Leonardo Balada

Leonardo Balada Ibáñez (born September 22, 1933) is a Spanish-American classical composer, who is noted for his operas and orchestral works.

Life Balada was born in Barcelona, Spain. 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, In 1981, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States. He taught at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania starting in 1970, and retired in 2020.

Works

Opera Hangman, Hangman!, chamber opera (1982) Zapata, opera (1984) Christopher Columbus, opera (1986) Death of Columbus, opera (1996) The Town of Greed, chamber opera (1997) (sequel to Hangman, Hangman!) Faust-bal, opera (2007) Resurrection of Columbus, opera (2013)

Orchestral Symphonies Symphony No. 1 Sinfonia en Negro, a homage to Martin Luther King (1968) Symphony No. 2 Cumbres, a short symphony for band (1972) Symphony No. 3 Steel Symphony (1972) Symphony No. 4 Lausanne (1992) Symphony No. 5 American (2003) Symphony No. 6 Symphony of Sorrows (2005) Guernica (1966) Homage to Sarasate (1975) Homage to Casals (1975) Sardana (1979) Quasi un Pasodoble (1981) Fantasias Sonoras (1987) Zapata: Images for Orchestra (1987) Columbus: Images for Orchestra (1991) Divertimentos, for string orchestra (1991) Celebracio (1992) Folk Dreams (1994-8) Passacaglia (2002) Prague Sinfonietta (2003)

Concertante Piano Piano Concerto No. 1 (1964) Piano Concerto No. 2 for piano, winds, and percussion (1974) Piano Concerto No. 3 (1999)

Violin Violin Concerto No. 1 (1982) Caprichos No. 2 (2004) Caprichos No. 3 (2005)

Viola Viola Concerto for viola and wind ensemble (2009–2010)

Cello Cello Concerto No. 1 for cello and nine players (1962) Cello Concerto No. 2 New Orleans (2001) Concerto for Three Cellos and Orchestra A German Concerto (2006)

Flute Morning Music for flute and orchestra (1994) Music for Flute and Orchestra (2000)

Clarinet Caprichos No. 7 (2009), Composed for and dedicated to Grup21; Peter Bacchus, artistic director - for clarinet and instrumental ensemble.

Guitar Guitar Concerto No. 1 (1965) Sinfonia Concertante for Guitar and Orchestra Persistencies (1974) Concerto for Four Guitars and Orchestra (1976) Concierto Mágico for guitar and orchestra (1997) Caprichos No. 1 (2003)

Others Concerto for Bandoneon and Orchestra (1970) Concertino for Castanets and Orchestra Three Anecdotes (1977) Music for Oboe and Orchestra Lament from the Cradle of the Earth (1993) Double Concerto for Oboe, Clarinet and Orchestra (2010)

Vocal/choral Maria Sabina (1969) La Moradas (1970) No-res (1974) Ponce de Leon, for narrator and orchestra (1974) Torquemada (1980) Thunderous Scenes (1992) Dionisio: In Memoriam (2001) Ebony Fantasies, cantata (2003)