Biography

Composer Octavio Vazquez "(...) displays the energy, drive and sensitivity of a Franz Liszt, with a content and style of his own; unique among 30ish musicians, he writes and plays with an extraordinary romantic passion that is less a shadow of a past century than a burning torch for the next", was the reaction of Mark Greenfest, from the 'New Music Connoisseur', after the premiere of his Galician Folk Dances in New York in June 2003.

Widely recognized as one of the leading composers of his generation, Mr. Vazquez has written extensively in every genre, from concert music to movie soundtracks. His music has been performed throughout Europe and the US and broadcast nationally and internationally on both radio and TV. Mr. Vazquez has been a winner of the II Andres Gaos International Competition, the IV Prokofiev International Competition and the Barrie Foundation Fellowship, among others.

Highlights this season include the world premiere of his symphony Styx, commissioned by the Galicia Symphony Orchestra. In addition, Mr. Vazquez has been appointed composer-in-residence of the Chi Mei Symphony Orchestra in Taiwan, and of the Guernica Project (guernicaproject.org), an ambitious international project that seeks to increase global awareness of the need for peace and international cooperation.

Last season saw the world premieres of Hermes, an orchestral piece commissioned by the Real Filharmonia de Galicia, the String Quartet No. 3, at the Merkin Hall in New York, and a trio for flute, bassoon and piano, commissioned by Musical Chairs Chamber Ensemble Inc., of which Mr. Vazquez was composer-in-residence.

The 2003-04 season included the world premiere at Carnegie Hall of his Viola and Piano Sonata No. 2, by soloists Viacheslav Dinerchtein and Eldar Nebolsin, and the world premiere of his Trio for Flute, Viola and Cello, by soloists Jennifer Bleick, Nicholas Cords and Daniel Gaisford, also at Carnegie Hall. In May the Galicia Symphony Orchestra presented his award-winning Memento at the Cologne Music Triennale.

Premieres the 2002-03 season included his Galician Folk Dances, commissioned by the New York State Council on the Arts and Humanities, and his song cycle for voice and piano trio to poems by Ilia Galán, Tempestad, Amanece, both in New York and in Madrid. In April his Sonata for Viola and Piano No. 2 was one of the winning compositions at the Prokofiev International Festival in St. Petersburg.

The previous season (2001-02) saw the premieres of his Piano Trio and his Nineteen Preludes for Piano, as well the US premieres of his Sonata for Viola and Piano No. 1 and his Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 2. Also that year he performed his Lieder to Poems by Ilia Galán at Carnegie Hall with soprano Ana Taglianetti, invited by the III Chopin International Festival.

Following his 2001 New York debut recital with soprano Ewa Izykowska, performing his own lieder, in May of the same year Mr. Vazquez appeared as a conductor with the Cosmopolitan Symphony Orchestra and pianist Julian Gargiulo, in a program including Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2.

A graduate from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Madrid, the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, and the University of Maryland, College Park, Dr. Vazquez currently resides in New York City.