Alejandro Viñao
Encyclopedia
Alejandro Viñao is an Argentinian
composer
currently living in the United Kingdom
.
Viñao studied musical composition
in Buenos Aires
with the composer Jacobo Fischer http://www.ciweb.com.ar/Ficher/index.php. In 1976 he was awarded a British Council
scholarship to study in London
at the Royal College of Music
and later on at the City University where he was awarded a Ph.D in composition. He has been a British citizen since 1994, holding double nationality.
During the 1980's he worked at IRCAM
in Paris where he developed a particular interest in sound interpolation (sound morphing) a technique that has featured in many of his compositions such as Chant D'Ailleurs which won the Prix Ars Electronica
in 1992.
Viñao has written orchestral and chamber music
for the concert hall, opera
and music-theatre, film score
s, music for multimedia events and rock and popular music. He has also created and presented programmes for the BBC, radio 3. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/hearandnow/pip/m6ch6.
He has written a number of percussion works, such as Khan Variations
, which have become very well known in the US, Europe and Japan.
Viñao lives in Crouch End
, North London
with his wife, actress Lachele Carl
, and their son.
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
currently living in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Viñao studied musical composition
Musical composition
Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
with the composer Jacobo Fischer http://www.ciweb.com.ar/Ficher/index.php. In 1976 he was awarded a British Council
British Council
The British Council is a United Kingdom-based organisation specialising in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is registered as a charity both in England and Wales, and in Scotland...
scholarship to study in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
at the Royal College of Music
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...
and later on at the City University where he was awarded a Ph.D in composition. He has been a British citizen since 1994, holding double nationality.
During the 1980's he worked at IRCAM
IRCAM
IRCAM is a European institute for science about music and sound and avant garde electro-acoustical art music. It is situated next to, and is organizationally linked with, the Centre Pompidou in Paris...
in Paris where he developed a particular interest in sound interpolation (sound morphing) a technique that has featured in many of his compositions such as Chant D'Ailleurs which won the Prix Ars Electronica
Prix Ars Electronica
The Prix Ars Electronica is one of the most important yearly prizes in the field of electronic and interactive art, computer animation, digital culture and music...
in 1992.
Viñao has written orchestral and chamber music
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
for the concert hall, opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
and music-theatre, film score
Film score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film, forming part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects...
s, music for multimedia events and rock and popular music. He has also created and presented programmes for the BBC, radio 3. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/hearandnow/pip/m6ch6.
He has written a number of percussion works, such as Khan Variations
Khan Variations
Khan VariationsKhan Variations is a musical composition for 5 octave marimba written by Alejandro Viñao in 2001. The piece is structured as an uninterrupted set of 8 rhythmic variations lasting 10 minutes and is considered one of the most challenging works in the marimba repertoire, both from the...
, which have become very well known in the US, Europe and Japan.
Viñao lives in Crouch End
Crouch End
Crouch End is an area of north London, in the London Borough of Haringey.- Location :Crouch End is in a valley between Harringay to the east, Hornsey, Muswell Hill and Wood Green to the north, Finsbury Park and Archway to the south and Highgate to the west...
, North London
North London
North London is the northern part of London, England. It is an imprecise description and the area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes. Common to these definitions is that it includes districts located north of the River Thames and is used in comparison with South...
with his wife, actress Lachele Carl
Lachele Carl
Lachele Carl is an American actress based in England.She has appeared in Grange Hill, Batman and Alien Autopsy.She also plays the recurring character of American news anchor Trinity Wells in Doctor Who, appearing in the episodes "Aliens of London", "World War Three", "The Christmas Invasion", "The...
, and their son.
Prizes and awards
- 1976 to 1979 - British CouncilBritish CouncilThe British Council is a United Kingdom-based organisation specialising in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is registered as a charity both in England and Wales, and in Scotland...
Scholarship. - 1977 - Cobbette Prize in composition, Royal College of MusicRoyal College of MusicThe Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...
, London. - 1979 - 2nd prize at International Competition for Electro-Acoustic Music Bourges, France. http://www.imeb.net/IMEB_v2/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=28&Itemid=72
- 1981 - 1st prize at International Competition for Electro-Acoustic Music Bourges, France.
- 1984 - 1st Prize at The International Rostrum, of the Unesco, World Music Council.
- 1988 - Mention, Prix Ars ElectronicaPrix Ars ElectronicaThe Prix Ars Electronica is one of the most important yearly prizes in the field of electronic and interactive art, computer animation, digital culture and music...
, Austria. - 1989 - Distinction, Prix Ars Electronica, Austria. http://90.146.8.18/en/archives/prix_archive/prix_year_cat.asp?iProjectID=3&iCategoryID=2546
- 1990 - 2nd prize Sony Radio Academy AwardsSony Radio Academy AwardsThe Sony Radio Academy Awards , started in 1983, are some of the most prestigious awards in the British radio industry. They are run by ZAFER Associates in association with the Radio Academy...
, UK - 1992 - 2nd prize Sony Radio Academy Awards, UK
- 1992 - Euphonie d'Or, Bourges, France.http://www.imeb.net/IMEB_v2/?option=com_content&task=view&id=559&Itemid=153
- 1992 - 1st Prize Golden Nica, Prix Ars ElectronicaPrix Ars ElectronicaThe Prix Ars Electronica is one of the most important yearly prizes in the field of electronic and interactive art, computer animation, digital culture and music...
, Austria. http://90.146.8.18/en/archives/prix_archive/prix_year_cat.asp?iProjectID=6&iCategoryID=2546 - 1994 - Honorary Mention, Prix Ars Electronica, Austria.
- 1994 - Guggenheim fellowshipGuggenheim FellowshipGuggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
in composition, USA. http://www.gf.org/fellows/15199-alejandro-vinao - 1996 - Research & Development Grant, Arts Council of Great Britain.
- 1996 - Honorary Mention, Prix Ars ElectronicaPrix Ars ElectronicaThe Prix Ars Electronica is one of the most important yearly prizes in the field of electronic and interactive art, computer animation, digital culture and music...
, Austria. http://90.146.8.18/en/archives/prix_archive/prix_year_cat.asp?iProjectID=10&iCategoryID=2546 - 2004 - Arts and Science research Fellowship, Music Department, University of CambridgeUniversity of CambridgeThe University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, UK - 2006 - Leverhulme TrustLeverhulme TrustThe Leverhulme Trust was established in 1925 under the will of the First Viscount Leverhulme, William Hesketh Lever, with the instruction that its resources should be used to support "scholarships for the purposes of research and education."...
Artist in Residence at University of Cambridge Computer LaboratoryUniversity of Cambridge Computer LaboratoryThe Computer Laboratory is the computer science department of the University of Cambridge. As of 2007, it employs 35 academic staff, 25 support staff, 35 affiliated research staff, and about 155 research students...
, UK - 2007- Roger D. Moore Distinguished Visitor, University of TorontoUniversity of TorontoThe University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
, Canada.
Recordings
- Son Entero/Triple Concerto - WERGO (WER 2019-50) http://iub.naxosmusiclibrary.com/preview/catalogueinfo.asp?catID=WER2019-50&path=1
- Toccata del Mago - Computer Music Currents 11 - WERGO (WER 20312) http://www.wergo.de/shop/de_DE/products/show,93267.html
- Hildegard’s Dream - MusidiscMusidiscMusidisc is a French record label that provides music and home video distribution. It was founded in 1927, and purchased by Universal Music Group in 2004.-History:...
(MU 244942) - Percussive Counterpoint , label: CAG records
- Voice Stories - ALBEDO (Catalog no.: ALBCD012)
- United Instruments of Lucilin , FUGA LIBERA, FUG 501
- Vinao, Parmerud etc "Sthlm Elektronmusikfestival 1981" - Fylkingen Records - FYLP 1026 -http://www.fylkingen.se/fyrec
- Miniatures 1 - Cherry Red Records - http://www.cherryred.co.uk
External links
- Alejandro Viñao
- PRIX ARS ELECTRONICA http://90.146.8.18/en/archives/prix_archive/prix_projekt.asp?iProjectID=2509
- Discourses in Music: Volume 6 Number 2 - An interview with Alejandro Viñao
- TOKAFI: 15 questions to Alejandro Viñao
- Pytheas Center for Contemporary Music