Carles

Composer, pianist and conductor. He studied piano at the Conservatori del Liceu (Barcelona) and from 1954 with Magda Tagliaferro in Paris and with Harry Datymer in Switzerland. In 1961, he began his performing career. In 1968, he premiered Concert Irregular, based on a text by Joan Brossa and dedicated to Joan Miró. In 1968, he moved to the USA where he got in touch with the North American musical avant-garde, minimalism and figures such as John Cage. In 1976, together with Josep M. Mestres Quadreny, he founded the Grup Instrumental Català, devoted to the relationship between music creation and audiences. He devoted himself to composing music for art cinema, such as that by film director Pere Portabella. In 1987, he created the Carles Santos Company, creating shows of great expressive power, such as La Pantera imperial (1996) and Ricardo and Elena (2000). He is considered one of the key figures of the Catalan musical avant-garde of the late 20th and early 21st century, especially for his important stage music, but also for his music for piano, voice and piano and wind ensemble.