David and Bathsheba by Carlos SurinachFrom the collection of Karl MillerTechnically, he emigrated to the US, but seemed to reamain consistent to Spanish traditions. So I'm posting him here.
Lee Cass, narrator
CBS Symphony Orchestra
Alfredo Antonini, conductor
[15 May 1960]
Wikipedia Bio
Carlos Surinach (or Carles Suriñach)[1] i Wrokona (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈkarɫəs suɾiˈɲak], Barcelona; Spain, March 4, 1915 - New Haven, Connecticut, United States, November 12, 1997) was a Catalan Spanish-born composer and conductor.
He was born in Barcelona, where he held conducting posts at the Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona and the Gran Teatre del Liceu. He studied composition with Enrique Morera at the Barcelona Conservatory, then went to Germany, where he studied in Berlin with Max Trapp, and also with Richard Strauss, taking five of Strauss's seminars. In 1948 his opera El mozo que caso con mujer brava premiered in Barcelona. In 1951, he emigrated to the United States, where he became a successful composer for the dance. He became a U.S. citizen in 1959. He composed three ballet scores for the renowned choreographer Martha Graham: Embattled Garden (1958), Acrobats of God (1960) and The Owl and the Pussycat (1978). He also composed for the Joffrey Ballet (Feast of Ashes). His harp concerto was commissioned by Charles Royce for his daughter Maria. The premiere was in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1978, with Nicanor Zabaleta playing. The concerto was then performed by maria Royce at Interlochen. The Surinach harp concerto added richly to the harp concerto repertoire; but, unfortunately, it has not been played since.
From the City University of New York:
Born in Barcelona, Spain on March 4th, 1915, Carlos Suriñach arrived in the U.S. in 1951, making his home for many years in New York City. Well known and admired throughout Europe as a first-class conductor, he possessed an almost photographic memory, which allowed him to conduct without a score. Feeling his temperament was more suited to composition, Suriñach continued to conduct, but only as a means to support his composing. Once in New York, Suriñach found his style of composition, based on tonality, out of step with the growing trend among American composers toward serialism, a style which had gained academic popularity in Europe and which Suriñach had hoped to evade in the U.S. Suriñach’s compositional style ran counter to what was being presented as “contemporary” in the concert hall; to put it plainly, his melodic re-imaginings of Spanish folkloric traditions, most especially the modal scales and syncopated rhythms found in flamenco, were out of fashion.
Suriñach supported himself by conducting, and by writing music for commercials and cartoons. In 1952, a performance of Ritmo Jondo at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York City attracted the attention of dancer and choreographer Doris Humphrey. Suriñach expanded the work for Ms. Humphrey to use as a dance score. Not long after, more dance commissions came to Suriñach: from Alvin Ailey, Robert Joffrey, John Butler, Pearl Lang, Francisco Moncion, Antonio, and Martha Graham, all of whom found Suriñach to be a generous and talented collaborator. Countless others, including Paul Taylor, Norman Morrice, Garth Fagan, and Doug Varone have created dances to Suriñach’s music.
Suriñach thought that composers should write for the public rather than for themselves. He compared composing to writing a play, and believed audiences adore unpredictability and surprise. His works do not disappoint. His death in 1997 came as a shock to all who knew him. Although he taught only briefly, accepting a very few short-term positions as a visiting professor, he bequeathed his estate to the BMI Foundation. His legacy makes possible a number of awards, in the form of grants and commissions, in Suriñach’s name.
- See more at:
http://www.gc.cuny.edu/News/GC-News/Detail?id=5860#sthash.dmzJWc3u.dpufInterview with Bruce Duffie here:
http://www.bruceduffie.com/surinach2.html