Xavier Benguerel i Godó

Catalan composer Xavier Benguerel i Godó was born in Barcelona on 9 February 1931, the son of writer Xavier Benguerel i Llobet. After the Civil War, he lived in exile with his parents in Santiago, Chile from 1940 until returning to Barcelona in 1954. His first teacher was Cristòfor Taltabull, although he was generally considered self-taught as a composer.

He was influenced by Bartok and Stravinsky, and first became known with his 1959 Cantata d'Amic i Amat, which incorporated serial procedures, and was performed at an international festival in Cologne in 1960.

He wrote instrumental, chamber, concertos and symphonic music, cantatas and oratorio. He won the Luigi Dallapiccola Prize in 1977 and was awarded the Creu de Sant Jordi in 2014.

His opera Jo, Dalí tells the story of the Catalan artist Salvador Dalí and his wife Gala.

He was also known for his Llibre Vermell (Red Book), based on fourteenth century songs and dances in the Montserrat Codex, the so-called 'Red Book of Montserrat'.

Xavier Benguerel i Godó died in Barcelona on 10 August 2017, aged eighty-six.

 

 

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