Jordi Alcaraz

Jordi Alcaraz i Solé was born in Sant Feliu de Llobregat on 10 June 1943 and died in Barcelona on 11 June 1985. He was a Catalan organist and composer whose work reflects the search for a new musical language characteristic of the 1960s.

He studied organ with Torrent, Rilling, Germani, J. Reiberger and Peeters, and composition with Bernhardt Rovenstrunck, graduating with the highest distinction. In 1973 he became organ professor at the Barcelona Conservatory. He completed his training at courses in Santiago de Compostela, Granada, Darmstadt and the Seminar of American Studies in Salzburg (1976). The Accademia Chigiana in Siena awarded him its Diploma of Merit, and he received prizes from the Fundación Española de Formación Profesional and from Barcelona City Council. At the international composition competitions Ávila and Pau Casals he won awards for his pieces for organ and for choir, respectively.

His experimentation, rigorous and methodical, is balanced by a desire to communicate. In addition to his musical output, he wrote the book El órgano (Lleida, 1998). His works include Recyclage and I Ching for orchestra, Salve Regina and Encara for choir, and Simetries and Lineal in the chamber repertoire.