Paul Swan - Portrait of Joaquín Nin-Culmell, 1924

Joaquín María Nin-Culmell (5 September 190814 January 2004) was a Cuban-Spanish composer, internationally known concert pianist, and emeritus professor of music at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

Early life

Joaquín Nin-Culmell was born in Berlin, Germany, the youngest child of

Joaquín Nin Joaquín Nin y Castellanos (29 September 1879, Havana – 24 October 1949, Havana) was a Cuban pianist and composer. Nin was the father of Anaïs Nin. Biography He was son of the Catalan writer Joaquin Nin Tudó and Àngela Castellanos Perdom ...

, a Cuban pianist and composer of

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

Spanish descent, and Rosa Culmell, a classically trained Cuban singer of French descent. After his parents separated, his mother moved Nin-Culmell, his sister Anaïs and brother Thorvald, to New York City, where they lived for nine years. At age fifteen, Nin-Culmell and his family moved to Europe where he attended the

Schola Cantorum The Schola Cantorum de Paris is a private conservatory in Paris. It was founded in 1894 by Charles Bordes, Alexandre Guilmant and Vincent d'Indy as a counterbalance to the Paris Conservatoire's emphasis on opera. History La Schola was founded i ...

and the

Paris Conservatoire The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

, receiving a first prize in music composition there in 1934. He was a student of

Paul Dukas Paul Abraham Dukas ( or ; 1 October 1865 – 17 May 1935) was a French composer, critic, scholar and teacher. A studious man of retiring personality, he was intensely self-critical, having abandoned and destroyed many of his compositions. His b ...

and also studied in the early 1930s with

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 ...

, Spain's foremost composer, focusing on harmony, counterpoint and fugue, as well as musical composition.

Personal life

Nin-Culmell was a closet homosexual and lived with a male partner later in life.

Career

In 1939, Nin-Culmell moved to the United States. He taught at

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all ...

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

for two years before joining the music department of

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a col ...

in Williamstown,

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

(where

Stephen Sondheim Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March 22, 1930November 26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. One of the most important figures in twentieth-century musical theater, Sondheim is credited for having "reinvented the American musical" with sho ...

was one of his students). He stayed at Williams for a decade, before joining the faculty at UC Berkeley in 1950. While at

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California * George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer ...

, he conducted the University of California Symphony Orchestra and appeared as a pianist with numerous musical groups in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

. In 1952, he performed as soloist in his own Concerto in C major for piano and orchestra with the

San Francisco Symphony The San Francisco Symphony (SFS), founded in 1911, is an American orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980 the orchestra has been resident at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall in the city's Hayes Valley neighborhood. The San Fr ...

, under the direction of

Pierre Monteux Pierre Benjamin Monteux (; 4 April 18751 July 1964) was a French (later American) conductor. After violin and viola studies, and a decade as an orchestral player and occasional conductor, he began to receive regular conducting engagements in ...

, and was the symphony's guest conductor in March 1953. His compositions include ''Cuban Folk Songs for mixed chorus'', ''Catalonian Folk Songs for soprano and piano'', and ''Eight Variations on a Theme by Gaspar Sanz'' for orchestra. Over time, his musical themes shifted from a regional sensibility to the religious. A commission from France resulted in the ''Symphony of Mysteries'' for organ and choir. In 1971, he composed a Mass for St. Mary's Cathedral in San Francisco. Throughout his career, Nin-Culmell performed concerts in France, Italy, England, Switzerland, Cuba, Spain and Denmark, and was a member of many organizations: the International Society for Contemporary Music and the Composers' Forum, the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando in Madrid (as was his pianist/composer father, Joaquin Nin), the Academy of Fine Arts of Sant Jordi in Barcelona, and the

French Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...

. Aside from his musical activities, Nin-Culmell also found time to contribute prefaces to his sister

Anaïs Nin Angela Anaïs Juana Antolina Rosa Edelmira Nin y Culmell (February 11, 1903 – January 14, 1977; , ) was a French-born American diarist, essayist, novelist, and writer of short stories and erotica. Born to Cuban parents in France, Nin was the d ...

's four-volume ''Early Diaries''. In 1974, Nin-Culmell retired from UC Berkeley. He continued to compose and perform, as well as mentoring many young artists and writers in the area, including the future Publisher and Managing Editor of ''

The Environmentalist ''The Environmentalist'' is a public interest, eco-investigative journalism website that reports on the geopolitics and science of climate change, general politics, sustainable living, business impact and the history of affected regions. Founding ...

'', Janet Ritz, whose parents lived across the street from Nin-Culmell.

Later years

Nin-Culmell continued composing into old age. In Spain, working with the cast for an opera he had written in 2001, he suffered a stroke. The event affected his eyesight and caused him to cut back on his composing and performing schedule. On Christmas night, 2003, Nin-Culmell suffered a heart attack. He died twenty days later, on 14 January 2004, at the age of 95, in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...

. He died on the 27th anniversary of the death of his sister Anaïs. His survivors include his niece, Gayle Nin Rosenkrantz of San Francisco, a nephew, Charles Thorvald Nin of

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

, their children and grandchildren, and the many musicians and composers Nin-Culmell mentored over the years. He was predeceased by his life partner, Theodore Reid.COMPOSER JOAQUIN NIN-CULMELL DIES
The personal papers of Joaquín Nin-Culmell are preserved in the

Biblioteca de Catalunya The Library of Catalonia ( ca, Biblioteca de Catalunya, ) is the Catalan national library, located in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The primary mission of the Library of Catalonia is to collect, preserve, and spread Catalan bibliographic producti ...

, the

University of California Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public land-grant research university in Riverside, California. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The main campus sits on in a suburban distr ...

and the

University of California (Berkeley) The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of Californi ...

References

External links

UC Berkeley Press Release Joaquín Nin-Culmell and José Joaquín Nin y Castellanos family papers. University of California, Riverside Library

Joaquin Nin-Culmell - Composer Page (Presto Classical)Columna Musica (US Distributor) MDT Records (UK) DiscographyPersonal papers of Joaquín Nin-Culmell in the Biblioteca de Catalunya
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nin-Culmell, Joaquin 1908 births 2004 deaths 20th-century classical pianists 20th-century Cuban musicians Cuban expatriates in Germany Cuban composers Cuban classical pianists Cuban expatriates in France Cuban expatriates in the United States Cuban people of Catalan descent Cuban people of Spanish descent Male classical pianists Musicians from Berlin Recipients of the Legion of Honour Middlebury College faculty Schola Cantorum de Paris alumni University of California, Berkeley faculty Williams College faculty Cuban emigrants to Spain