Leonardo Balada
Synopsis
Today we celebrate the birthday of Leonardo Balada, an American composer born in Barcelona on today\u2019s date in 1933. After studying at the Barcelona Conservatory, the 20-something composer came to New York on a musical scholarship.
Balada recalls his arrival as both a cultural and climatic shock: \u201cWhen I landed in New York \u2014 on a freezing day in 1956 \u2014 little did I know of the mental turmoil I would experience in the next few years. That city had become the focal point for the latest music and arts. New York shook my musically conservative upbringing to its roots.\u201d
Like most composers of his generation, Balada had to decide whether to follow the path of the abstract serialists who dominated music at that time or find his own path.
\u201cI felt a strong necessity to \u2026 look to the future and not be criticized as a reactionary,\u201d recalls Balada. \u201cHow could it be otherwise for a liberal young fellow brought up in Spain, opposed to Franco\u2019s conservatism?\u201d
With encouragement from great Spanish guitarist Narciso Yepes, Balada began to draw on his own imagination and cultural heritage, blending contemporary techniques with elements of a more traditional language, often infused with Spanish themes.
Music Played in Today's Program
Leonardo Balada (b. 1933): Concierto Magico; Eliot Fisk, guitar; Barcelona and Catalonia National Orchestra; Jose Serebrier, conductor; Naxos 8.555039