Tomás Marco facts for kids

Tomás Marco Aragón (born 12 September 1942) is a Spanish composer and writer about music. He has created many different types of musical pieces and has also written books and articles explaining music to others.

Life and Work

Tomás Marco was born in Madrid, the capital of Spain. He started learning to play the violin and compose music in 1958. At the same time, he also studied law and earned his law degree in 1963.

In 1962, he began attending special music courses called the Darmstadt New Music Summer School in Germany. Here, he learned from famous composers like Bruno Maderna, Pierre Boulez, and Karlheinz Stockhausen. These courses were very important for his musical style. In 1967, he even worked with Stockhausen on a group music project called Ensemble.

Tomás Marco's music style was influenced by the "Darmstadt School." This was a group of composers who explored new and experimental sounds. For example, his piece Transformación (1974) for 16 singers sounds a bit like György Ligeti's Lux aeterna (1966). Both pieces use special singing techniques.

Around 1970, Tomás Marco started using older, more traditional music forms like the symphony and concerto. He also began including parts of older music in his new compositions. For instance, his Cello Concerto (1976) uses ideas from Manuel de Falla and Pablo Casals. His Fourth and Fifth Symphonies even include a quote from Richard Strauss's famous piece Also sprach Zarathustra. He also wrote many important pieces for the guitar, including three concertos.

Besides composing, Tomás Marco has had a big impact on Spanish music in many ways. He worked as a music critic for newspapers and magazines. In 1967, he helped start Sonda, a magazine about modern music. He also worked for the national radio, taught music history at a university, and taught composition at the Royal Conservatory in Madrid. He led the Spanish National Orchestra for several years and founded the Alicante International Contemporary Music Festival. From 1996 to 1999, he was the Director General of the National Institute for Music and the Performing Arts, which is a very important role in Spanish culture.

Honours

Tomás Marco has received many awards for his work:

• He won the Spanish Premio Nacional de Música (National Music Prize) twice, in 1969 and 2002.
• In 1969, he won the Prix d’Honneur at the VI Bienalle de Paris.
• He also received prizes from the Gaudeamus Foundation in the Netherlands in 1969 and 1971.
• His piece Autodafé won the Golden Harp Prize in 1975.
• He received the UNESCO Young Composers’ Prize in 1976 at the International Rostrum of Composers.
• For his work in broadcasting, he won the Premio Nacional de Radiodifusión in 1975.
• In 1993, he became a member of the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, a very respected arts academy.
• In 1998, the Universidad Complutense de Madrid gave him an honorary doctorate (Doctor Honoris Causa).

Compositions

Tomás Marco has written a lot of music for different instruments and groups. Here are some examples of his works:

Theatre

• Anna Blume (1967): For two speakers, instruments, and tape.
• Jabberwocky (1966): For an actress and instruments, based on a poem by Lewis Carroll.
• Llanto por Ignacio Sánchez Mejías (1985): A ballet with orchestra.
• El caballero de la triste figura (2004): A chamber opera based on Don Quijote.
• El viaje circular (2002): A one-act opera based on Homer's Odyssey.

Film Music

• Módulo '74 (1974): Music for a film.
• Temporalidad interna (1970): Music for a film.

Choral and Vocal Music

• América (2000): A cantata (a piece for voices and instruments).
• Apocalypsis (1976): A cantata for a speaker, choir, and instruments.
• Misa básica (1978): A mass for choir.
• Transfiguración (1974): For 16 solo voices.

Orchestral Music

• Angelus novus (Mahleriana) (1971): For orchestra, inspired by Gustav Mahler.
• Concerto for Cello and Orchestra (1976).
• Concerto for Violin and Orchestra (1971).
• Concierto del agua (1993): For guitar and orchestra.
• Symphony No. 1 "Aralar" (1976).
• Symphony No. 8 "Gaia's Dance" (2008).
• Triple Concerto (1987): For violin, cello, piano, and orchestra.

Chamber Music

Chamber music is written for a small group of instruments.

• Albor (1970): For flute, clarinet, violin, cello, and piano.
• Dúo concertante no. 1 (1974): For two guitars.
• String Quartet No. 1 ("Aura") (1968).
• String Quartet No. 7 ("Primus Circumdediste me") (2018).
• Miró (1993): For eight cellos.

Solo Instrumental Music

This music is written for just one instrument.

Guitar

• Albayalde (1965).
• Sonata de fuego (1990).
• Tarots (1991): 22 pieces for guitar.

Percussion

• Floreal: música celestial II (1969): For solo percussion.

Keyboard & Accordion

• Astrolabio (1969–70): For organ.
• Sonata acueducto (1999): For accordion.
• Sonata de Vesperia (1977): For piano.

Strings

• Reloj interior (1971): For contrabass.

Winds

• Octavário (1967): For solo flute.

See also

In Spanish: Tomás Marco para niños