Gustavo Díaz-Jerez (born 27 February 1970) is a Spanish pianist and composer.

Biography

Gustavo Díaz-Jerez was born on 27 February 1970 in

Tenerife Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...

. Díaz-Jerez studied piano with J. A. Rodriguez at the Conservatorio Superior of

Santa Cruz de Tenerife Santa Cruz de Tenerife (; locally ), commonly abbreviated as Santa Cruz, is a city, the capital of the island of Tenerife, Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and one of the capitals of the Canary Islands, along with Las Palmas. Santa Cruz has a ...

, and subsequently with Solomon Mikowsky at

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music a ...

in New York City. He has performed extensively throughout Europe, Asia, South America, the UK and the US. He has collaborated with conductors such as Ivan Fischer, Victor Pablo, Gunther Herbig, Adrian Leaper, José R. Encinar, etc., with orchestras such as the

Budapest Festival Orchestra The Budapest Festival Orchestra ( Hungarian: ''Budapesti Fesztiválzenekar'') was formed in 1983 by Iván Fischer and Zoltán Kocsis, with musicians "drawn from the cream of Hungary's younger players", as described by ''The Times''. Its aim was t ...

, as well as the major Spanish orchestras (Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Galicia, Nacional de Cataluña, Castilla y León, Sinfónica de Madrid). He has been invited to play at various international music festivals, including the Festival Internacional de Canarias, Festival de La Roque-d'Anthéron, Quincena Musical Donostiarra,

Festival Internacional de Santander The Festival Internacional de Santander (FIS) is one of Spain's oldest music festivals. Each year, during the month of August it presents two to three operas as well as performances from visiting ballet and theatre Theatre or theater is a ...

, among others. He studied composition with Giampaolo Bracali and Ludmila Ulehla at Manhattan School of Music. His compositional language may be defined as “ algorithmic spectralism”, merging elements of the spectralist movement ( Grisey, Murail, Radulescu, etc.), in which timbre plays a fundamental role, with processes derived from mathematical disciplines such as

cellular automata A cellular automaton (pl. cellular automata, abbrev. CA) is a discrete model of computation studied in automata theory. Cellular automata are also called cellular spaces, tessellation automata, homogeneous structures, cellular structures, tessel ...

L-systems An L-system or Lindenmayer system is a wikt:parallel, parallel rewriting system and a type of formal grammar. An L-system consists of an alphabet of symbols that can be used to make string (computer science), strings, a collection of Production ...

fractal In mathematics, a fractal is a Shape, geometric shape containing detailed structure at arbitrarily small scales, usually having a fractal dimension strictly exceeding the topological dimension. Many fractals appear similar at various scale ...

genetic algorithms In computer science and operations research, a genetic algorithm (GA) is a metaheuristic inspired by the process of natural selection that belongs to the larger class of evolutionary algorithms (EA). Genetic algorithms are commonly used to g ...

number theory Number theory is a branch of pure mathematics devoted primarily to the study of the integers and arithmetic functions. Number theorists study prime numbers as well as the properties of mathematical objects constructed from integers (for example ...

, spectrum analysis,

additive synthesis Additive synthesis is a sound synthesis technique that creates timbre by adding sine waves together. The timbre of musical instruments can be considered in the light of Fourier series, Fourier theory to consist of multiple harmonic or inharmoni ...

psychoacoustics Psychoacoustics is the branch of psychophysics involving the scientific study of the perception of sound by the human auditory system. It is the branch of science studying the psychological responses associated with sound including noise, speech, ...

, etc. Needless to say, the use of the computer is indispensable, usually producing results in the form of electronic music. However, his main interest is not in

electroacoustics Acoustical engineering (also known as acoustic engineering) is the branch of engineering dealing with sound and vibration. It includes the application of acoustics, the science of sound and vibration, in technology. Acoustical engineers are typical ...

, but to “transcribe” these results using traditional instruments. This requires a very careful and elaborate process of quantization of melodic, rhythmic and timbre elements, so it can be adequately performed by human players. These transformations, however, leave intact the essence of the original process. His works are currently published b
Composers Edition
A programmer as well, he has written the PC

freeware Freeware is software, often proprietary, that is distributed at no monetary cost to the end user. There is no agreed-upon set of rights, license, or EULA that defines ''freeware'' unambiguously; every publisher defines its own rules for the free ...

progra
FractMus
which explores

and generative processes for music composition. His articles on the subject have been published by specialized magazines such a
Electronic Musician
and MIT's Leonardo Music Journal. Since 2002, he is a professor of piano at the Centro Superior de Música del País Vasco. He is also a member of the Real Academia Canaria de Bellas Artes. An enthusiast of

virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a Simulation, simulated experience that employs 3D near-eye displays and pose tracking to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video gam ...

, he has created the first YouTub
channel for classical music
exclusively in VR.

Compositions

;Orchestral *''Ricercare: D. Schostakovitch in Memoriam'' for viola d'amore and string orchestra *'' Ymarxa'' for orchestra *'' Aranfaybo'' for chamber orchestra *''Havan'', concertino for

viola d'amore The viola d'amore (; ) is a 7- or 6- stringed musical instrument with additional sympathetic strings used chiefly in the baroque period. It is played under the chin in the same manner as the violin. Structure and sound The viola d'amore shar ...

and chamber orchestra *'' Ayssuragan'', symphonic poem for clarinet and orchestra *'' Tajogaite'', concerto for piano and orchestra ;Chamber music *''Trio'' for violin, cello and piano *''Sidhe'', for violin, viola, cello and piano four-hands *Sonata for violin and piano *Sonata for viola and piano (2003) *''Partita'' for

, piano, vibraphone, marimba and multi percussion *''Ricercare: D. Schostakovitch in Memoriam'' for viola d'amore and piano *''Dhyana'' for viola d'amore and piano *''Akhkhazu'' for alto saxophone and piano *''Plerion'' for trumpet and piano *''Tiamat'' for violin, viola, cello, double bass, and piano *''Three Pieces'' for clarinet and piano *''Tephra'' for violin, viola, cello, and piano *''Olokun'' for marimba duo ;Solo instrumental *''Gehenna'' for piano solo *''Phase Space'' for viola d'amore *''Nous'' for solo flute * ''Metaludios'', Book I *''Metaludios'', Book II *''Metaludios'', Book III *''Metaludios'', Book IV *''Metaludios'', Book V ;Vocal *''Zenith'', for violin, viola, cello, flute, harp and voice *''Songs of Garajonay'', for voice and piano *''Nudo de luz'', for voice sextet ;Opera * ''La casa imaginaria''

Personal life

He married Belinda Sánchez Mozo and their son is Pablo Díaz Sánchez.

References

External links

Personal website (in Spanish and English)Fractal Music PressFractMus website (in English)Youtube channel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Diaz-Jerez, Gustavo 1970 births Living people Spanish male classical pianists Spanish composers Spanish male composers Manhattan School of Music alumni Maria Canals International Music Competition prize-winners People from Tenerife 21st-century Spanish classical pianists 21st-century Spanish male musicians