José Serebrier is a Uruguay

Uruguay

Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...

an conductor and composer. He married American soprano Carole Farley

Carole Farley

Carole Farley is an American soprano.Farley was born in Le Mars, Iowa. She married conductor José Serebrier in 1969.-Discography and Videography:...

 in 1969.

Youth

Serebrier was born in Montevideo

Montevideo

Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...

, and first conducted an orchestra at the age of eleven, while at school. The school orchestra toured the country, which meant he was able to notch up over one hundred performances within four years. He graduated from the Municipal School of Music in Montevideo at fifteen, having studied violin, solfege

Solfege

In music, solfège is a pedagogical solmization technique for the teaching of sight-singing in which each note of the score is sung to a special syllable, called a solfège syllable...

, and Latin American folklore. The National Orchestra, known as SODRE, announced a composition contest. Within two weeks, Serebrier had composed his "Legend of Faust" overture. It won. To his huge disappointment he was not allowed to conduct it, because he was only fifteen. Now he is one of the most recorded conductors of his generation.

Early success

He was awarded a United States State Department Fellowship, at the Curtis Institute of Music, with Vittorio Giannini. Later he studied with Aaron Copland

Aaron Copland

Aaron Copland was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later in his career a conductor of his own and other American music. He was instrumental in forging a distinctly American style of composition, and is often referred to as "the Dean of American Composers"...

 at Tanglewood. His first symphony, written at the age of 17, was premiered by Leopold Stokowski

Leopold Stokowski

Leopold Anthony Stokowski was a British-born, naturalised American orchestral conductor, well known for his free-hand performing style that spurned the traditional baton and for obtaining a characteristically sumptuous sound from many of the great orchestras he conducted.In America, Stokowski...

, who was 56 years older than he was. His New York conducting debut with the American Symphony Orchestra was at Carnegie Hall in 1965. Ives' Fourth Symphony

Symphony No. 4 (Ives)

The Symphony No. 4, S. 4 by Charles Ives was written between the years of 1910 and 1916. The symphony is notable for its multi-layered complexity - usually necessitating two conductors in performance - and for its over-sized orchestra...

 used to be considered so difficult that it was performed using three conductors at its premiere in 1965, almost 50 years after its composition. Stokowski, Serebrier and another conductor performed it this way. A few years later Serebrier conducted it on his own. It was his recording debut, and Hi-Fi News was euphoric. They wrote "Serebrier's recording of the Ives Symphony is one of the greatest accomplishments in the history of the Gramophone". The third symphony and his "Fantasia for strings" are amongst his most popular works. His style is energetic, colourful and melodic. One of his most unusual works is "Passacaglia and Perpetuum Mobile for accordion and chamber orchestra".

Serebrier does not normally use a baton to conduct. He last used a baton in 1975 when he was conducting Rodolfo Halffter

Rodolfo Halffter

Rodolfo Halffter Escriche was a Spanish composer.-Life:Born in Madrid, Spain into a family of musicians, he was the brother of Ernesto Halffter and uncle of Cristóbal Halffter, also composers. His father Ernesto Halffter Hein came from Königsberg, Germany...

's Proclamation for a Poor Easter on Easter Sunday; in his passion, the maestro accidentally stabbed himself through his hand, and continued conducting the 150 member chorus and brass percussion ensemble while clenching a handkerchief to stem the bleeding. He told reporters later, "I'm all right, and I will be conducting again; but without a baton." However, at present he has been seen using a baton at some recent concerts.

Awards

In 1976 he won the Ditson Conductor's Award

Ditson Conductor's Award

The Ditson Conductor's Award, established in 1945, is the oldest award honoring conductors for their commitment to the performance of American music. The US$5,000 purse endowed by the Alice M. Ditson Fund at Columbia University was increased in 1999 from US$1,000.Upon the death of Alice M. Ditson,...

 for commitment to American music. In 2004 he won the Best Classical Album of 2004

Latin Grammy Awards of 2004

The 5th Annual Latin Grammy Awards were held on Wednesday, September 1, 2004, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.This was the last telecast of the awards nationally in the United States in English with a CBS contract. Effective in 2005, the awards were announced in Spanish with an exclusive...

 for his own work, the "Carmen Symphony". This is possibly his best work. In 2005

Latin Grammy Awards of 2005

The 6th Annual Latin Grammy Awards were held in Los Angeles at the Shrine Auditorium on Thursday, November 3, 2005. It was the first ceremony to be broadcast by Univision in the United States. Ivan Lins was the big winner winning two awards including Album of the Year. He is the first and only...

 he was a nominee, for Glazunov's 5th Symphony. In 2006 he was a nominee for the Grammy Award for Best Surround Sound Album

Grammy Award for Best Surround Sound Album

The Grammy Award for "Best Surround Sound Album" was first awarded in 2005, as the first category in a new "Surround Sound" field.-Nominees::*An Evening With Dave Grusin...

. He has had very many conducting posts, including principal guest conductor of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra

Adelaide Symphony Orchestra

The Adelaide Symphony Orchestra was founded as a 17 player radio ensemble in 1936, in Adelaide, South Australia. The orchestra reformed in 1949 as the 55 member South Australian Symphony Orchestra. It reverted to its original and present title, the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, in late 1974, and...

 1982-83. He has won 8 Grammy Awards.

Selected compositions

• 1948 Sonata for violin solo, Op. 1
• 1952 Elegy for strings
• 1955 Sonata for Viola Alone
• 1957 Momento Psicológico for violin & orchestra
• 1957 Suite Canina (Canine Suite)
• 1958 Poema Elegaico for violin & orchestra
• 1958 Partita (Symphony No. 2)
• 1960 Fantasia for strings
• 1963 Variations on a Theme from Childhood, for trombone (or bassoon) & strings
• 1966 Passacaglia and Perpetuum Mobile, for accordion & chamber orchestra
• 1973 Seis por Television (6 for television)
• 1986 George and Muriel, for double bass, double bass choir & chorus
• 1991 Dorothy and Carmine!, for flute & strings
• 1999 Winterreise
• 2003 Symphony No. 3 for strings & soprano ("Symphonie mystique")

External links

• http://www.classical-composers.org/comp/serebrier
• Official Site
• Peermusic Classical: Jose Serebrier Composer's Publisher and Bio
• Discography
• http://www.naxos.com/composerinfo/5262.htm
• http://www.eroica.com/phoenix/jdt144-js.html