Leonardo Balada Ibáñez (born September 22, 1933, in Barcelona,
Catalonia, Spain) is a Spanish American classical composer, who is
noted for his operas and orchestral works. After studying piano at the
Conservatori Superior de Música del Liceu in Barcelona, Balada
emigrated to the United States in 1956 to study at the New York
College of Music on scholarship. He left that institution for the
Juilliard School in New York, from which he graduated in 1960. He
studied composition with Vincent Persichetti, Alexandre Tansman and
Aaron Copland, and conducting with Igor Markevitch. In 1981, he became
a naturalized citizen of the United States. Since 1970 he has been
teaching at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania.Balada's works from the early 1960s display some of the
characteristics of Neoclassicism, but he was ultimately dissatisfied
with this technique, and in 1966 began to move towards a more
avant-garde style, producing works such as Guernica. Balada felt a
need for a change again in 1975, his work from then onward being
characterized by the combination of folk dance rhythms with the
avant-garde techniques of the previous period. Harmonically, Balada's
mature period work displays a combination of the tonality of folk
music with atonality. Compositions representative of this period
include Homage to Sarasate and Homage to Casals. No matter the
stylistic phase, Balada's music features extensive rhythmic variance
and unique orchestration, often in service of a haunting
atmosphere.Some of Balada's works have been recorded by Naxos Records.
Catalonia, Spain) is a Spanish American classical composer, who is
noted for his operas and orchestral works. After studying piano at the
Conservatori Superior de Música del Liceu in Barcelona, Balada
emigrated to the United States in 1956 to study at the New York
College of Music on scholarship. He left that institution for the
Juilliard School in New York, from which he graduated in 1960. He
studied composition with Vincent Persichetti, Alexandre Tansman and
Aaron Copland, and conducting with Igor Markevitch. In 1981, he became
a naturalized citizen of the United States. Since 1970 he has been
teaching at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania.Balada's works from the early 1960s display some of the
characteristics of Neoclassicism, but he was ultimately dissatisfied
with this technique, and in 1966 began to move towards a more
avant-garde style, producing works such as Guernica. Balada felt a
need for a change again in 1975, his work from then onward being
characterized by the combination of folk dance rhythms with the
avant-garde techniques of the previous period. Harmonically, Balada's
mature period work displays a combination of the tonality of folk
music with atonality. Compositions representative of this period
include Homage to Sarasate and Homage to Casals. No matter the
stylistic phase, Balada's music features extensive rhythmic variance
and unique orchestration, often in service of a haunting
atmosphere.Some of Balada's works have been recorded by Naxos Records.
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