View source for Antón García Abril

[[File:A-467259-1239434675.jpeg.jpg|thumb|Antón García Abril. Photo sourced from Discogs]]
Antón García Abril (born 19 May 1933 in Teruel) is a [[:Category: Spain|Spanish]] composer and musician.<sup>[1]</sup>

== Biography ==
Between 1974 and 2003, he was the head of the department of Compositions and Musical Forms (Composicion y Formas Musicales) of the Real Conservatorio Superior de Música in Madrid, and in 1982 he was elected a member of the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in Madrid. In 1994, he was awarded Spain's Premio Nacional de Música for composition, and in 2008, he was also named a member of the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Carlos in Valencia.

== Works ==
Abril has composed as many orchestral works as he has chamber and vocal pieces, and he has composed music for movies and television series such as ''El Hombre y la Tierra'', ''Fortunata y Jacinta'', ''Anillos de oro'', ''El perro'', ''Segunda ensenanza'', ''Brigada Central'', ''Ramon y Cajal'', and C''ompuesta y sin novio''.

In 1966, he composed the soundtrack for the film Texas, Adios, a spaghetti western starring Franco Nero. Also, in 1969, he worked alongside Rafael Romero Marchent, a film director from Madrid, on the sound track of the movie ''Manos torpes'', another spaghetti western. He also composed the music for Amando de Ossorio's Blind Dead series of films, being ''La noche del terror ciego'' (1971), ''El Ataque de los muertos sin ojos'' (1973), ''El Buque maldito'' (1974), ''La Noche de las gaviotas'' (1975).

He composed the official hymn of the Cortes de Aragón, used by that government body since 1989. 

His concert works, predominantely symphonic in nature, strive to combine Spanish tradition with current vanguardist movements, although pending more towards tradition in recent years. His music has a melodic focus adorned with frequent rhythmic changes and a generally explosive orchestration.

[[File:A-467259-1244282429.jpeg.jpg|thumb|Antón García Abril. Photo sourced from Discogs]]
== Compositions ==
* 1969. Two songs about the text of Rafael Alberti (for voice and orchestra)
* 1972. Hemeroscopium (for orchestra)
* 1976. Concierto Aguediano (for guitar and orchestra)
* 1986. Concierto Mudejar (for guitar and orchestra)
* 1987. Vademecum (a collection of 12 pieces for the guitar)
* 1992. Divinas Palabras (opera after Ramón del Valle-Inclán, premiered 1997 with Plácido Domingo)
* 1994. Concierto (for piano and orchestra)
* 1996. Nocturnos de la Antequeruela (for piano and orchestra)
* 1999. Concierto de las tierras altas (for cello and orchestra)
* 2001. Concierto de la Malvarrosa (for flute, piano and strings)
* 2007. Alba de los caminos (for piano and string quintet)

<youtube> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpgLSLH3QgM </youtube>
== Music for films and television ==
Between 1956 and 1994, Anton Garcia Abril created more than 150 compositions for movies and television. He has provided sound tracks for the films:

* 1962. La muerte silba un blues
* 1964. La Chica Del Trebol
* 1966. Texas, Adios
* 1967. Maneater of Hydra
* 1967. The Cobra
* 1969. Manos torpes
* 1971. The Werewolf vs. The Vampire Woman
* 1971. Tombs of the Blind Dead
* 1972. Dr. Jekyll y el Hombre Lobo
* 1972. Pancho Villa
* 1973. Curse of the Devil
* 1973. Return of the Blind Dead
* 1974. The Loreley's Grasp
* 1974. The Ghost Galleon
* 1975. A Long Return
* 1975. Night of the Seagulls
* 1984. Los santos inocentes

He also created the sound tracks of the television series:

* 1980. Fortunata y Jacinta
* 1983. Anillos de oro
* 1986. Seguna ensenanza
* 1972. Los camioneros

== Honours ==
* Knight Grand Cross of the Civil Order of Alfonso X, the Wise (Kingdom of Spain, 16 December 2005).<sup>[2]</sup>

== References == 
# [https://www.spainculture.us/city/washington-dc/hilary-hahn-performs-anton-garcia-abril/ "Hilary Hahn performs Antón García Abril | A Spanish cultural event in Washington, D.C. on 10/28/2016"]. SPAIN arts & culture is the official website for the promotion of Spain's arts and culture in the USA. Retrieved 2019-09-21.
# [http://boe.es/boe/dias/2005/12/17/pdfs/A41390-41390.pdf Boletín Oficial del Estado]

== External links ==
* [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0006094/ Antón García Abril] on IMDb
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yq9Tl0pIzyE Theme of the television series Fortunata and Jacinta (1980) on YouTube]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9l7vkgzZSug Concert Mudéjar 2nd. Mov. Andante] on YouTube

''Text adapted and translated from the Spanish Wikipedia''
[[Category: Spanish Profiles]]