Joan Albert Amargós

Joan Albert Amargós (born August 2, 1950 in Barcelona ) is a Spanish composer and conductor . He is the grandson of the composer Joan Altisent i Ceardi (1891–1971).

Life

After studying piano and clarinet at the Conservatorio Superior de Música del Liceo , his first compositions followed in 1969. Amargós is the founder of the group Música Urbana (with Salvador Font, Jaume Cortadellas, Jordi Bonell, Carles Benavent and Matthew Simon), with whom he recorded two albums between 1975 and 1979. His work includes chamber music, symphonies, operas, dance music as well as music for film, theater and television. His knowledge of flamenco music was always useful for his compositions.

In 1983 he composed the Concert popular which was premiered the following year at the Palau de la Música Catalana under the direction of Albert Argudo.

Amargós has been awarded various prestigious prizes. In 1988, Chick Corea awarded him the first prize for contemporary jazz composition for the work Hasta siempre, Jaco (Farewell, Jaco). Together with Charles Benavent, he received the award for the best record of the year . Between 1999 and 2004 the Music Academy honored him with an award for The best arrangement of the year five times in a row. In 2002 he received the Premio Nacional de Música (National Music Prize) from the Generalitat de Catalunya for his chamber opera Eurídice y los títeres de Caronte and in the same year the Premio Ciudad de Barcelona for the works Flamenco en orquesta (with Miguel Poveda as a singer) and Concierto para trombón bajo ('Concerto for Bass Trombone').

Works

Chamber music

• Policromies (Polychrome) (1969)
• 3 peces breus per a tres clarinets i clarinet baix (o fagot) (3 short pieces for clarinet and bass clarinet or bassoon) (1969)
• 6 Cançons d'homenatge a Picasso (6 songs 'Homage to Picasso') (1971)
• Petit duet per a clarinet i fagot (Small duet for clarinet and bassoon) (1976)
• Le cheval de Malval (The Horse Malval) (1976)
• Trio per a guitarra, flauta i piano (Trio for guitar, flute and piano) (1979)
• Sonata para flauta y piano (Sonata for flute and piano) (1979)
• Sonata per a 2 Flautes (Sonata for two flutes) (1979)
• Sonata breve para vibrafono y piano (Sonata for piano and vibraphone ) (1979)
• Petit quartet (Little Quartet) (1979)
• Diàleg íntim (Intimate Dialogue) (1979)
• Trio per a flauta, clarinet i corn anglès (Trio for flute, clarinet and English horn) (1980)
• Petita suite per a 4 flautes (Small suite for 4 flutes) (1980)
• Vals bizarre (bizarre waltz ) (1981)
• Sonata para dos guitarras (Sonata for two guitars) (1981)
• Música per a piano nº 1 (Music for a piano) (1981)
• Le Cheval de Malval (1981)
• Vals per a piano (The Horse Malval) (1982)
• Pasacalle nocturno ( Nocturnal Passacaglia ) (1982)
• Homenatge a Frederic Mompou ( Homage to Frederic Mompou) (1983)
• Concert popular (1983)
• Concert del Sud (Concert of the South), para violín, violoncelo y orquesta de cámara (for violin, violoncello and orchestra) (1986)
• Sevillanas ( Sevillanas ) (1988)
• Hasta siempre Jaco (Farewell Jaco) (1988)
• Cantata de Sant Just (Cantata on Antoine de Saint-Just ) (1988)
• Sonata de primavera (Spring Sonata ) (1990)
• La nit (The Night) (1992)
• Fosc blanc color (Dark white color) (1992)
• Cinc cançons populars mallorquines (5 popular songs from Mallorca) (1992)
• Cantata de la terra (Cantata of the Land) (1993)
• Requiem (1994)
• Concierto para clarinete y orquesta , versión para orquesta de cámara (Concerto for clarinet and orchestra, chamber version) (1995)
• Tango català (Catalan Tango) (1996)
• Música per Arpa (music for harp) (1996)
• Tierra de nadie (No Man's Land) (1997)
• Flash Mompou (1997)
• Suite homenaje a García Lorca (Suite dedicated to García Lorca) (1998)
• Canciones populares españolas (Popular Spanish Songs) (1998)
• 2 Escenas flamencas (2 flamenco scenes) (1998)
• Planetàrium ( planetarium ) (2000)
• Pigmalió ( Pygmalion ) (2000)
• Música de cambra per a diversos instruments (chamber music for various instruments) (2000)
• La campanada (The Glockenspiel) (2000)
• Homenatge a Picasso (Homage to Picasso) (2000)
• El duc Meu-meu (The Duke Meu-Meu) (2000)
• Allegro Festivo (Solemn Allegro) (2000)
• 2 peçes per a orquesta de cordes (2 pieces for string orchestra) (2000)
• Atlantic trio (2002)
• En el aire (In the air) (2002)
• Trio per a violí, clarinet i piano (Trio for violin, clarinet and piano) (2004)
• Declaració (declaration) (2005)
• PAX HAGANUM (Obertura per a la Pau) (Overture for Peace) (2005)
• La Pastoreta . para orquesta de cuerda ('La Pastoreta' for string orchestra) (2005)
• Las Morillas que me enamoran , para piano a cuatro manos y voz (The women I love; work with singing and piano with four hands) (2006)
• Capricho por bulerías ( Capriccio for Bulería (flamenco dance)) (2006)
• Variaciones sobre un zorongo (Variations for a Zorongo (Flamenco song)) (2006)
• Las morillas de Jaén (The Women of Jaén ) (2006)
• Anda jaleo , para dos pianos y voz (for two pianos and voice) (2006)
• Zorongo , para dos pianos y voz (2006)
• Jocs Florals , para coro de hombres solistas y órgano (for male choir and organ soloists) (2006)
• Aires españoles , para dos pianos y voz (Spanish Air , for two pianos and voice) (2006)
• Simfonieta concertant (per a Cobla y 4 instruments) ( Sinfonia concertante , for four instruments and verses) (2007)
• La niña bonita (The Pretty Girl) (2007)

Orchestral works

• Variaciones para orquesta (Variations for orchestra) (1981)
• Concierto para clarinete y orquesta , versión para orquesta sinfónica (Concerto for clarinet and orchestra, version for symphony orchestra) (1995)
• Los Tarantos ( ballet , 1985)
• Concierto para trombón bajo y orquesta (Concerto for bass trombone and orchestra) (2000)
• Mil llenarium , versión para orquesta sinfónica (for symphony orchestra) (2003)
• Northern Concerto , para flauta dulce y orquesta (Nordic concert, for recorder and orchestra) (2005)
• Concierto para saxo alto y orquesta de cámara (Concerto for alto saxophone and chamber orchestra) (2008)

Music for orchestra and choir

• Requiem flamenco (for Mario Maya , 1993)
• Cantata de la Terra (Cantata of the Land) (1992)
• Mil llenarium , versión para coro mixto y orquesta sinfónica (for choir mixed with symphony orchestra) (2003)
• L´Assemblea dels infants (Cantata per a nens) (The children's assembly , cantata for children) (2004)

Operas

• Eurídice (Eurídice y los títeres de Caronte) (2001)
• El Salón de Anubis (2007)

Theater music

• Pigmalión , with Dagoll Dagom
• Tierra de Nadie (No Man's Land), with María Rovira ( New York )
• La luna de Valencia (The Moon of Valencia), by Jaime Salom

Film music

• La fiebre del oro (Gold Fever), by Gonzalo Herralde (1992)