Claudio Prieto [1] is a Spanish composer. He was born in Muñeca de la Peña in the province of Palencia on the 24th November 1934. He began his musical career as a boy in the mid 20th century playing various musical instruments for the municipal band of Guardo. He moved to San Lorenzo de El Escorial when he was 16 years, where he began his education with the musicologist Samuel Rubio (an Augustinian clergyman).
In 1960 he obtained a Cultural exchange scholarship from the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs admitting him to the Advanced Course taught in the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome. Over the next three years, he studied under Goffredo Petrassi, Bruno Maderna and Boris Porena. After completing the training he received a Higher Diploma from the Academy and returned to Spain.
In 1967, he participated in the International Masterclass at Darmstadt (Germany) with among others, György Ligeti, Karlheinz Stockhausen and Earle Brown.
His professional career began in Madrid with the premier at the Ateneo Auditorium of his work 'Improvisation' for chamber ensemble. In 1969 his piece 'Solo a Solo', for flute and guitar, won him "Best Spanish wor for Young Musicians award” and thereby both national and international exposure and recognition. His biography has been written by Víctor Andrés Pliego under the title Claudio Prieto. Música, belleza y comunicación, (Music elegance and connection) published by the academic press Editorial Complutense of Madrid in 1994 (186 pages. ISBN 84-8048-104-8 )
In Guardo (Palencia) a secondary school carries his name (Instituto de Educación Secundaria or IES Claudio Prieto) [2] and there is information there (in Spanish) regarding his musical works, awards and activities which is compiled by various student work-groups. An exhaustive list of works and awards can also be found on the Spanish version of this article.