José Luis Turina

José Luis Turina, born in Madrid in 1952, is one of the Spanish composers of his generation whose career has been devoted both to composition and to teaching. He first combined his musical studies at the Conservatory of Barcelona with philosophy and literature at the University of Barcelona. From 1973 he continued at the Madrid Conservatory, where his composition and instrumentation teacher was José Olmedo.

His training continued with García Abril, Bernaola and Rodolfo Halffter, and he completed his studies at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome as a pupil of Donatoni. Early recognition came quickly: in 1981 he won first prize at the Valencia Conservatory's international composition competition with Punto de encuentro, and in 1985 he received the Premio Reina Sofía for Ocnos. Between 1981 and 1985 he taught harmony, counterpoint and composition at the Cuenca Conservatory, where he also served as director. That same year he moved to the Madrid Conservatory as a harmony teacher and, in 1992, to the Arturo Soria Conservatory in the capital.

He also taught in the United States between 1989 and 1992, at Colgate University, the State University in Oneonta, Cornell University and Hunter College in New York. His works have been performed at numerous national and international festivals and competitions, particularly in cities such as Cuenca, Geneva, Granada, Lisbon, London, Metz, Porto, La Rochelle, Seville, Strasbourg, Vicenza and Zagreb.

Turina upholds an abstract conception of music that stands on its own, although he accepts the metalanguage that arises from the need to explain individual creation. His output rests on a constant quest that unites inherited tradition with personal innovation, and on a dialectic between expression and structure. Among his titles are the chamber opera Ligazón, based on Valle-Inclán, the Violin Concerto of 1987 and the Piano Concerto of 1997, as well as vocal pieces such as Exequias and Musica ex lingua. His legacy lies in this synthesis of academic craft and personal voice, and in his role as teacher to several generations of composers.