Born in Girona in 1912, Xavier Montsalvatge began his musical training at an early age in Barcelona under masters such as Morera, Millet, Toldrà, Costa and Pahissa. At the time, Barcelona was alive with musical activity and he was able to hear the works o Falla, Stravinsky and Schonberg played by the composers themselves and by musicians of the stature of Rubinstein, Landowska and Casals as well as Diaghilev's Russian ballets. Before long, he found that musical composition attracted him, and he wrote his first piece, Tres Impromptus, which won the Patxot Foundation's Rabell prize. Since then, he has composed over one hundred works covering the whole range of musical genres from symphony to opera and from ballet to cinema, which the most prestigious musician of the day have been happy to include in their repertoire.

Alongside his artistic work, he has been employed as music critic by such prestigious publications as Destino magazine and La Vanguardia newspaper and has been professor of compositions at Barcelona's Superior Conservatory. His work as an artist has earned him various honors including an Honorary Doctorate from the Barcelona University, the Sant Jordi Cross and the Premi d'Honor de la Música Catalana. Furthermore, he is a member of the Reial Academia de Belles Arts de Sant Jordi and has recently been accepted as a permanent member of Madrid's Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando.

Photo: Josep Capellà

Mònica Pagés