Victor Varela
Encyclopedia
Víctor Varela is a Venezuelan-Swedish composer based in Gothenburg
. His compositions include works for orchestra, vocal and instrumental chamber music, with electronics and computer devices.
where he studied musical composition, electronic music and piano at the National Conservatory of Music Juan José Landaeta, obtaining a degree in composition in 1987. Afterwards, he studied composition at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam
(Composition Prize in 1993) and electronic music at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague
. Among his teachers are Antonio Mastrogiovanni, Eduardo Kusnir, Ton de Leeuw
, Louis Andriessen
, Theo Loevendie
, John Coolidge Adams
and Trevor Wishart
.
In Venezuela he received the National Composition Award and the Caracas City Municipal Award. In 1996 his Second String Quartet was selected to represent Venezuela at the ISCM Festival in Copenhagen, and in 2005 his Axle-asimétrica II was selected to represent Sweden at the ISCM festival in Zagreb. He has written works commissioned by the Teresa Carreño Opera Theatre, the Venezuelan Society for Electronic Music, the Swedish Arts Grants Committee, the Swedish Arts Council, Caracas Ensemble, Nova Musica Ensemble, STIM, the Stockholm Saxophone Quartet, Gageego!, Ars Nova, and Concerts Sweden.
Varela taught at the National Conservatory of Music J.J. Landaeta and at IUDEM, both in Caracas. He has also been a lecturer at the Universities Central de Venezuela, Simón Bolívar, Stanford, and Gothenburg.
Varela became a Swedish citizen in 2001.
Concertante
Instrumental solo
Chamber music
Vocal
Electronics
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
. His compositions include works for orchestra, vocal and instrumental chamber music, with electronics and computer devices.
Education
Varela was born in CaracasCaracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
where he studied musical composition, electronic music and piano at the National Conservatory of Music Juan José Landaeta, obtaining a degree in composition in 1987. Afterwards, he studied composition at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam
Conservatorium van Amsterdam
The Conservatorium van Amsterdam is a Dutch academy of music located in Amsterdam. This school is the music division of the Amsterdamse Hogeschool voor de Kunsten, the city's vocational university of arts...
(Composition Prize in 1993) and electronic music at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague
Royal Conservatory of The Hague
The Royal Conservatory of The Hague is a conservatorium of music, providing higher education in music and dance, it is located in The Hague, Netherlands.-The Conservatory:...
. Among his teachers are Antonio Mastrogiovanni, Eduardo Kusnir, Ton de Leeuw
Ton De Leeuw
Antonius Wilhelmus Adrianus de Leeuw was a Dutch composer. He was known for his experiments with microtonality....
, Louis Andriessen
Louis Andriessen
Louis Andriessen is a Dutch composer and pianist based in Amsterdam. He teaches composition at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague...
, Theo Loevendie
Theo Loevendie
Theo Loevendie is a Dutch composer and clarinet player.Loevendie studied composition and clarinet at the Conservatoire of Amsterdam. Initially he concentrated on jazz music. As off 1968 he also wrote concert music, among which operas, concertos and chamber music...
, John Coolidge Adams
John Coolidge Adams
John Coolidge Adams is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer with strong roots in minimalism. His best-known works include Short Ride in a Fast Machine , On the Transmigration of Souls , a choral piece commemorating the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks , and Shaker...
and Trevor Wishart
Trevor Wishart
Trevor Wishart is an English composer, based in York. Wishart has contributed to composing with digital audio media, both fixed and interactive...
.
Career
Varela's music has been performed at festivals and events in major cities worldwide, including festivals like ISCM World Music Days, San Juan’s Biennial of Contemporary Music, Caracas Latin American Music Festival, Inter American Music and Dance Festival, Green Umbrella Series, Stockholm New Music, and Gothenburg Art Sounds.In Venezuela he received the National Composition Award and the Caracas City Municipal Award. In 1996 his Second String Quartet was selected to represent Venezuela at the ISCM Festival in Copenhagen, and in 2005 his Axle-asimétrica II was selected to represent Sweden at the ISCM festival in Zagreb. He has written works commissioned by the Teresa Carreño Opera Theatre, the Venezuelan Society for Electronic Music, the Swedish Arts Grants Committee, the Swedish Arts Council, Caracas Ensemble, Nova Musica Ensemble, STIM, the Stockholm Saxophone Quartet, Gageego!, Ars Nova, and Concerts Sweden.
Varela taught at the National Conservatory of Music J.J. Landaeta and at IUDEM, both in Caracas. He has also been a lecturer at the Universities Central de Venezuela, Simón Bolívar, Stanford, and Gothenburg.
Varela became a Swedish citizen in 2001.
Selected works
Orchestral- El Cántico de Khronos for full orchestra (1987)
- Two articulations for chamber orchestra (1992)
Concertante
- Axle-Asimétrica I for cello soloist and chamber orchestra (1997–98)
- Syntax for flute, oboe soloists and chamber orchestra (2005)
Instrumental solo
- Archipiélago for organ (2002)
- Batacumbele for bass clarinetBass clarinetThe bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B , but it plays notes an octave below the soprano B clarinet...
(2000) - Crystals for clarinet (2000)
- Luna en refracción for flute (2001)
- Otoño-Occidente for piano (1994–95)
- Jeux de dispersion for piano (2007)
- Sabines Spiralis for piccolo (1995–96)
- Viola pomposa for viola (2006)
Chamber music
- Axle-Asimétrica II for harp, vibraphoneVibraphoneThe vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the struck idiophone subfamily of the percussion family....
and marimbaMarimbaThe marimba is a musical instrument in the percussion family. It consists of a set of wooden keys or bars with resonators. The bars are struck with mallets to produce musical tones. The keys are arranged as those of a piano, with the accidentals raised vertically and overlapping the natural keys ...
(1997) - Claro/ Obscuro for bass clarinet and harpsichordHarpsichordA harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...
(1996) - Equinox for saxophone quartet (2002–03)
- In between silences for trombone and percussion player (2003–04)
- Miró-epsilon for alto recorder and marimba (1996–97)
- Second String QuartetString quartetA string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group...
(1994) - Canciones de solitud y utopía for flute soloist and ensemble (2004)
- à trois for violin, French horn and piano (2005)
- Online for bass clarinet and organ (2005)
Vocal
- Parola lontana for female voice and ensemble (1998–99)
- La fraîcheur de la dernière vêprée for mezzo-soprano and percussion player (2001)
- Calligrammes for soprano and ensemble (2001)
- Canto III for mixed choir a cappellaA cappellaA cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
(2006)
Electronics
- Praeludium I for oboe, live electronics and tape (1988)
- Omaggio a Cortázar for mezzo-soprano & computer (1991–92)
- Logarítmica for percussion player and magnetic tape (1994)