Biography
Claudia Montero composed works deeply informed by South American traditional idioms and earned repeated acclaim at the Latin Grammy Awards in the United States. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on June 25, 1962, she received most of her training there, completing studies in piano, music education, and composition at the Alberto Ginastera Conservatory. As a capable pianist she frequently introduced her own pieces in performance. Economic turmoil known as the corralito prompted her relocation to Valencia, Spain, in 2001. She later obtained a master’s degree in Aesthetics and Musical Creativity from the University of Valencia and taught in the Catalonia region as a member of the faculty at the Conservatorio Superior Salvador Seguí in Castellón.
Her output, which frequently incorporated elements of South American vernacular music, attracted commissions from orchestras, soloists, and chamber ensembles across South America, the United States, Europe, and Asia. Ensembles that performed her music included the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra in Ireland, the City of Prague Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, and the Daejeon Philharmonic Orchestra in South Korea. Individual artists who requested new pieces were guitarist Wolfgang Weigel, pianist Allison Brewster, violinist Yi Fang Huang, and harpist Floraleda Sacchi. Additional commissions came from the American String Quartet, the Almus Quartet in Spain, and the Billroth String Quartet in Britain. Her scores appeared regularly on festival programs; a notable first performance was the piano concerto Concierto en Blanco y Negro at the Galway International Festival in 2017.
Montero received the Latin Grammy for Best Contemporary Classical Composition in 2014, 2016, and 2018, and the award for Best Classical Album in 2018 for Mágica y misteriosa. She also collected several honors from the Spanish recording industry. In 2019 the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic under conductor Vasily Petrenko gave the premiere of her tango-inflected accordion concerto Vientos del Sur. Montero died in Valencia on January 16, 2021. A 2023 recording by flutist Tanja Esther von Arx and pianist Natalia González Figueroa included her Suite de los Buenos Aires para piano y flauta.
Her output, which frequently incorporated elements of South American vernacular music, attracted commissions from orchestras, soloists, and chamber ensembles across South America, the United States, Europe, and Asia. Ensembles that performed her music included the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra in Ireland, the City of Prague Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, and the Daejeon Philharmonic Orchestra in South Korea. Individual artists who requested new pieces were guitarist Wolfgang Weigel, pianist Allison Brewster, violinist Yi Fang Huang, and harpist Floraleda Sacchi. Additional commissions came from the American String Quartet, the Almus Quartet in Spain, and the Billroth String Quartet in Britain. Her scores appeared regularly on festival programs; a notable first performance was the piano concerto Concierto en Blanco y Negro at the Galway International Festival in 2017.
Montero received the Latin Grammy for Best Contemporary Classical Composition in 2014, 2016, and 2018, and the award for Best Classical Album in 2018 for Mágica y misteriosa. She also collected several honors from the Spanish recording industry. In 2019 the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic under conductor Vasily Petrenko gave the premiere of her tango-inflected accordion concerto Vientos del Sur. Montero died in Valencia on January 16, 2021. A 2023 recording by flutist Tanja Esther von Arx and pianist Natalia González Figueroa included her Suite de los Buenos Aires para piano y flauta.
Albums
