Íñigo Pírfano is a Spanish conductor, born in

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Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, in 1973.

Life

Education

He studied musical theory, piano and harmony while reading for the BA degree in

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

at the

Complutense University The Complutense University of Madrid ( es, Universidad Complutense de Madrid; UCM, links=no, ''Universidad de Madrid'', ''Universidad Central de Madrid''; la, Universitas Complutensis Matritensis, links=no) is a public research university loca ...

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

. From September 1997, Pirfano studied at Mozarteum University in

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

(

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

) "Musikleitung" (orchestral, choral and operatic conducting) with Professor Karl Kamper; "Korrepetition" with Professor Wolfgang Niessner and Piano with Professor Karl Wagner. Finally, he took a Conducting Diploma at the Mozarteum, gaining an ''Auszeichnung'', or distinction. In June 1997, Pirfano conducted the Extraordinary Concert in the Schloss Frohnburg in

Mozarteum Mozarteum University Salzburg (German: ''Universität Mozarteum Salzburg'') is one of three affiliated but separate (it is actually a state university) entities under the “Mozarteum” moniker in Salzburg municipality; the International Moz ...

. There, he interpreted works by

Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century clas ...

and Falla and premiered works by young composers of the Mozarteum's 'Seminar für neue Musik'. He then attended a Masterclass with

Sir Colin Davis Sir Colin Rex Davis (25 September 1927 – 14 April 2013) was an English conductor, known for his association with the London Symphony Orchestra, having first conducted it in 1959. His repertoire was broad, but among the composers with whom h ...

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

and with Karl-Heinz Bloemeke and

Kurt Masur Kurt Masur (18 July 1927 – 19 December 2015) was a German conductor. Called "one of the last old-style maestros", he directed many of the principal orchestras of his era. He had a long career as the Kapellmeister of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Or ...

Detmold Detmold () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, with a population of . It was the capital of the small Principality of Lippe from 1468 until 1918 and then of the Free State of Lippe until 1947. Today it is the administrative center of ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Orchestral conductor

Pirfano's path as an orchestral conductor led him through

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and

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

and

, particularly the cities of

San Sebastián San Sebastian, officially known as Donostia–San Sebastián (names in both local languages: ''Donostia'' () and ''San Sebastián'' ()) is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality located in the Basque Country (autonomous community), B ...

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

, and

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, where he conducted orchestras and chamber music groups such as the National Basque Orchestra, Bilbao Symphony Orchestra, Stettin Philharmonic Orchestra, Salzburger Frohnburg Ensemble, Dresdner Hochschulorchester Carl Maria von Weber, Orchestra of the Competition Jugend Musiziert (Germany), Orquestra Filharmónica de la Universitat de Valencia. He personally founded the Orquesta Académica de Madrid. In April 2002, he made his operatic debut with a production of

Manuel de Falla Manuel de Falla y Matheu (, 23 November 187614 November 1946) was an Andalusian Spanish composer and pianist. Along with Isaac Albéniz, Francisco Tárrega, and Enrique Granados, he was one of Spain's most important musicians of the first hal ...

's '' Retablo de Maese Pedro'' (Master Peter's Puppet Show), within the tribute given by the Spanish Institution ''Círculo de Bellas Artes'' to

Miguel de Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 Old Style and New Style dates, NS) was an Early Modern Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-emin ...

' character

Don Quixote is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of Wester ...

Composer

As a composer, in 1997, Pirfano composed, orchestrated and conducted the original soundtrack of the film '' El Sudor de los Ruiseñores'', which won him a nomination for Best Original Musical Score given by the Spanish Institution of Film Writers, of the 1998 edition. In 2000, he released '' Quatre Alcools'' for

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...

and

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

in the Spanish Theatre of the 'Círculo de Bellas Artes' in Madrid. In 2012 he was commissioned to compose the Fandango de Don Quixote, the official musical theme for the 400th anniversary Don Quixote of the Mancha by the Spanish state-owned company "Don Quijote de la Mancha 2005".

Writer

Iñigo published his first book in May 2012, ''Ebrietas. El poder de la belleza'' In 2013 he published his second book ''Inteligencia Musical

Awards

In 2012, Pirfano received the Young Leadership Award by the Spanish Fundación Rafael del Pino.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pirfano, Inigo 1973 births Living people Basque composers Spanish conductors (music) Male conductors (music) Spanish male composers 20th-century composers 20th-century conductors (music) 20th-century Spanish musicians 21st-century composers 21st-century conductors (music) 21st-century Spanish musicians Musicians from Bilbao Complutense University of Madrid alumni Mozarteum University Salzburg alumni 20th-century French male musicians 21st-century French male musicians