A figure of Eua Sunthornsanan at the Thai Human Imagery Museum.

Eua Sunthornsanan (Thai: เอื้อ สุนทรสนาน, born January 21, 1910, Amphawa, Samut Songkhram Province, died April 1, 1981) was a Thai composer and bandleader. A pioneer in introducing Western music into Thai popular culture, he founded the Suntaraporn band in the 1940s. Thailand's best-known big band, it continues to play concerts and special functions. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1200x1600, 434 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Music of Thailand Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to create or digitize it. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1200x1600, 434 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Music of Thailand Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to create or digitize it. ... January 21 is the 21st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1910 (MCMX) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... Amphawa is a district (Amphoe) of Samut Songkhram Province, located slighly inland at the northwestern tip of the Bay of Bangkok. ... Samut Songkhram (Thai สมุทรสงคราม) is one of the central provinces (changwat) of Thailand. ... April 1 is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 274 days remaining. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A composer is a person who writes music. ... A bandleader is the director of a band of musicians. ... The term Western World or the West can have multiple meanings depending on its context. ... A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with playing jazz music and which became popular during the Swing Era from 1935 until the late 1940s. ...

Eua studied Western classical music at the Phran Luang School, starting on violin. By age nine, he was playing an orchestra. At age 18, he enrolled in the Vithaya Sakol Dontri Sathan music school, studying harmony and arrangement. Classical music is a term with three distinct meanings: The European tradition of music which is associated with high culture, as distinct from popular or folk forms (including works in this tradition in non-European countries). ... This does not cite its references or sources. ... Harmony is the result of polyphony (more than one note being played simultaneously). ... In music, an arrangement loosely describes rewriting a piece of pre-existing music for a specific set of instruments or voices, often in harmony or with additional original material. ...

Around this time he played in a big band for the government's Performance Department. He was paid 20 baht a month. He continued to play classical music as well, but noticed that the jazz bands were attracting larger crowds, which made him realize that classical music was no longer in demand. A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with playing jazz music and which became popular during the Swing Era from 1935 until the late 1940s. ... ISO 4217 Code THB User(s) Thailand Inflation 4. ...

In 1936 he started composing scores for Thai films, and combined jazz and Western classical music with traditional Thai classical music. It was an already established genre, called phleng Thai sakol, but with his compositions, he greatly expanded the repertoire. With his own popular big band, Suntaraporn, phleng Thai sakol found a wider audience. The cinema of Thailand has a history that stretches back to early days of filmmaking, when King Chulalongkorns 1897 visit to Berne, Switzerland was recorded by Francois-Henri Lavancy-Clarke. ...

Initially, he faced criticism for introducing Western sounds into Thai traditional culture, however his music was embraced by Field Marshal Plaek Pibulsonggram, whose government had a program of modernization and Westernization.^[1] Field Marshal Plaek Pibulsonggram (July 14, 1897–June 11, 1964) (Thai แปลก พิบูลสงคราม or ป. พิบูลสงคราม, lastname sometimes spelled Phibunsongkhram, Phibul Songkhram or Pibul Songgram) was Prime Minister and military dictator of Thailand from 1938 to 1944 and 1948 to 1957. ...

Under the government's Public Relations Department, Eua headed an orchestra, which performed on national radio broadcasts, at government functions and dance parties. It served as the main orchestra in Thailand during the Second World War. He served as the orchestra chief and the chief of the music section for the department until his retirement in 1971.^[2] Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ...

He died of cancer in 1981. Cancer is a class of diseases or disorders characterized by uncontrolled division of cells and the ability of these cells to invade other tissues, either by direct growth into adjacent tissue through invasion, or by implantation into distant sites by metastasis. ...

See also

• Music of Thailand

Thailand retains cultural connections with the two great centers of Asian civilizations, India and China. ...

References

1. ^ Lersakvanitchakul, Kitchana. July 2006. "A virtuoso", The Nation, "35 Most Influential Thais".
2. ^ Radio Thailand, Music – Medium of Entertainment Through Times.