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CLAUDIO PRIETO
Claudio Prieto was born on 24 November 1934 in Muñeca de la Peña, a small town in the Montaña Palentina area. His enthusiasm for music was obvious from an early age: he used to accompany a group of musicians when they played in local festivals, playing the drums and starting what would be his first contact with musical literature. He soon learned to play the trumpet and joined the Guardo Municipal Band, while at the same time studying with his director, Luis Guzmán Rubio.
Prieto quickly discovered that the chances of broadening his musical horizons would be minimal if he stayed in his home town and so decided to move to Madrid, specifically to El Escorial, when he was just 16 years old.
From 1960 to 1963 he received a Cultural Exchange scholarship from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which allowed him to attend the advanced courses taught in the Santa Cecilia National Academy in Rome. In 1967 he took part in the International Masterclass in Darmstadt, Germany.
After returning to Spain his career was marked by important prizes, such as the Italian Radio Television Prize in 1972, the National Show Syndicate Prize in 1973, the Oscar Esplá International Prize in 1974, the Sebastián Durón Prize in 1975, the Manuel de Fallas International Prize in 1976, the Gold Harp Trophy at the 5th Spanish Composition Contest in 1979 and the "Reina Sofía" International Prize in 1984.
Prieto is a master of all the elements which make up the language of both classical and contemporary music. His rigorous training has allowed him to investigate all kinds of possibilities, not only on the level of formal structure, but also at the level of timbre and rhythm.
He has worked with the complete range of instrumental groups, instrumental ensembles, orchestral choirs and soloists.
Prieto likes to actively participate in as many events as possible in the Spanish music world. This interest has led to his collaboration with initiatives which deal with current issues which concern both music lovers and professionals. He was a member of the Ministry of Culture Music Committee from 1993 to 1995. At the start of 1996 he was chosen to be Vice President of the Iberoamerican Music Council.
He has been a speaker at numerous national and international conferences and seminars and has given lectures at various Spanish universities. Moreover, he regularly collaborates with some periodicals and monograph publications.
In the last few years he has received countless prizes and honors for the quality of his music and for his artistic career, including the Castilla-León Prize for the Arts, the National "Cultura Viva" Prize, the Prize for the Best Author of Classical Music, and the "Ignacio Morales Nieva" National Music Prize.
In 2011 he was named an "Honorary Member" of the Valencia Academy of Music. |
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