Andrino José Escolástico, *1817 Guatemala City, †14 July 1862 San Salvador, Composer, teacher, violinist from the Republic of El Salvador. After completing his studies, he moved to Havana, where he found employment in the orchestra of Teatro Tacón. In 1845, he settled in San Salvador, where he founded a private music school in 1846, modelled on European education systems. He taught violin at this school, and his students included J.D. Alas, H. Reyes, and R. Olmedo. Andrino also worked as a choirmaster and cathedral organist, music critic and columnist, as well as a civil servant. He was one of the co-organizers of the first orchestra in El Salvador, an ensemble that contributed significantly to the development of musical life in that country. Andrino composed, among other works, three symphonies in F major, E-flat major, and D major, Variations in G major on an original theme for violin and orchestra, three masses, the opera La mora generosa (premiered in 1857 at the Teatro Variedades in Guatemala), and numerous patriotic songs. Andrino’s instrumental works are in a transitional style – between classicism and early romanticism, while his vocal works show the influence of Italian opera, especially that of G. Verdi.
