Constantino Gaito

Constantino Vicente Gaito was an Argentine composer, pianist, conductor and educator, born in Buenos Aires on August 3, 1878, and deceased in the same city on December 14, 1945. After studying in Naples at the Conservatorio San Pietro a Majella under Pietro Platania, he returned to Argentina around 1900 to found a conservatory and teach. His output blends Italian verismo, French impressionism and Argentine folk elements, contributing a distinctly local character to many of his works.

In addition to his early teaching activities, he later served as professor of harmony and then composition at the National Conservatory in Buenos Aires from 1924, where he instructed notable students including José María Castro, Luis Gianneo, Juan José Castro and Montserrat Campmany y Cortés. He was also a conductor at the Argentinian Theatre in La Plata and a member of the Cuarteto de la Sociedad Argentina de Música de Cámara from 1914 to 1915 alongside León Fontova, Juan José Castro, Aníbal Canut and José María Castro.

Among his compositions are several operas such as Los pajes de su majestad, Petronio (also known as Caio Petronio), Flor de nieve, Ollantay, Lázaro, Antígona and La sangre de las guitarras, as well as incidental music for Edipo and Antígona, the ballets Cuadro campestre and La flor del irupé, and symphonic poems including El ombú. He also created chamber and piano works such as the Quartet incaic, String Quartet No. 2 op. 33 and Vals Fantástico op. 16, in addition to the oratorio San Francisco Solano.

Gaito’s legacy is reflected in several honors, including streets named after him in Buenos Aires, Lomas de Zamora, Córdoba and Villa Rosa in the Pilar district, as well as a bust dedicated to him in Plaza Lavalle in Buenos Aires.

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