Julián Orbón

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Spanish Cuban composer, born in Avilés (Spain) on 7th August 1925 and died in Miami (Florida) on 21st May 1991. He lived in Cuba from 1940 to 1960, moving to Mexico.

He was taught by Aaron Copland in 1946, after having been awarded a grant to study at the Tanglewood Music Center. With Tres versiones sinfónicas (Three Symphonic Versions) he also won in 1954 the Juan de Landaeta Prize at the International Festival of Caracas (Venezuela). In 1958 he received another grant from the Koussevitzky Foundation; thanks to that he was able to compose the Concerto grosso for string quartet and orchestra, one of his most important compositions, with influences of his teacher Aaron Copland and the Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů.

It is worthwhile to indicate that he contributed to the adaptation of the famous Guantanamera tune with the verses of the Cuban poet José Martí.