Juan Hidalgo Codorniu
Encyclopedia
Juan Hidalgo is a Spanish contemporary composer born in Las Palmas, Canary Islands in 1927. After studying piano and composition in Barcelona and Paris with Nadia Boulanger
and Bruno Maderna
, in 1957 participates in the XII Internationale Ferienkurse Für Neue Musik festival in Darmstadt with his work "Ukanga", a serial-structural composition for five chamber ensembles. With this piece, Hidalgo becomes the first Spanish composer to take part in the Darmstadt festival. In 1958 Juan Hidalgo met in Darmstadt American composers John Cage
and David Tudor
who were crucial to his musical and career development.
Founder in 1964 of the ZAJ
group with Walter Marchetti, Ramón Barce, and later Esther Ferrer
and the writer José Luis Castillejo. ZAJ
was a brave exponent of Spanish neodadaism with influences of zen and Marcel Duchamp
vision of the arts. It is very interesting to pay attention to the similarities in philosophy and aesthetics between ZAJ and the Japanese Gutai and American Fluxus
artistic movements.
One of his most interesting collaborations with John Cage
took place in 1978 when Cage and fellow composer Walter Marchetti prepared a musical ride on a train, full of microphones, monitors and sounds directed by Cage himself. The people on board would hear the train's very noises enriched by an additional mix of local music and sounds, giving an audio-portrait of each stop.
Juan Hidalgo is considered as one of the most creative artists of the Spanish avant-garde since the 60’s and he has been active in other artistic fields such as poetry, photography, installation art, postcard art, print media, and performances, participating in numerous international exhibitions and festival.
Nadia Boulanger
Nadia Boulanger was a French composer, conductor and teacher who taught many composers and performers of the 20th century.From a musical family, she achieved early honours as a student at the Paris Conservatoire, but believing that her talent as a composer was inferior to that of her younger...
and Bruno Maderna
Bruno Maderna
Bruno Maderna was an Italian conductor and composer. For the last ten years of his life he lived in Germany and eventually became a citizen of that country.-Biography:...
, in 1957 participates in the XII Internationale Ferienkurse Für Neue Musik festival in Darmstadt with his work "Ukanga", a serial-structural composition for five chamber ensembles. With this piece, Hidalgo becomes the first Spanish composer to take part in the Darmstadt festival. In 1958 Juan Hidalgo met in Darmstadt American composers John Cage
John Cage
John Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde...
and David Tudor
David Tudor
David Eugene Tudor was an American pianist and composer of experimental music.- Biography :Tudor was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He studied piano with Irma Wolpe and composition with Stefan Wolpe and became known as one of the leading performers of avant garde piano music. He gave the...
who were crucial to his musical and career development.
Founder in 1964 of the ZAJ
Zaj
Zaj was an experimental music and performance art group formed in 1959 in Milan, Italy by composers and intermedia artists Walter Marchetti and Juan Hidalgo with the support of the American composer John Cage...
group with Walter Marchetti, Ramón Barce, and later Esther Ferrer
Esther Ferrer
Esther Ferrer is a Spanish interdisciplinary artist and performance art teacher. She is regarded as one of the major Spanish artists of her generation...
and the writer José Luis Castillejo. ZAJ
Zaj
Zaj was an experimental music and performance art group formed in 1959 in Milan, Italy by composers and intermedia artists Walter Marchetti and Juan Hidalgo with the support of the American composer John Cage...
was a brave exponent of Spanish neodadaism with influences of zen and Marcel Duchamp
Marcel Duchamp
Marcel Duchamp was a French artist whose work is most often associated with the Dadaist and Surrealist movements. Considered by some to be one of the most important artists of the 20th century, Duchamp's output influenced the development of post-World War I Western art...
vision of the arts. It is very interesting to pay attention to the similarities in philosophy and aesthetics between ZAJ and the Japanese Gutai and American Fluxus
Fluxus
Fluxus—a name taken from a Latin word meaning "to flow"—is an international network of artists, composers and designers noted for blending different artistic media and disciplines in the 1960s. They have been active in Neo-Dada noise music and visual art as well as literature, urban planning,...
artistic movements.
One of his most interesting collaborations with John Cage
John Cage
John Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde...
took place in 1978 when Cage and fellow composer Walter Marchetti prepared a musical ride on a train, full of microphones, monitors and sounds directed by Cage himself. The people on board would hear the train's very noises enriched by an additional mix of local music and sounds, giving an audio-portrait of each stop.
Juan Hidalgo is considered as one of the most creative artists of the Spanish avant-garde since the 60’s and he has been active in other artistic fields such as poetry, photography, installation art, postcard art, print media, and performances, participating in numerous international exhibitions and festival.
Sources
- Milano Poesia Catalog 1989, VII Festival internazionale di poesia.
- Editorial de Musica Española Contemporanea. Juan Hidalgo: Catalogo de obras, 1976.
- Barber, Llorenç, Juan Hidalgo, Ritmo. Vol. 566, 1986, pp. 112–13, ISSN 0035-5658.
- Charles, Daniel, Performance (art et esthétique), Encyclopedia Universalis, France.
- Hidalgo, Juan (w. John Cage, Morton Feldman, Leopoldo La Rosa, Walter Marchetti), Rumoriallarotonda, CD booklet (32 pages), ALGA MARGHEN, ITALY, ALGA 031CD, 1998.
- Leyva Sanjuan, Antonio, Zaj: A conversation with Juan Hidalgo, Crónica. Vol. 3, no. 42, 1991, pp. 32–33, ISSN 1131-6705
- Medina Álvarez, Ángel, Primeras oleadas de vanguardistas en el área de Madrid (The first waves of the avant-garde in the Madrid area), in López-Calo, José (ed.), Spain in Western Music, Madrid, Spain: Ministerio de Cultura, 1987. 403, 504 pp.
- Sarmiento, José Antonio, Críticas a un concierto Zaj (Reviews of a concert by Zaj), Cuenca, Spain: Ediciones + 491, 1991.