Jorge E. López
Jorge E. López was born in Havana, Cuba, in 1955 and moved to the USA in 1960, where he grew up in New York City and Chicago. He studied composition with Leonard Stein and Morton Subotnick and music at the California Institute of Arts from 1971-1975, but describes himself as self-taught. He sees his roots as equally in Western art music, in Surrealism (seen as a method), in science and in experiencing the elemental force of nature. In 1990 he moved to Europe, and has lived since 1991 in Upper Carinthia, Austria. From 2000-01 he was a guest artist (video and sound design) at the Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie (ZKM), Karlsruhe. His orchestral and chamber ensemble works have been performed at prestigious festivals for new music throughout Europe. He is supported by the Academy of Arts, Berlin; the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation, Munich; Paul Sacher Foundation, Basel; Heinrich Strobel Foundation of South West German Radio and through an Austrian State Scholarship. In september 2010 he will take up a visiting professorship at the Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya (Barcelona).
A végső Tavasz Op. 23
Just like my works op. 1 to 22, my op. 23 also has nothing to do with so-called “New Music”. Even though in my youth I was influenced by some European composers of the second half of the last century such as Xenakis or B.A. Zimmermann, the true roots of my work reach back to the music of the earlier turn of the century and to surrealism. I hardly listen to any “New Music” or go to any “New Music Concerts”.
I regard it as my mission to tell stories, to convey emotions, to evoke associations and images. After almost 30 years of working as a composer I have realized that my music is understood better by people who are interested in film, the visual arts or literature than by most musicians. The piece is in five movements. At present it is still unclear if all five or only three of these will be performed this autumn.
(Jorge E. López)
Just like my works op. 1 to 22, my op. 23 also has nothing to do with so-called “New Music”. Even though in my youth I was influenced by some European composers of the second half of the last century such as Xenakis or B.A. Zimmermann, the true roots of my work reach back to the music of the earlier turn of the century and to surrealism. I hardly listen to any “New Music” or go to any “New Music Concerts”.
I regard it as my mission to tell stories, to convey emotions, to evoke associations and images. After almost 30 years of working as a composer I have realized that my music is understood better by people who are interested in film, the visual arts or literature than by most musicians. The piece is in five movements. At present it is still unclear if all five or only three of these will be performed this autumn.
(Jorge E. López)