Augusto Brandt was a Venezuelan composer and violinist.

Early life

The son of German immigrants, and younger brother of writer Carlos Brandt

Carlos Brandt

Carlos Brandt was a Venezuelan author, historian, philosopher and naturopath.-Biography:BackgroundDr...

, he had piano lessons with Ana Jhan Wittestone as a child, and composed his first pieces at the age of six. From 1903, he studied violin in Caracas

Caracas

Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...

. In the municipal theatre of his town, in 1910, he composed a triumphal march for the centenary of the revolution under Simón Bolívar

Simón Bolívar

Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios Ponte y Yeiter, commonly known as Simón Bolívar was a Venezuelan military and political leader...

.

Career

With a scholarship from the Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

n government, he went to Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

. There, he was a pupil of César Thomson at the Brussels

Brussels

Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

 Conservatory, from which he graduated with first prize in the violin. He then lived in New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, where he was first violinist of the orchestra at the Paramount Theater. Later, he joined the orchestra of the radio station WOR. Here, he initially served as first violinist, and later as a solo violinist and conductor.

Later life

After the death of the dictator Juan Vicente Gómez

Juan Vicente Gómez

Juan Vicente Gómez Chacón was a military general and de facto ruler of Venezuela from 1908 until his death in 1935. He was president on three occasions during this time, and ruled as an unelected military strongman for the rest of the era.-Early years:Gómez was a barely literate cattle herder and...

, Brandt returned to Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

, where he and his brother Carlos Brandt

Carlos Brandt

Carlos Brandt was a Venezuelan author, historian, philosopher and naturopath.-Biography:BackgroundDr...

, earned prestige due to their commitment to human rights.

Works

• Jesús aplaca la tormenta, 1898
• Marcha Triunfal, 1910
• Joropo en Concierto - for Violin
• Preludio for piano en fa menor
• Himno Panamericano, 1934
• Marcha Solemne
• Bolívar en el Panteón
• Dulce Ensueño
• Recuerdos de mi Tierra, waltz
• Canción de Cuna, waltz
• Tu partida, waltz
• Nocturne, waltz
• Desfile Militar, Waltz
• Himno Bolivariano, waltz
• Súplica, waltz
• El adiós de las gaviotas, waltz
• Besos en mis sueños
• Adiós a las Gaviotas, Sonata-Fantasia - for Piano

External links

• Augusto Brandt at Wikipedia