Juan Serrano (Flamenco)
Encyclopedia
Dr. Juan Serrano is a flamenco
Flamenco
Flamenco is a genre of music and dance which has its foundation in Andalusian music and dance and in whose evolution Andalusian Gypsies played an important part....

 guitarist who has played concerts and made recordings throughout the world. He has devoted much of his life to giving concerts and teaching flamenco guitar in the United States.

Serrano was born in Córdoba, Spain
Córdoba, Spain
-History:The first trace of human presence in the area are remains of a Neanderthal Man, dating to c. 32,000 BC. In the 8th century BC, during the ancient Tartessos period, a pre-urban settlement existed. The population gradually learned copper and silver metallurgy...

 in 1935. At the age of 9, he studied guitar with his father, Antonio del Lunar, a professional guitarist. Serrano made his professional debut at age 13, and soon earned a reputation throughout Spain and Europe as a gifted musician. He performed and recorded with flamenco musical, dance, and theatrical companies. At this time Serrano also started his solo career. His home town of Córdoba was so proud of his accomplishments that they replaced the bell in the town clock with recordings of his guitar playing.

In 1961 Serrano accepted an invitation to come to America and perform on the Ed Sullivan Show. The success of this performance led to numerous solo flamenco guitar concerts and more TV appearances, then a recording contract with Elektra Records, who released his US debut album "Ole, la mano!" in 1962. The New York Times said Serrano had "ten dexterous fingers that often sound like twenty... a breathtaking technician who can wring rhythmic dance fury out of fandangos and zapateados. He is a lyric sentamentalist, who can make the strings cry." Serrano made the US his home, where he achieved renown as an instructor. In Feb. 1968 he was the featured cover-photo artist for Guitar Player magazine.

Along with others such as Sabicas
Sabicas
Sabicas was a Flamenco guitarist, of Romani origin, who was born in 1912 in Pamplona, Spain and died in 14 April 1990 in New York....

 and Mario Escudero
Mario Escudero
Mario Escudero, full name Mario Escudero Valero Jimenez Valverde, is one of a handful of Spanish flamenco guitar virtuosos who helped spread flamenco beyond their homeland when they migrated to the United States in the early 1950s...

, Serrano's virtuosity helped establish solo flamenco guitar as a viable concert instrument beyond the borders of Spain.

He developed the guitar program at California State University, Fresno and headed the guitar department until his retirement. In addition to his teaching duties, Serrano is much sought after as a performer, for master classes and as a guest lecturer on the history of Flamenco. Serrano is the only flamenco guitarist in the world with a doctorate in humane letters and a tenured faculty position at a major university.

Córdoba also awarded Serrano the "Potro de Oro". This prestigious honor is awarded once every ten years; Serrano and Paco Peña
Paco Peña
Paco Peña is a Spanish flamenco guitarist. He is regarded as one of the world's foremost traditional Flamenco players.Born in Córdoba, Spain as Francisco Peña Pérez, Paco Peña began learning to play the guitar from his brother at age 6 and made his first professional appearance at 12...

 are the only guitarists ever to be so honored. Serrano received the Page One Ball from the Newspaper Guild of New York for his outstanding performances. He was also awarded the Medalla de Oro from the Spanish Academy of Fine Arts, the Catedra de Flamencologia from Jerez, Spain, and an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Fairfield University
Fairfield University
Fairfield University is a private, co-educational undergraduate and master's level teaching-oriented university located in Fairfield, Connecticut, in the New England region of the United States. It was founded by the Society of Jesus in 1942, and today is one of 28 member institutions of the...

 in Fairfield, Connecticut
Fairfield, Connecticut
Fairfield is a town located in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is bordered by the towns of Bridgeport, Trumbull, Easton, Redding and Westport along the Gold Coast of Connecticut. As of the 2010 census, the town had a population of 59,404...

. The city of Fresno has bestowed on Serrano the "Fabulous Fresnan" and "Horizon" awards.

Juan Serrano currently lives in Longwood, Florida

Authored several guitar instruction books for Mel Bay Publications, including:
  • Flamenco Guitar: Basic Techniques (1994)
  • Juan Serrano, Flamenco Concert Selections (1994)
  • Guitar Solos (1994)
  • Sabor Flamenco (1995)
  • Systematic Studies for Flamenco Guitar: A Falsetas Anthology and videos Flamenco Guitar (1995)
  • Juan Serrano - Flamenco Guitar Basic Techniques (1996)
  • Juan Serrano - King of the Flamenco Guitar (1997)
  • Flamenco Tradition, Part 1 (1997)
  • Juan Serrano - Flamenco Guitar Solos (2000)
  • Juan Serrano - Flamenco Concert Selections (2000)
  • Systematic Studies for Flamenco Guitar (2002)
  • Juan Serrano: The Flamenco Tradition (2003)
  • Juan Serrano Flamenco Guitar (2003)
  • Flamenco Guitar Wall Chart (2003)
  • Juan Serrano, The Art of Accompanying Flamenco Dance (2007)
  • Flamenco Classical Guitar Tradition, Volume 1
  • A Technical Guitar Method and Introduction to Music (2009)


Awarded the Medalla de Oro from the Spanish Academy of Fine Arts, the Catedra de Flamencologia from Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera is a municipality in the province of Cádiz in the autonomous community of Andalusia, in southwestern Spain, situated midway between the sea and the mountains. , the city, the largest in the province, had 208,896 inhabitants; it is the fifth largest in Andalusia...

, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

.

Recordings

  • Ole, La Mano! (1962)
  • Live at The Worlds Fair (1964)
  • Bravo, Serrano!
  • Flamenco Fenomeno
  • Popular music of Spain and the Old World
  • Cante Hondo
  • Fiesta Flamenca
  • Sabor Flamenco (1991)

Two tracks from this recording ("Entre Olas" and "Gorrión") are featured in the
soundtrack for the 2008 Woody Allen film "Vicky Cristina Barcelona."
  • Masters of Flamenco, Volumes 1-5 (1994)
  • The Art of the Flamenco Guitar
  • Flamenco Festival (1994)
  • Grandes Guitarras (1995)
  • Flamenco Guitar (1995)
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK