Leonardo Balada
Encyclopedia
Leonardo Balada is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
), is a Catalan American
Catalan American
Catalan Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who acknowledge ethnic Catalan ancestry and self-identify with it. The group is formed by Catalan-born naturalized citizens or residents, their descendants and, to a lesser extent, citizens or residents of Catalan descent who came...
composer, now teaching and composing in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Life
He graduated from Conservatori Superior de Música del LiceuConservatori Superior de Música del Liceu
Conservatori Superior de Música del Liceu is a music college in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It was created in 1837 with the name Liceo Filo-dramático de Montesión....
in Barcelona and in 1956 emigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, where in 1960, he graduated from the Juilliard School in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. He studied composition with Vincent Persichetti
Vincent Persichetti
Vincent Ludwig Persichetti was an American composer, teacher, and pianist. An important musical educator and writer, Persichetti was a native of Philadelphia...
and Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later in his career a conductor of his own and other American music. He was instrumental in forging a distinctly American style of composition, and is often referred to as "the Dean of American Composers"...
, and studied conducting with Igor Markevitch
Igor Markevitch
Igor Markevitch was a Ukrainian, Italian, and French composer and conductor.- Origin :Igor Markevich was born in Kiev, to an old family of Ukrainian Cossack starshyna ennobled in the 18th century...
. In 1981, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States. Since 1970 he has been teaching at Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
.
Music
His works in the early 1960s are somewhat neo-classical in nature, but the composer was dissatisfied and in 1966 saw a change to an avant-garde style, producing such works like Guernica. The composer felt a need for a change again in 1975, and the works from then onwards are characterized by the combination of folk dance rhythms with avant-garde techniques of the previous period. Harmonically, there is a combination of tonality (folk music) with atonality. Works marking this new trend including Homage to Sarasate and Homage to Casals.In and out of his stylistic phases, Leonardo Balada's music promises rhythmic excitement, often haunting atmospheres and unceasingly innovative orchestrations.
Balada's works have been extensively recorded by Naxos Records
Naxos Records
Naxos Records is a record label specializing in classical music. Through a number of imprints, Naxos also releases genres including Chinese music, jazz, world music, and early rock & roll. The company was founded in 1987 by Klaus Heymann, a German-born resident of Hong Kong.Naxos is the largest...
.
Opera
- Hangman, Hangman!, chamber opera (1982)
- Zapata, opera (1984)
- Christopher Columbus, opera (1986)
- Death of Columbus, opera (1996)
- The Town of Greed, chamber opera (1997) (sequel to Hangman, Hangman!)
- Faust-bal, opera (2007)
Orchestral
- Symphonies
- Symphony No. 1 Sinfonia en Negro, a homage to Martin Luther King (1968)
- Symphony No. 2 Cumbres, a short symphony for band (1972)
- Symphony No. 3 Steel Symphony (1972)
- Symphony No. 4 Lausanne (1992)
- Symphony No. 5 American (2003)
- Symphony No. 6 Symphony of Sorrows (2005)
- Guernica (1966)
- Homage to Sarasate (1975)
- Homage to Casals (1975)
- Sardana (1979)
- Quasi un Pasodoble (1981)
- Fantasias Sonoras (1987)
- Zapata: Images for Orchestra (1987)
- Columbus: Images for Orchestra (1991)
- Divertimentos, for string orchestra (1991)
- Celebracio (1992)
- Folk Dreams (1994-8)
- Passacaglia (2002)
- Prague Sinfonietta (2003)
Concertante
- Piano
- Piano Concerto No. 1 (1964)
- Piano Concerto No. 2, for piano, winds, and percussion (1974)
- Piano Concerto No. 3Piano Concerto No. 3 (Balada)The Piano Concerto No. 3, also known as Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 3, is a piano concerto by Catalan composer Leonardo Balada. It was finished on 1999 and the complete work was premiered on 12 February 2000 by Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra and Rosa...
(1999)
- Violin
- Violin Concerto No. 1 (1982)
- Caprichos No. 2 (2004)
- Caprichos No. 3 (2005)
- Cello
- Cello Concerto No. 1, for cello and nine players (1962)
- Cello Concerto No. 2 New Orleans (2001)
- Concerto for Three Cellos and Orchestra A German Concerto (2006)
- Flute
- Morning Music, for flute and orchestra (1994)
- Music for Flute and OrchestraMusic for Flute and OrchestraMusic for Flute and Orchestra is a classical work by catalan composer Leonardo Balada, composed in 2000. This work was commissioned by the Carnegie Mellon University, and the first recording of the work can be found in the Naxos catalogue...
(2000)
- Guitar
- Guitar Concerto No. 1 (1965)
- Sinfonia Concertante for Guitar and Orchestra Persistencies (1974)
- Concerto for Four Guitars and Orchestra (1976)
- Concierto MágicoConcierto MágicoThe Concierto Mágico is a 1997 concerto for classical guitar and orchestra by Catalan composer Leonardo Balada. This concerto was commissioned by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and the Hartford Symphony Orchestra and premiered on March 13, 1998 by Jesús López-Cobos with the Cincinnati Symphony...
, for guitar and orchestra (1997) - Caprichos No. 1 (2003)
- Concerto for Bandoneon and Orchestra (1970)
- Concertino for Castanets and Orchestra Three Anecdotes (1977)
- Music for Oboe and Orchestra Lament from the Cradle of the Earth (1993)
Vocal/Choral
- Maria Sabina (1969)
- La Moradas (1970)
- No-resNo-resNo-res, a Symphonic Tragedy in Two Parts , also known as No-res, an Agnostic Requiem is a composition for choir, orchestra, narrator and magnetic tape by Barcelonan composer Leonardo Balada...
(1974) - Ponce de Leon, for narrator and orchestra (1974)
- Torquemada (1980)
- Thunderous Scenes (1992)
- Dionisio: In Memoriam (2001)
- Ebony Fantasies, cantata (2003)