Antón García Abril OAXS (19 May 1933 – 17 March 2021) was a Spanish composer and musician. He composed many classical orchestral works, chamber and vocal pieces, as well as over 150 scores for film and television.

Biography

Between 1974 and 2003, he was the head of the department of Compositions and Musical Forms (Composición y Formas Musicales) of the

Madrid Royal Conservatory The Madrid Royal Conservatory ( es, Real Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid) is a music college in Madrid, Spain. History The Royal Conservatory of Music was founded on July 15, 1830, by royal decree, and was originally located in Moste ...

, and in 1982 he was elected a member of the

Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando The Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando (RABASF; ), located on the Calle de Alcalá in the heart of Madrid, currently functions as a museum and gallery. A public law corporation, it is integrated together with other Spanish royal acade ...

in Madrid. In 1994, he was awarded Spain's

Premio Nacional de Música The National Music Award ( es, Premio Nacional de Música, links=no) is one of Spain's annual National Awards by the Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: * Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) *Mini ...

for composition, and in 2008, he was also named a member of the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Carlos in

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

. He died on 17 March 2021, at the age of 87 from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...

during the

COVID-19 pandemic in Spain The COVID-19 pandemic in Spain has resulted in confirmed cases of COVID-19 and deaths. The virus was first confirmed to have spread to Spain on 31 January 2020, when a German tourist tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in La Gomera, Canary Island ...

Works

García Abril has composed as many orchestral works as he has chamber and vocal pieces, and he has composed music for films and television series such as '' El hombre y la Tierra'', '' Fortunata y Jacinta'', '' Anillos de oro'', '' Segunda enseñanza'', '' Brigada Central'', '' Ramón y Cajal'', '' La ciudad no es para mí'' and '' Compuesta y sin novio''. In 1966, he composed the soundtrack for the film '' Texas, Adios,'' a

Spaghetti Western The Spaghetti Western is a broad subgenre of Western films produced in Europe. It emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's film-making style and international box-office success. The term was used by foreign critics because most o ...

starring

Franco Nero Francesco Clemente Giuseppe Sparanero (born 23 November 1941), known professionally as Franco Nero, is an Italian actor, producer, and director. His breakthrough role was as the title character in the Spaghetti Western film '' Django'' (1966), ...

. Also, in 1969, he worked alongside

Rafael Romero Marchent Rafael Romero Marchent (3 May 1926 – 13 February 2020) was a Spanish director, screenwriter and actor. Life and career Born in Madrid, the son of the author Joaquín Romero Marchent Gómez de Avellaneda, he started his career as an actor, mai ...

, a film director from Madrid, on the soundtrack of the movie '' Awkward Hands'', another Spaghetti Western. He also composed the music for

Amando de Ossorio Amando de Ossorio (6 April 1918 – 13 January 2001) was one of the foremost Spanish horror film directors during the European horror film surge in the 1970s, known especially for his "Blind Dead" tetralogy. Biography De Ossorio directed a sho ...

's ''Blind Dead'' series of films, being '' Tombs of the Blind Dead'' (1972), ''

Return of the Blind Dead ''Return of the Blind Dead'', also known as ''The Return of the Evil Dead'' and ''El ataque de los muertos sin ojos'' (literal translation: ''Attack of the Eyeless Dead''), is a 1973 Spanish horror film written and directed by Amando de Ossorio. T ...

'' (1973), '' The Ghost Galleon'' (1974) and ''

Night of the Seagulls ''Night of the Seagulls'' (Original Spanish: ''La noche de las gaviotas'', also known as ''Don't Go Out at Night'', and ''Night of the Death Cult'') is a 1975 Spanish horror film written and directed by Amando de Ossorio. The film is the fourth a ...

'' (1975).

Compositions

* 1969. Twelve songs to texts by

Rafael Alberti Rafael Alberti Merello (16 December 1902 – 28 October 1999) was a Spanish poet, a member of the Generation of '27. He is considered one of the greatest literary figures of the so-called ''Silver Age'' of Spanish Literature, and he won numero ...

(for voice and orchestra) * 1972. '' Hemeroscopium'' (for orchestra) * 1976. ''Concierto aguediano'' (for guitar and orchestra) * 1985. ''Evocaciones'' (for solo guitar) * 1986. ''Concierto mudéjar'' (for guitar and orchestra) * 1987. '' Vademecum'' (a collection of 12 pieces for the guitar) * 1992. '' Divinas palabras'' (opera after

Ramón del Valle-Inclán Ramón María del Valle-Inclán y de la Peña (in Vilanova de Arousa, Galicia, Spain, 28 October 1866 – Santiago de Compostela, 5 January 1936) was a Spanish dramatist, novelist and member of the Spanish Generation of 98. He is considered p ...

, premiered 1997 with

Plácido Domingo José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French ...

) * 1994. ''Concierto'' (for piano and orchestra) * 1996. '' Nocturnos de la Antequeruela'' (for piano and orchestra) * 1999. '' Concierto de las tierras altas'' (for cello and orchestra) * 2001. '' Concierto de la Malvarrosa'' (for flute, piano and strings) * 2007. '' Alba de los caminos'' (for piano and string quintet) * 2012. ''Cantos de Ordesa'', Concerto for viola and orchestra

Music for films and television

Between 1956 and 1994, Antón García Abril created more than 150 compositions for movies and television. He has provided soundtracks for the films: * 1962. '' La muerte silba un blues'' * 1964. '' La chica del trébol'' * 1965 '' La corrida'' (Documentary short) * 1965 '' Un vampiro para dos'' * 1965 '' El tímido'' * 1965 '' El cálido verano del Sr. Rodríguez'' * 1966. '' La ciudad no es para mí'' * 1966. '' Texas, Adios'' * 1967. ''

Maneater of Hydra ''Maneater of Hydra'' is a Spanish–German co-production released in 1967 directed by American expatriate Mel Welles. The alternate titles include ''La isla de la muerte'', ''Island of the Doomed'' and ''The Blood Suckers'' (U.K. title). The hor ...

'' * 1967. '' The Cobra'' * 1967. ''

Sor Citroën ''Sor Citroën'', or ''Sor Citroen'', is a 1967 Spanish comedy film directed by Pedro Lazaga and starring Gracita Morales as Sister Tomasa, a nun who drives a Citroën 2CV. Plot A community of nuns who run an orphanage for girls decides to g ...

'' * 1969. '' Awkward Hands'' * 1971. '' The Werewolf vs. The Vampire Woman'' * 1972. '' Tombs of the Blind Dead'' * 1972. '' Dr. Jekyll y el Hombre Lobo'' * 1972. ''

Pancho Villa Francisco "Pancho" Villa (, Orozco rebelled in March 1912, both for Madero's continuing failure to enact land reform and because he felt insufficiently rewarded for his role in bringing the new president to power. At the request of Madero's c ...

'' * 1973. '' Curse of the Devil'' * 1973. ''

'' * 1974. '' The Loreley's Grasp'' * 1974. '' The Ghost Galleon'' * 1975. ''

A Long Return ''A Long Return'', also known by the title ''Largo Retorno'' in Spain, is a 1975 Spanish romantic film, directed by Pedro Lazaga. Plot A vibrant young college student, Anna (Lynne Frederick), catches eye of architect, David Ortega ( Mark Burns) ...

'' * 1975. ''

'' * 1984. ''

Los santos inocentes ''Los santos '' or ''The Holy Innocents'' is a Spanish drama film directed by Mario Camus, based on famous Miguel Delibes' novel of the same title. The movie stars Alfredo Landa and Francisco Rabal, who both won the Best Actor Award at the 1984 C ...

'' * 1987. ''

Monsignor Quixote ''Monsignor Quixote'' is a novel by Graham Greene, published in 1982. The book is a pastiche of the classic 1605 and 1615 Spanish novel ''Don Quixote'' by Miguel de Cervantes with many moments of comedy, but also offers reflection on matters suc ...

'' He also created the soundtracks of the television series: * 1974. '' El hombre y la Tierra'' * 1980. '' Fortunata y Jacinta'' * 1983. '' Anillos de oro'' * 1986. '' Segunda enseñanza'' * 1972. '' Los camioneros''

Honours

* Knight Grand Cross of the

Civil Order of Alfonso X, the Wise The Civil Order of Alfonso X the Wise ( es, Orden Civil de Alfonso X el Sabio) is a Spanish civil order established in 1939, recognising activities in the fields of education, science, culture, higher education and research. The order was create ...

(Kingdom of Spain, 16 December 2005).Boletín Oficial del Estado
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References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia Abril, Anton 1933 births 2021 deaths People from Teruel Academics of the Madrid Royal Conservatory Madrid Royal Conservatory alumni Spanish classical composers Spanish male classical composers Spanish film score composers Male film score composers Recipients of the Civil Order of Alfonso X, the Wise Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain