to the Music Centre in A Coruña. Then he got a grant from the County Council Offices and moved to Madrid to go on with his studies at the Conservatory. In 1888, he came back to his native city and got more grants to study in Paris and Brussels. In 1895, he travelled to America and devoted himself to teach music in Buenos Aires and Montevideo. In 1896, he married the singer América Montenegro and had five children. They established themselves in Buenos Aires. In 1917 they got divorced and Andrés married again with one of his pupils. They had three children.

 Work & Activities

He developed his activity mainly in Argentina, although he visited his native city on several occasions to offer some concerts. Towards 1899 he published works for singing and piano and an Habanera for violin and piano. Between 1912 and 1916 he composed many songs. One of them, titled Granada, was given a prize at the Wagner Association in Buenos Aires. In 1916, he got a prize in Tucuman for the music and words of the official hymn for the Centenary of Argentina Independence. In 1917, he composed Elegía for piano and violin, dedicated to his friend Pablo Casals. His last performance in A Coruña took place in 1927. Among other compositions, two of his works, titled Romana and Danza argentina nº 3 were very successful. As composer, we can stand out works such as En las montañas de Galicia, Opúsculo de la Alhambra, Aires gallegos, Impresión nocturna, Miniaturas, Tormenta, Marcha fúnebre, Sonata opus 37, la canción Rosa de Abril (about the second poem of the book Cantares Gallegos de Rosalía) and the opera Amor vedado. Besides, he conducted on several occasions the symphony orchestras of Berlin, Paris, Rome and Milan.