Events

From Spain and Cuba - Ancient Spanish Monastery

Saturday, Oct 12, 2024 at 4:00 PM - English

Arriaga String Quartet #2 in A major (1824) and Orbón String Quartet #1 (1951).

Juan Crisóstomo Jacobo Antonio de Arriaga y Balzola (1806-1826) was a Spanish Basque composer. He was nicknamed "the Spanish Mozart" after he died, because, like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, he was both a child prodigy and an accomplished composer who died young. At the age of 16, Arriaga wrote three sparkling and idiomatic string quartets that were published in 1824, and were the only works of his published during his lifetime. His style is on the borderline between late Classicism and early Romanticism, ranging from the late Classical idiom of Mozart to the proto-Romanticism of early Beethoven.

Julián Orbón (1925-1991) was a Cuban composer who lived and composed in Spain, Cuba, Mexico, and the United States. Aaron Copland referred to Orbón as "Cuba's most gifted composer of the new generation.” Orbón created compositions that combined Spanish and Cuban styles and traits, Gregorian chant qualities, and African music styles. His early style was influenced by composers such as Manuel de Falla, Rodolfo Halffter, and Ernesto Halffter, who used a Spanish neoclassic style in their compositions.