El gat amb botes

Girona ( 1912 ) - Barcelona ( 2002 )

Xavier Montsalvatge is one of the most representitive names from the so-called "lost generation", between the one of the Spanish Republic and present-day composers. His work has had a large international projection and has become a reference point on the contemporary music scene. He first gained wide spread recognition in the 1940s with a set of songs called Cinco Canciones Negras (1945); they mark the beginning of a Post-Nationalistic period that later evolved into his so-called "Antilles style" featuring West Indian/Carribean stylistic traits. This is one of the common denominators in works like the Cuarteto Indiano (1951). The Concierto Breve (1953) for piano and orchestra points to the beginning of more abstract forms. The influence of Impressionism is present in the-Sonatine pour Ivette (1960)- or the use of serial-related techniques in the following works: Cinco Invocaciones al Crucificado (1969), Laberinto (1970) for orquestra, and Son...