Pedro Alcalde facts for kids

Pedro Alcalde (born in Barcelona in 1959) is a talented Spanish musician. He is a composer, which means he writes music. He is also a conductor, leading orchestras, and a pianist. Plus, he's a musicologist, someone who studies music history and theory.

Who is Pedro Alcalde?

Pedro Alcalde was born in Barcelona, Spain. When he was young, he learned to play the piano, flute, and violin. He also studied how to write music. He went to the University of Barcelona and finished his studies in Philosophy in 1982. Later, he continued his education in New York at Columbia University. He also earned a special degree in Musicology (the study of music) and Philosophy from a university in Berlin in 1988. His studies included a deep look into Mozart’s famous opera, Don Giovanni.

Learning to Lead an Orchestra

From 1988 to 1990, Pedro Alcalde studied how to conduct an orchestra. He learned this at the Vienna University of Music and Performing Arts. After that, he worked at the Vienna State Opera. He was an assistant to a very famous conductor named Claudio Abbado. He helped with big opera shows like Don Giovanni and Le nozze di Figaro.

He also worked with the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra as an assistant conductor. From 1991 to 1996, he was an assistant conductor for the Berlin Philharmonic with Claudio Abbado. Since then, he has traveled the world, both composing new music and conducting orchestras.

Conducting for Dance and Film

In 1998, Pedro Alcalde conducted the first performance of Prokofiev’s ballet Romeo and Juliet. This was at the Royal Theatre in Madrid. The dance was created by Nacho Duato for the Spanish National Dance Company (CND).

From 1998 to 2010, Alcalde was the music director for the CND. He conducted many different types of music, from old classical pieces by Vivaldi to modern works by Stravinsky.

He also worked on movies! For actor John Malkovich's first film as a director, The Dancer Upstairs, Alcalde conducted the music. This music was written by Alberto Iglesias. The film's music won an award at the 2002 Venice Film Festival.

In 2005, Alcalde conducted the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra at the Sónar Festival. He worked with electronic music artists like Richie Hawtin. Since 2015, he has conducted performances for the Berlin State Ballet every year at the Berlin State Opera.

Composing New Music

Pedro Alcalde is also a very active composer. He mostly writes music for dance, theater, and films. For the past 20 years, he has focused a lot on creating music for modern dance. He has worked closely with choreographer Nacho Duato. Together, they have created twelve ballets that have been performed all over the world.

One of his recent works for the Berlin State Ballet is called Erde. It uses acoustic, electronic, and electroacoustic sounds. It premiered in Berlin in April 2017. In 2019, his work Douces/Julia premiered in Germany. In 2022, Morgen; was performed in Spain. This piece was based on a poem by Dorothy Parker.

He also composed Infinito for the theater group La Fura dels Baus. This was a big show with an orchestra and recorded sounds, based on the old story of Prometheus. It premiered in 2005. In 2013, he wrote music for a multimedia opera called El Somni. This project was also an exhibition, a book, and a movie. The film was shown at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival in 2014.

Where His Music is Heard

Pedro Alcalde's works have been performed in many famous places around the world. These include the Berlin State Opera, the Royal Theater in Madrid, the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, the New York City Center, and the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona.

He is also a founding member of the Nonoprojekt in Berlin. This project helps inspire young people to think about freedom, democracy, and tolerance through music. He has also taught music at universities in Barcelona and Madrid. Since 2019, he teaches about Sound Installation at the University of Barcelona.

Selected Works

Here are some of the musical pieces Pedro Alcalde has created:

Music for Dance

• Herrumbre (2004, performed by Spanish National Dance Company CND, Staatsballett Berlin, and Greek National Opera Ballet)
• Diecisiete (2005, for Spanish National Dance Company CND)
• Alas (2006, for Spanish National Dance Company CND)
• Hevel (2007, for Spanish National Dance Company CND)
• Cobalto (2009, for Spanish National Dance Company CND)
• Jardín Infinito (2010, for Spanish National Dance Company CND)
• Rust (2013, for Martha Graham Dance Company)
• Depak Ine Final Scene (2014, for Martha Graham Dance Company)
• Static Time (2015, for Berlin State Ballet)
• Erde (2017, for Berlin State Ballet)
• Deuces/Julia (2019, for Gauthier Dance)
• Morgen; (2022, for Spanish National Dance Company CND)

Music for Theatre

• ∞ - Infinito (La Fura dels Baus, 2005)

Music for Film

• Circuit (2010)
• La Distancia (2014)
• Je te tiens (2019)

Sound Installations

• FM (Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art MACBA, 2003)
• Immersion (Maritime Museum of Barcelona MMB, 2009)
• Limestone (Limestone Caves, Montserrat Mountain, Barcelona, 2009)
• Maragall´s Room (Palau Moja, Barcelona / National Library of Spain, Madrid, 2011)
• El Somni - Act 2 (Centre d'Art Santa Mònica, Barcelona, 2013)
• Vall d'Hebron (Hospital Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, 2018)
• Paraíso (IN)habitado (Ayuntamiento de Madrid, Madrid, 2018)
• L'Ange du Méridien (Sónar+D - CCCB, Barcelona, 2020)

See also

In Spanish: Pedro Alcalde para niños