Carmelo Alonso Bernaola (16 July 1929 – 5 June 2002) was a Spanish composer and clarinetist from the Basque Country. A member of the Generation of '51, he was one of the most influential composers in the Spanish musical scene of the second half of the 20th century. He composed more than 300 works in popular and academic forms including award-winning soundtracks for film and television, and is credited with introducing notions of chance to Spanish composition.
Carmelo Alonso Bernaola | |
|---|---|
 Monument to Carmelo Bernaola. | |
| Born | 16 July 1929 |
| Died | 5 June 2002 (aged 72) Madrid, Spain |
| Nationality | Spanish |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, clarinetist |
Early years edit
Bernaola was born in Otxandio, Biscay, Spain. His father was Amado Alonso and his mother was Rufina Bernaola.[1] He later chose to use his mother's surname, rather than his father's.[2] When he was 7 years old, he and his family moved to Medina de Pomar (Burgos), where he received his first musical education. In 1943 he moved to the city of Burgos, where he studied with professor Blanco. In 1948, to allow him to continue studies without interruption by military service he joined the local Engineers Academy Band, playing clarinet.
In 1951 he obtained a job as clarinetist with the Band of the Armed Forces' Ministry and he moved to Madrid, gaining the rank of Sergeant. There he met various future members of the Generation of '51 including Cristóbal Halffter, Manuel Angulo y Ángel Arteaga. Together they worked to find new sounds and musical directions.[3]
At Madrid Conservatory he studied counterpoint, fugue and composition with Massó, Calés Pina and Julio Gómez. In 1953 he got a new job as clarinettist with the Madrid City Band, and after winning various national prizes, he received a scholarship from the San Fernando Royal Academy of Fine Arts to continue his studies. In 1959 he obtained the Prix de Rome and moved to Italy where he lived from 1960-1962.
In Italy he studied composition with Goffredo Petrassi in the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and conducting with Sergiu Celibidache in the Accademia Chigiana di Siena. In addition, during this period he participated in the Darmstadt International Summer Courses under the direction of Bruno Maderna and Olivier Messiaen and there he met Pierre Boulez, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Luigi Nono and Ramón Barce.[4] In Spain, he completed his studies with André Jolivet and Alexander Tansman in Santiago de Compostela.
Maturity edit
In 1962 he returned to Madrid, where he taught harmony in Madrid Conservatory and played clarinet with the Municipal Symphony Band (Banda Sinfónica Municipal de Madrid). He was also a scholar at Valladolid University.
From 1981 until his retirement he was the director of the Conservatory of Vitoria-Gasteiz. He died in Madrid at the age of 72.
Works edit
In addition to the works indicated in this list, he composed the music for several plays, films and TV shows, though regarded these "functional" compositions as distinct from his "real" catalogue of vocal and instrumental works.[2] He is also the author or arranger of several popular songs (like the anthem of Athletic Bilbao).
- 1955: Trío-Sonatina (for oboe, clarinet and bassoon); Capricho (for clarinet and piano); Music for wind quintet.
- 1956: Three piano pieces.
- 1957: Suite-divertimento (piano and orchestra); Homenaje a Scarlatti (piano and orchestra); String Quartet No.1.
- 1958: Canción y danza (piano).
- 1959: Cuatro piezas infantiles (piano).
- 1960: Píccolo Concerto (violin and string ensemble); Constantes (voice, 3 clarinets and percussion).
- 1961: Superficie número 1 (chamber ensemble); Sinfonetta Progresiva (string ensemble).
- 1962: Espacios variados; Superficie número 2 (violoncello).
- 1963: Permutado (violin and guitar); Superficie número 4; Morfología sonora (piano).
- 1964: Mixturas.
- 1965: Heterofonías.
- 1966: Episodio (bass); Traza.
- 1967: Músicas de cámara.
- 1968: Continuo (piano).
- 1969: Polifonías.
- 1970: Oda für Marisa.
- 1971: Relatividades.
- 1972: Impulsos; Argia ezta ikusten.
- 1974: Sinfonía en do; Negaciones de San Pedro (bass and choir); Presencia (string quartet and piano); Per due.
- 1976: Superposiciones variables.; Así; Tiempos (violoncello and piano); Pieza I.
- 1977: Achode (clarinet quintet).
- 1978: Villanesca; Entrada; Juegos.
- 1979: A mi aire; Qué familia; Superficie número 5 (double bass).
- 1980: Variantes combinadas (chamber ensemble); Symphony No.2.; Galatea, Rocinante y Preciosa; Koankinteto; Variantes combinadas.
- 1981: Béla Bartók I; Tres piezas.
- 1984: Las siete palabras de Cristo en la Cruz.
- 1985: Variaciones concertantes (Espacios variados número 2).
- 1986: Nostálgico (piano and orchestra).
- 1987: Perpétuo, cántico, final (piano).
- 1988: El retablillo de Don Cristóbal; Per a Fréderic (trio).
- 1989: La Celestina.
- 1990: Symphony Nº 3.
- 1992: Scherzo.
- 2001: Fantasías.
Selected filmography edit
- The Wild Ones of San Gil Bridge (1966)
- Love and Other Solitudes (1969)
- A House Without Boundaries (1972)
- Gone to the Mountain (1974)
- Count Dracula's Great Love (1974)
- Sex o no sex (1974)
- Pim, pam, pum... ¡fuego! (1975)
References edit
- ^ Luis Mazorra Incera, "Carmelo Bernaola". Auñamendi Eusko Entziklopedia. [N.p.]: Fondo Bernardo Estornés Lasa, 2009.
- ^ a b Christiane Heine, "Alonso Bernaola, Carmelo", The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell (London: Macmillan Publishers, 2001).
- ^ Jesús Ruiz Mantilla (6 June 2002). "Muere Bernaola, músico de la modernidad". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 May 2024.
- ^ "Carmelo Bernaola". Biografías y Vidas. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
Further reading edit
- Santata, Amaia. 2012. "Réquiem por dos maestros: El mes de junio deja atrás el décimo aniversario de la muerte de Escudero y Bernaola" Deia: Noticias de Bizkaia (1 July). (Retrieved 20 November 2012).