Ayestarán, Lauro.

Biographical Sketch

• 1913 July 9: Lauro Sebastián Ayestarán is born in Montevideo, to Nicolás Ayestarán and his wife Ana María Fernández.
• 1919 - 1931 : Receives his elementary and high school education at the Colegio del Sagrado Corazón (Jesuits), in Montevideo.
• 1921: Begins his musical education at the Conservatory Larrimbe, Montevideo.
• 1931: "El Bien Público" music critic.
• 1932 - 1935 : Enrolls in the School of Law, University of Montevideo; after three years he abandons his legal studies and dedicates full time to musicological and archival research, teaching, and music criticism.
• 1933: "El País" music critic.
• 1937 - 1957 : Professor of History of Music and Director of Choral Activities in Montevideo High Schools.
• 1940 August 5: Marries Flor de María Rodríguez-Romero, a dancer and dance-researcher and author on dance/choreography, and his collaborator. They have six children: Flor, Ana María, Liliana, Alejandro, Sol and Angel.
• 1940: "El Plata," "El Día" and "Semanario Marcha" music critic.
• 1941: Publishes his first book "Domenico Zipoli, el gran compositor y organista romano del 1700 en el Río de la Plata."
• 1943: Begins the systematic recollection of the Uruguayan folklore in situ; a total of his 4.000 recordings are hold in the Musicological Section of the Museum of National History, Montevideo; Publishes "Crónica de una temporada musical en el Montevideo de 1830."
• 1945: Awarded with the "National Prize Pablo Blanco Acevedo" for his book "La Música en el Uruguay." Professor of History of Music at the "Instituto de Profesores Artigas." Contributor to "Músicos argentinos durante la dominación hispánica," Buenos Aires.
• 1946 - 1966 : Professor of Musical Research, and Uruguayan Folklore at the School of Humanities, Department of Musicology, University of Montevideo; Professor of History of Music at the National Conservatory.
• 1947: Publishes "Fuentes para el estudio de la música colonial uruguaya." Contributor to "Música y Músicos de Latino América" ed. by Otto Mayer Serra, Mexico.
• 1948: Contributor to "Folklore de las Américas," Buenos Aires.
• 1949: Publishes "Un antecedente de la poesía tradicional uruguaya" and "La música indígena en el Uruguay."
• 1950: Publishes "La primitiva poesía gauchesca en el Uruguay," Vol. I, and "El minué montonero." Contributor to "Diccionario de la Música," ed. A. Della Corte and G. M. Gatti, Buenos Aires; and "El cancionero popular americano," Washington, D.C.
• 1951: Represents Uruguay at the First International Conference of Musical Libraries and Archives sponsored by UNESCO, Paris.
• 1952: Publishes "La misa para día de difuntos de Fray Manuel Ubeda, 1802; comentario y reconstrucción."
• 1953: Publishes "La Música en el Uruguay," Vol. I (First Prize National Award on History), and "Virgilio Scarabelli."
• 1954: Represents Uruguay at the International Conference of Folklore, São Paulo, Brazil. Contributor to "Diccionario de la Música Labor," ed. Higinio Anglés and Joaquín Pena, Barcelona.
• 1955 - 1966 : Professor of Ethnology at the Facultad de Artes y Ciencias Musicales (Catholic University), Buenos Aires.
• 1956: Publishes "Luis Sambucetti, vida y obra," and "El centenario del Teatro Solís."
• 1957: Prologue to "Vocabulario rioplatense razonado" by Daniel Granada, Montevideo.
• 1959: Publishes "La primera edición uruguaya del Fausto de Estanislao del Campo," and "Domenico Zipoli, vida y obra."
• 1960: Travels to the United States to visit the Musicology Departments of 14 American universities; lectured at the University of California, Los Angeles. Musical Advisor to the Department of Culture and Education, Uruguay.
• 1961: Prologue and editor to "La vida rural en el Uruguay" by Roberto J. Bouton, Montevideo.
• 1963: Represents Uruguay at the First International Conference of Ethnomusicology, Cartagena de Indias, Colombia. Travels to Washington, D.C. and represents Uruguay at the First Inter-American Conference of Ethnomusicology. Lectures at Tulane University about his essay "Transcripción y hallazgo del barroco musical hispanoamericano."
• 1965: Attends the Second Inter-American Conference of Ethnomusicology at Indiana University, Bloomington, and reads his essay "El tamboril afro-montevideano." Publishes "El minué montonero" with his wife Flor de María Rodríguez (author of the dance choreography). Writes "El Tamboril, la Llamada y la Comparsa," choreography by Flor de María Rodríguez (published posthumously). Prologue to "Versos criollos" by Elías Regules, Montevideo.
• 1966 January: Represents Uruguay, as president of the Latin-American Music Committee, at the Conference of Latin American Culture, in Arica, Chile.
• 1966 March: Co-author with Susana Salgado of the Music Section of "Cronología Comparada de la Historia del Uruguay," Universidad de la República, Montevideo.
• 1966 July 22: Dies suddenly of a heart attack, at his home in Montevideo.
• 1966 August 5: The Municipality of Montevideo decrees to name a street of the city in memory of Lauro Ayestarán.
• 1967 Nov. 16: The Department of Musicology, School of Humanities, dedicates the Lauro Ayestarán Room in his honor.
• 1974: The Department of Musicology, School of Humanities, organizes a one-month-cycle homage with lectures and concerts in musical and cultural institutions in fifty-two Uruguayan cities.
• 1986 July: Academic homage sponsored by the "Sociedad de Autores del Uruguay" in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of his death.

From the guide to the Lauro Ayestarán Collection, 1830-1966, (bulk 1850-1950), (Music Division Library of Congress)