Octavio Vazquez

Octavio Vázquez Rodríguez (born September 10, 1972) is a New York-based composer of classical music.

Octavio Vazquez, composer

Biography

Born in Santiago de Compostela (Galicia, Spain), Vazquez spontaneously started writing music at age 7. At age 12 he became music director at St. Peter's church in Lugo. In 1989 he moved to Madrid, where he studied at the CAM Conservatory and the Madrid Conservatory, taking degrees in piano, theory, and accompaniment. After winning the prestigious Barrié de la Maza Foundation Scholarship, he went on to study composition at the Peabody Institute in Baltimore, and afterwards obtained a doctorate from the University of Maryland, College Park, where he was on a full Fellowship. Since 1999 he resides in New York City.

He is primarily interested in the "...emotional impact [of his music] and direct communication with the listener" [1]. His music has been described as "...a burning torch for the next century" by Mark Greenfest, of the New Music Connoisseur. Collaborations include musicians such as Víctor Pablo Pérez, Jonathan Gandelsman, Daniel Gaisford, Eldar Nebolsin, the Flatiron Trio, the Monument Piano Trio, Viacheslav Dinerchtein, and Julian Gargiulo.

List of works

Orchestral

Memento (1998), winner of the Andres Gaos International Competition, premiered by the Galician Royal Philhamonics
Lethe (1999), based on the "Guernica" Piano Trio, premiered by Carlos Kalmar and the Galicia Symphony Orchestra
Hermes (2004), commissioned and premiered by the Galician Royal Philhamonics and conductor Maximino Zumalave
Styx (2005), commissioned and premiered by the Galicia Symphony Orchestra and conductor Hansjörg Schellenberger
Piano Concerto (2007), commissioned and premiered by the Galicia Symphony Orchestra, with soloist Cristina Pato
Tropos, Violin Concerto (2010), commissioned by the Xacobeo Classics Festival 2010 and premiered by the Galicia Royal Philhamonic Orchestra, with soloist Amaury Coeytaux
Ewiges blaues Licht (2011), commissioned and premiered by the Galicia Symphony Orchestra and conductor Víctor Pablo Pérez

Chamber

Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 1 (1990)
Sonata for Viola and Piano No. 1 (1992)
Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 2 (1993)
Trio for Clarinet, Cello and Piano (1994)
Suite for Bassoon and Piano (1996)
Septet (1996)
String Quartet No. 3 (1997), premiered at Merkin Hall
Sonata for Viola and Piano No. 2 (2002), diploma at the Prokofiev International Competition, premiered at Carnegie Hall in 2003
Galician Folk Dances (2003), for violin and piano, commissioned by the COAHSI
Trio for Flute, Viola and Cello (2003), premiered at Carnegie Hall in 2003
Trio for Violin, Cello and Piano, 'Guernica' (1999, 2006) commissioned by the Guernica Project Inc. and premiered by the Flatiron Trio
Sonata for Clarinet and Piano (2009), commissioned and premiered by Enrique Pérez Piquer and the Via Stellae Festival 2010
MusicScapes (2011), commissioned by Katya Chilingiri

Solo

Sonatina for Piano (1994)
Prelude and Fugue for Guitar (1999)
Nineteen Preludes for Piano (2001)
Nostos for Guitar (2009)

Vocal

Three Cantigas (1994), to poems by Airas Nunes, Garcia de Andrade, Eanes de Cotom
Semente for Mixed Choir (1995), poem by A. R. Castelao
Tempestad, Amanece, for voice and piano trio (2002), poems by Ilia Galán
Lieder to Poemes by Goethe, for bass, bass clarinet and piano (2005)

Recordings

'Guernica' Trio CD

External links

• Octavio Vazquez web site
• Guernica Project web site

Notes

1. MundoClasico.com (2007)

Persondata
Name	Vazquez, Octavio
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	September 10, 1972
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death