November begins for us with sad news: Manuel Castillo, one of Andalucia’s most interesting and personal 20th-century composers, has died. Born in Seville in 1930, he studied music in his home town, Madrid and Paris, under Conrado del Campo and Nadia Boulanger, among others.

A highly accomplished piano player, he also wrote outstanding compositions for the organ and voice. It is, however, his three symphonies, together with the three concertos for piano and orchestra, that are the essential works in an oeuvre totalling 150 compositions. Both the symphonies and the concertos are part of the Manuel Castillo's catalogue published by Tritó Edicions.

He taught for forty years at the Seville Music Conservatory, also holding the post of director. Today, this institution bears the composer’s name. Winner of numerous awards, his highest recognition was the Spanish National Music Prize, which he won on two occasions, 1959 and 1990.