Biography
This Spanish composer and performer characterizes his output as "contemporary and universal music inspired in elements from both Western and Eastern cultures." The extraordinary breadth of eras and traditions encompassed by the instruments and repertoires he masters renders most peers comparable to novices by contrast. At ten he commenced training on string and percussion instruments, drawing considerable impetus from his elder sibling Gregorio, a distinguished conductor, arranger, and composer. In 1972 he entered Gregorio’s ensemble Atrium Musicae De Madrid, a collective devoted to the investigation and presentation of European early music, occasionally realizing fragments of ancient Greek notation preserved on papyrus scraps or marble columns. Two additional siblings, Eduard and Carlos, likewise participated in the ensemble, whose endeavors elicited extraordinary enthusiasm from classical listeners worldwide. Luis’s first appearance with the group, at age fifteen, took place at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and ranks among the most promising débuts any musician has enjoyed. He remained with Atrium for further engagements across Canada, the United States, Europe, and the U.S.S.R., during which the ensemble produced fourteen recordings. In 1980 he launched an independent path, appearing both unaccompanied and at the helm of modest ensembles while also supplying music for theater, dance, and cinema. His compositions have persistently incorporated non-Western instruments, a fascination rooted in his Atrium tenure and in the sitar studies he initiated in 1974. He later pursued intensive instruction with sitar master T.N. Nagar in Benares, India. Subsequent pieces have employed the Chinese lute and the ancient Mediterranean lyre, occasionally alongside Western instruments. In 1999 he established his own label, Silentium.
Albums
