Joan
Buenos Aires , 10 de juliol de 1917
Composer and Conductor
He studied in Barcelona with Nicolau Manent. In 1866, he moved to Palma to conduct the orchestra of the Teatre Principal. He founded the Orfeó Republicà Balear (1867), with which he disseminated the work of Clavé. In the 1870s, after his success at the Moscow Imperial Theater and the opera of St. Petersburg, he began a tour of several German theaters. He returned to Barcelona in 1875 to conduct the first performance of Verqui's Requiem at Liceu and, between 1881 and 1884, he was appointed director of the Teatro Real in Madrid. Later, he moved to Buenos Aires to conduct a Spanish compañía lírica, but the project failed. There, he was appointed professor at the Thibaud Piazzini conservatory and conducted popular concerts. His output includes stage music (one of them dedicated to Alexandre II of Russia), ballets, choral music and sacred music. He is remembered for his association with Claverian societies –he was an honorary member of the Associació Claveriana– and for his contribution to the dissemination of Spanish zarzuelas and operas.