Antonio Lauro is one of the most famous composers to come from Venezuela. He has written many works for orchestra, piano, choir, harpsichord, and guitar. He is most well-known for his guitar works, this being his main instrument. In the early 1980s he gave concerts in London and Paris at the request of John Williams and Paco Pena. The pieces represented in these guitar works are for players at a beginner-intermediate level, and in standard notation only. Continuing the 19th Century tradition of other composers of Venezuelan waltzes, Lauro named many of his pieces after people or places. These four waltzes are named after two of his nieces, his daughter, and a river in central Venezuela. The Venezuelan waltz differs from the European waltz in its rhythm which may alternate between 3/4 and 6/8 time and in its more syncopated style. The melodies are highly sentimental and romantic.