Back to Main
News Summaries
Daily News Quiz
Word of the Day
Test Prep Question of the Day
Science Q & A
Letters to the Editor
Ask a Reporter
Web Navigator
Daily Lesson Plan
Lesson Plan Archive
News Snapshot
Issues in Depth
On This Day in History
Crossword Puzzle
Campus Weblines
Education News
Newspaper in Education (NIE) Teacher Resources
Classroom Subscriptions
Conversation Starters
Vacation Donation Plan
Discussion Topics
Site Guide
Feedback
Job Opportunities
##### March 5, 1993 OBITUARY ## Carlos Montoya, 89, Flamenco Guitarist, Is Dead ##### By ALLAN KOZINN Carlos Montoya, a guitarist and composer who played an important role in transforming flamenco from a localized Spanish folk form into a style with an international following, died on Wednesday. He was 89 and lived in Wainscott, L.I. The cause of death was heart failure, said his son Allan Montoya of Wainscott. Mr. Montoya was among the first flamenco guitarists to free his instrument from its accompanimental role in dance and vocal performances. Before him, flamenco guitarists were able to show their virtuosity and improvisatory flair in brief solo spots within ensemble programs, or in the ingenuity of their accompaniments. An exception was Mr. Montoya's uncle, Ramon Montoya, who is generally credited in guitar histories as the first to give full recitals of solo flamenco guitar music. Following in his uncle's footsteps, but touring and recording far more widely, Mr. Montoya began giving solo recitals in the 1940's. Music in Many Forms Mr. Montoya was a prolific composer and arranger, and an early crossover artist: in addition to flights of improvisation based on traditional flamenco forms, he recorded arrangements of "St. Louis Blues" and other jazz and popular songs. He never learned to read music, but he allowed others to notate and publish his pieces so that aspiring players could learn his techniques. He always pointed out, however, that the published scores were merely guidelines: he never abandoned the improvisatory tradition that lies at the heart of flamenco, an Andalusian Gypsy form in which the only givens are rhythmic and harmonic patterns that evoke specific emotions. The work he regarded as his most enduring, however, was not a solo guitar piece but a concerto, the Suite "Flamenca," which he composed with Julio Esteban and Estela Bringuer, and performed with the St. Louis Symphony in 1966. Trained by Mother and Barber Carlos Garcia Montoya was born in Madrid on Dec. 13, 1903, to a family of Spanish Gypsies. His mother, an amateur flamealso taught the guitar, he had no formal training. By the time he was 14, he was accompanying singers and dancers in cafe performances. In 1928, he joined a troupe led by Antonia Merce, a dancer who used the name La Argentina. He toured with the ensemble for three years, and then worked with several other dancers, including Vicente Escudero and La Teresina, with whom he toured the United States and the Far East in the mid-1930's. In 1938 he joined the troupe that accompanied Encarnacion Lopez (La Argentinita), and performed with her until her death in 1945. Mr. Montoya had by then set his heart on a solo career, although he at first met resistance from audiences that consida had by then set his heart on a solo career, although he at first met resistance from audiences that considered the guitar only one component of a true flamenco performance. But in the 1950's and 1960's he built a tremendous following through extensive touring and dozens of recordings for RCA and Paramount Records. In 1940, Mr. Montoya married Sally MacLean, an American dancer. The couple settled in New York and a few years later Mr. Montoya became an American citizen. In addition to his son, he is survived by his wife and another son, Carlos Jr., of Martha's Vineyard, Mass.
Back to the top of this page. Back to today's page. Go to another day.
##### Copyright 2010 The New York Times Company ##### Children's Privacy Notice