Luis de Pablo Costales (28 January 1930 – 10 October 2021) was a Spanish composer belonging to the generation that Cristóbal Halffter named ''the Generación del 51''. Mostly self-taught as a composer and influenced by Maurice Ohana and Max Deutsch, he co-founded ensembles for contemporary music, and organised concert series for it in Madrid. He published translations of notable texts about composers of the

Second Viennese School The Second Viennese School () was the group of composers that comprised Arnold Schoenberg and his pupils, particularly Alban Berg and Anton Webern, and close associates in early 20th-century Vienna. Their music was initially characterized by late ...

, such as

Hans Heinz Stuckenschmidt Hans Heinz Stuckenschmidt (1 November 1901 – 15 August 1988) was a German composer, musicologist, and historian and critic of music. Life Stuckenschmidt was born in Strasbourg. At as early an age as 19, he was the Berlin-based music criti ...

's biography of

Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian and American composer, music theorist, teacher and writer. He was among the first Modernism (music), modernists who transformed the practice of harmony in 20th-centu ...

and the publications of

Anton Webern Anton Webern (; 3 December 1883 – 15 September 1945) was an Austrian composer, conductor, and musicologist. His music was among the most radical of its milieu in its lyric poetry, lyrical, poetic concision and use of then novel atonality, aton ...

. He wrote music in many genres, including film scores such as Erice's '' The Spirit of the Beehive'', and operas including ''La señorita Cristina''. He taught composition not only in Spain, but also in the U.S. and Canada. Among his awards is the Premio Nacional de Música.

Life

Luis de Pablo was born in

Bilbao Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the Provinces of Spain, province of Biscay and in the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the List o ...

. After losing his father in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

, he went with his mother and siblings to live in Madrid from age six. Although he started to compose at the age of 12, his circumstances made it impossible to consider an artistic career, and so he studied law at the

Complutense University of Madrid The Complutense University of Madrid (, UCM; ) is a public research university located in Madrid. Founded in Alcalá in 1293 (before relocating to Madrid in 1836), it is one of the oldest operating universities in the world, and one of Spain's ...

. For a short time after graduating in 1952, he was employed as legal advisor to

Iberia Airlines Iberia (), legally incorporated as ''Iberia Líneas Aéreas de España, S.A. Operadora, Sociedad Unipersonal'', is the flag carrier of Spain. Founded in 1927 and based in Madrid, it operates an international network of services from its main ...

, but soon resigned this post in order to pursue a career in music. As a composer, he was essentially an

autodidact Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) or self-education (also self-learning, self-study and self-teaching) is the practice of education without the guidance of schoolmasters (i.e., teachers, professors, institutions). Overview Autodi ...

. He travelled to the

Darmstädter Ferienkurse Darmstädter Ferienkurse ("Darmstadt Summer Course") is a regular summer event of contemporary classical music in Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany. It was founded in 1946, under the name "Ferienkurse für Internationale Neue Musik Darmstadt" (Vacation Co ...

in the 1960s, where he met

Pierre Boulez Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 19255 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war contemporary classical music. Born in Montb ...

György Ligeti György Sándor Ligeti (; ; 28 May 1923 – 12 June 2006) was a Hungarian-Austrian composer of contemporary classical music. He has been described as "one of the most important avant-garde music, avant-garde composers in the latter half of the ...

Bruno Maderna Bruno Maderna (born Bruno Grossato, 21 April 1920 – 13 November 1973) was an Italian composer, conductor and academic teacher. Life Maderna was born Bruno Grossato in Venice but later decided to take the name of his mother, Caterina Carolina M ...

and

Karlheinz Stockhausen Karlheinz Stockhausen (; 22 August 1928 – 5 December 2007) was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. He is known for his groun ...

. In Paris, he studied with Max Deutsch and Maurice Ohana. His participation at the Darmstädter Ferienkurse in 1959 led to the performance of some of his works under

Boulez Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 19255 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war contemporary classical music. Born in Montb ...

and Maderna. De Pablo and Cristóbal Halffter are regarded as key members of a group called Generación del 51, formed by young composers at the time they finished their studies, with a mission to connect music in Spain to musical developments in Europe after the Civil War. De Pablo adapted atonalism,

serialism In music, serialism is a method of composition using series of pitches, rhythms, dynamics, timbres or other musical elements. Serialism began primarily with Arnold Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique, though some of his contemporaries were also ...

, aleatory forms, use of

electronics Electronics is a scientific and engineering discipline that studies and applies the principles of physics to design, create, and operate devices that manipulate electrons and other Electric charge, electrically charged particles. It is a subfield ...

and graphic notation. In 1958, he co-founded the group Grupo Nueva Musica, and in 1959, Tiempo y Musica. He organised several contemporary music concert series, for example the Forum Musical and Bienal de Música Contemporánea de Madrid. He was particularly concerned with promoting appreciation in Spain of the

, publishing translations of

's biography of

in 1961, and texts by

in 1963. In 1965, he founded the first studio for electronic music in Spain, with the group Alea. He founded a festival, ''Rencontres de Pampelune'', for music, theatre, film and the arts in 1972. He was accused of giving too much prominence to "left-wing art" by the

Franco regime Francoist Spain (), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (), or Nationalist Spain () was the period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death i ...

, but also of being a supporter of that regime by

ETA Eta ( ; uppercase , lowercase ; ''ē̂ta'' or ''ita'' ) is the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the close front unrounded vowel, . Originally denoting the voiceless glottal fricative, , in most dialects of Ancient Greek, it ...

. When one of the festival's patrons was kidnapped by ETA, the event was cancelled, and De Pablo went into exile in the U.S. and Canada, returning only after Franco's death. Luis de Pablo en Madrid 5mr14

De Pablo composed film scores, collaborating with directors such as

Víctor Erice Víctor Erice Aras (; born 30 June 1940) is a Spanish film director. He is best known for his first two feature fiction films, '' The Spirit of the Beehive'' (1973), which many regard as one of the greatest Spanish films ever made, and '' El Sur' ...

('' The Spirit of the Beehive'') and

Carlos Saura Carlos Saura Atarés (4 January 1932 – 10 February 2023) was a Spanish film director, photographer and writer. With Luis Buñuel and Pedro Almodóvar, he is considered to be among Spain's great filmmakers. He had a long and prolific career th ...

('' The Hunt''). His opera ''Kiu'' is based on

Alfonso Vallejo Alfonso Rodríguez Vallejo (19 August 1943 – 3 December 2021) was a Spanish playwright, poet, Painting, painter and neurologist. He had published 34 plays and 25 poetry books. Vallejo was awarded the Lope de Vega prize in 1976 for his play "E ...

's farce ''Zero Temperature''. The world premiere of his opera ''La señorita Cristina'' (Miss Cristina), based on a novel by

Mircea Eliade Mircea Eliade (; – April 22, 1986) was a Romanian History of religion, historian of religion, fiction writer, philosopher, and professor at the University of Chicago. One of the most influential scholars of religion of the 20th century and in ...

, with a stage design by José Hernández, took place in 2001 at the

Teatro Real The Teatro Real () is an opera house in Madrid, Spain. Located at the Plaza de Oriente, opposite the Royal Palace, and known colloquially as "''El Real''" (The Royal One). it is considered the top institution of the performing and musical arts ...

in Madrid. De Pablo began teaching at the Madrid Conservatory in 1971. In exile, he lectured at the

University at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo (commonly referred to as UB, University at Buffalo, and sometimes SUNY Buffalo) is a public university, public research university in Buffalo, New York, Buffalo and Amherst, New York, United States. ...

, and later at the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a Official bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ot ...

and the

University of Montreal A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

. He resumed teaching in Spain upon his return. De Pablo was awarded Spain's Premio Nacional de Música for composition in 1991, among many other awards. De Pablo died in Madrid on 10 October 2021, aged 91.

Compositions

Luis de Pablo Costales has more than 143 works among which are: * 1953 – ''Gárgolas'' * 1954 – ''Coral eucarístico'' * 1954 – ''Sinfonías'' * 1954–66 – ''Sinfonías'' * 1955 – ''Invenciones'' * 1956 – ''Concierto para clavicémbalo'' * 1956 – ''Misa Pax humilium,'' * 1956 – ''Elegía'' * 1956 – ''Tres Piezas para guitarra'' * 1956 – ''Comentarios a dos'' * 1957 – ''Móvil I'' * 1957 – ''Cinco Invenciones'' * 1958 – ''Sonata para piano'' * 1958 – ''Cuarteto nº 1'' * 1959 – ''Progressus'' * 1959–67 – ''Móvil II'' * 1960 – ''Radial'' * 1961 – ''Glosa'' * 1961–62 – ''Polar'' * 1961–62 – ''Libro para el pianista'' * 1962 – ''Condicionado'' * 1962 – ''Prosodia'' * 1962–63 – ''Tombeau'' * 1963 – ''Recíproco'' * 1963 – ''Cesuras'' * 1964 – ''Escena'' * 1964–65 – ''Módulos I'' * 1965 – ''Ein Wort'' * 1965 – ''Mitología I'' * 1965–67 – ''Módulos IV'' * 1965–66 – ''Iniciativas'' * 1966 – ''Módulos II'' * 1967 – ''Imaginario I'' * 1967 – ''Módulos III'' * 1967 – ''Imaginario II'' * 1967 – ''Módulos V'' * 1968 – ''Protocolo'' * 1968 – ''Paráfrasis'' * 1969 – ''Cuatro Invenciones'' * 1969 – ''Quasi une fantasia'' * 1969 – ''Por diversos motivos'' Chamber music * ''Anatomías'' for viola solo, two clarinets, horn, trombone and harp (2005–2007) * ''Ex voto'' for violin and viola (1995) * ''Monólogo'' for viola solo (1990–1992) ' Choral music * ''Yo Lo Vi'' for 12 voices (1970) * ''Passio'' (2006) Orchestral music * ''Las Orillas'' (1990) Operas * ''Kiu'' (1983) * ''El viajero indiscreto'' (1990) * ''La señorita Cristina'' (2000) Film music * '' La Caza'' (''The Hunt''), Carlos Saura (1966) * ''

El jardín de las delicias ''El jardín de las delicias'', also known as ''The Garden of Delights'' in English language cinema, is a 1970 Spanish drama film co-written and directed by Carlos Saura. The film was censored by contemporary Spanish censorship because of its Fr ...

'' (''The Garden of Delights''), Carlos Saura (1970) * '' El Espíritu de la Colmena'' (''The Spirit of the Beehive''), Victor Erice (1973)

Recordings

Recordings by de Pablo include: * ''Los Novísimos, Vendaval'' (

Stradivarius A Stradivarius is one of the string instruments, such as violins, violas, cellos, and guitars, crafted by members of the Stradivari family, particularly Antonio Stradivari (Latin: Antonius Stradivarius), in Cremona, Italy, during the late 17th ...

, 2010) * ''Libro de imágenes, Segunda Lectura, Metáforas'' (

, 2014) * ''Soliloquio, Melisma furioso, Per Flauto, Cuatro Fragmentos De 'Kiu (

, 2015) * ''Senderos del aire'' and works for flute. Col Legno * ''Dibujos'', fragments from ''Kiu'', Chamber Concerto et al. ADDA * ''Tarde de Poetas''. Harmonia Mundi * Piano Trio. Ermitage ERM 413 * ''Visto de Cerca, para 3 músicos y cinta; Chaman, obra electronica''. Hispavox LP (30) 130 202 * ''Al Son que Tocan, Homenaje an Antonio Machado''. RCA LP SRL2-2444

Writings

* ''Aproximación a una estética de la música contemporánea'', in: ''Los complementarios'', ''Editorial Ciencia Nueva'', 1968 * ''Lo que sabemos de música'', ''Gregorio del Toro'', 1968Bibliografia de Luis de Pablo
(in Spanish) cervantes.es 2015

Awards

De Pablo received awards including: * Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts (1986) *

Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The Order of Arts and Letters () is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant ...

(1986) * Premio Nacional de Música (1991) * Madrid Region Culture Award (2001) * Guerrero Foundation Music Prize (2004) * Gold Medal of

Círculo de Bellas Artes The Círculo de Bellas Artes is a private, non-profit, cultural organization that was founded in 1880. Its building, located in Madrid, Spain, was declared ''Bien de Interés Cultural'' in 1981. The CBA is a major multidisciplinary centre with one ...

(2005) * (2009) * Golden Lion at the

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale ( ; ) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. There are two main components of the festival, known as the Art Biennale () and the Venice Biennale of Architecture, Architecture Biennale (), ...

(2020) * Prix Honegger de la Fondation de France * Prix de Composition Musicale de la Fondation Prince Pierre de Monaco for ''Frondoso Misterio'', cello and orchestra (2004) * Prix de la Fondation Jacinto Guerrero

References

Notes

Cited sources

* * * * * * * *

External links

* *
Luis de Pablo Interview
NAMM Oral History Library (2020) {{DEFAULTSORT:Pablo, Luis de 1930 births 2021 deaths Madrid Royal Conservatory alumni Spanish male film score composers Musicians from Bilbao Spanish classical composers Spanish exiles Spanish film score composers Spanish male classical composers Complutense University of Madrid alumni Schoenberg scholars Webern scholars