Oscar Esplà

Óscar Esplà was born in Alicante in 1886. His training was very through, he completed a doctoral degree in Philosophy and later a degree in Industrial engineering. After which he decided to dedicate himself full time to music. Musically, he was complete the more important part of his training in Germany and Belgium. His music often contained strong references to his home land the "Levantina" region of Spain (Valencia) but often treated with a "German" technique. During the Second Spanish Republic (1931-1936), he held a teaching position at the Conservatory of Madrid and in 1954 became a member of the Saint Fernando Academy of Bellas Artes. He was the founder of the Óscar Esplà competition for composers and was great friend and mentor of the contemporary composers of the time, such as Rodrigo, Montsalvatge, Mompou and others. He was author of a series of essays, Arte and Musicality, Musical Moments, and Contemporary Music, among others.