Ernani Cruz

Ernani Joson Cuenco (May 10, 1936 – June 1988) was a Filipino composer, film scorer, musical director and music teacher and Philippine National Artist for Music. He wrote an outstanding and memorable body of works that resonate with the Filipino sense of musicality and which embody an ingenious voice that raises the aesthetic dimensions of contemporary Filipino music. Cuenco played with the Filipino Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Manila Symphony Orchestra from 1960 to 1968, and the Manila Chamber Soloists from 1966 to 1970. He completed a music degree in piano and cello from the University of Santo Tomas where he also taught for decades until his death in 1988.

He was proclaimed National Artist for Music in 1999; He was an award-winning film scorer in the early 1960s, working in collaboration with National Artist for Music Levi Celerio. He was also a teacher and a seasoned orchestra player.

His songwriting credits include "Nahan, Kahit na Magtiis," and "Diligin Mo ng Hamog ang Uhaw na Lupa," "Pilipinas," "Inang Bayan," "Isang Dalangin," "Kalesa," "Bato sa Buhangin" and "Gaano Ko Ikaw Kamahal." The latter song shows how Cuenco enriched the Filipino love ballad by adding the elements of kundiman to it.

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