Ricardo Llorca facts for kids

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Ricardo Llorca (born in 1958 in Alicante, Spain) is a Spanish-American composer. He lives in New York City and has been there since 1988. Ricardo Llorca studied at the famous Juilliard School and has been a teacher there since 1995. He also works as a special composer for a dance company called Henning Rübsam's Sensedance and for NYOS (The New York Opera Society) since 2008.

Llorca has written many types of music, including operas like "Las Horas Vacías" (which means "The Empty Hours") and "Tres Sombreros de Copa" ("Three Top Hats"). He also composes music for orchestras, small groups of instruments (chamber music), choirs, theater, movies, and television. Ricardo Llorca often gets ideas for his music from his Spanish roots, mixing them with modern music styles.

Ricardo Llorca's Career

Helping Music Grow

Ricardo Llorca has worked to help people enjoy modern and classical music more. He has teamed up with many different groups and organizations. Since 2008, he has been a special composer and a leader at The New York Opera Society. He helps organize concerts and cultural events, finds sponsors, and chooses artists.

For example, through NYOS, he has helped put together Christmas Concerts at the Italian Embassy in Washington D.C. He has also organized small concerts at places like the Smithsonian Museum and the National Gallery in Washington D.C., the World Financial Center in New York City, and the United Nations. He has also arranged events in Chicago, Caracas, São Paulo, and Puerto Rico.

Since 1994, he has also helped plan music events for the Cultural Committee of the Queen Sofia Spanish Institute in New York City. He has organized concerts with many talented musicians there.

Ricardo Llorca's Music Style

Ricardo Llorca believes that composers often create music from their feelings and ideas, not just from strict rules. He tries to let his intuition guide him when he composes. He also works to make his music feel like one complete piece, rather than just different parts put together.

Music expert Rubén Jordán says that Ricardo Llorca's music is special because it has clear structures, but it also uses new ideas and traditional ways of composing. He adds that Llorca's music has a touch of "minimalism," which means every part of it is important and fresh.

Ricardo Llorca also writes the stories and words for some of his own musical works. For example, he wrote the lyrics for "The Dark Side" and "Tres Sombreros de Copa," and the original story for "Las Horas Vacías."

Important Musical Works

Ricardo Llorca's music has been enjoyed by audiences and praised by critics for many years. One of his early works, "The Dark Side," was first performed in 1993 in New York City.

Later, he created "Three Pieces for Piano and Orchestra," which was first played in Madrid in 1999. He also wrote "Concerto Italiano," a piece for flute, guitar, harpsichord, and string orchestra, which premiered in Madrid in 2002. Another important work is "Three Academic Pieces for Piano," first performed in New York City in 2000.

Other notable works include "Thermidor," for organ and symphony orchestra, which was first played in Madrid in 2014. "Borderline" is another piece commissioned by a Spanish music center.

His first opera, "Las Horas Vacías" ("The Empty Hours"), was first performed in 2007. This opera has traveled to many cities around the world, including Berlin, New York, and São Paulo. It was even performed on stage in Madrid in 2021.

His second opera is "Tres Sombreros de Copa" ("Three Top Hats"). This opera is based on a play by Miguel Mihura. It was first performed in São Paulo in 2017 and later in Madrid in 2019. Critics have said that this opera captures the "illusion, tenderness, absurdity, impossible love, indecision, brilliant madness" of the original play.

Awards

• "Richard Rogers Scholarship, 1992"
• Award "Virgen de la Almudena, 1999"
• "American Chamber Music Award, 1994"
• "John Simon Guggenheim Scholarship, 2001"

Recordings

• "Tres piezas para piano y orquesta" ("El Tiempo Malherido") /"RTVE Música"/ 2004
• "Concierto Italiano" /"Columna Música"/2005
• "Tres Piezas para Piano Académica" /Columna Música/2005 /RTVE Música /2005
• "The Dark Side"/Columna Música/2005
• "Las Horas Vacias - The Empty Hours" / Columna Música/ 2011
• "Handeliana"/ Naxos/ 2013

Music for Theatre, Cinema and Television

Ricardo Llorca has also composed music for plays, movies, and TV shows.

Theatre Music

Cinema Music

Documentary Music

See also

In Spanish: Ricardo Llorca para niños