Guillermo Martínez

General
Guillermo Martínez was born in Valencia (Venezuela) in 1983. For most of his adult life, he has lived, studied, and worked as a composer in Europe.
Education
Martínez studied organ and composition at the Conservatorio Superior de Música “Eduardo Mtez. Torner” of Oviedo (Spain) with the masters Antonio Corveiras and Victor Leoncio Diéguez, respectively. Later, he earned a Master of Music degree in composition with distinction at the University of Manchester in the class of Dr. Richard Whalley (2010). He has participated as a guest student in the master class in composition at the Northern Royal College of Music (2011), under the composer Brian Ferneyhough. Martínez was also invited to the master class in composition and music education as offered by Alberto Grau and Maria Guinand (Venezuela’s “El Sistema”) in the Bremer Hochschule, Germany (2010).
Career
Martínez’ music has been performed in the United States, Cuba, Austria, the UK, Germany, Italy, France, Sweden, Lithuania, Morocco, and Spain, to name a few. Interpreters of his works include institutions such as EuropaChorAkademie, St. Christopher Chamber Orchestra, Cuarteto Vocal Español (of the Spanish National Radio Choir), Cuarteto Vocal Cavatina, Janus Ensemble, Psappha Ensemble, Orquesta Oviedo Filarmonía, JOSPA Orchestra, Orquesta Ars Mundi, Quatuor Danel, Cuarteto Vínculos, Landarbaso Koroa, Coro El León de Oro, Ad Solem Chamber Ensemble, Coro Universitario de Oviedo, and Coro Xenakis, among others.
Alongside his career as a composer, Martínez has developed an active career as organist and cantor. He is a member of EuropaChorAkademie since 2000, a group that performs on the principal venues of the U.S., China, and Europe, under the baton of figures like Michael Gielen, Krzysztof Penderecki, Sylvain Cambreling, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Vladimir Jurowski, and Placido Domingo. In addition to this, as a member of the Coro El León de Oro he has won two national Gran Prixes (2003, 2006), among many other national and international awards.
Martínez is the organist of the Cathedral of Oviedo, giving numerous concerts in Europe and collaborating with several orchestras (including a CD for Warner Classics of Saint-Saëns’ Symphony The Organ). As an organist, he has participated in courses with the masters Andrés Cea and Jean Claude Zendher.
Martínez is a member of the Honorary Advisory Board of the International Institute for Music Education of Hong Kong since 2015.
Compositions
Martínez’ work has been broadcast on radio and TV throughout the Americas and Europe. Among his most recent premieres, a highlight was the presentation of his Zarzuela “Maharajá” work, commissioned and premiered in the commemoration ceremony for the 125th anniversary of the Teatro Campoamor – Oviedo (Spain). This lyric-dramatic work, with libretto by Maxi Rodríguez, is written in one act and has an approximate duration of 100 minutes. The premiere took place in the Teatro Campoamor of Oviedo in June, 2017.
Other notable performances include the premiere of his work, “Óleos en música ‘Selgas Fagalde,‘ “ a cycle of six fantasies for mezzo soprano and piano, inspired by the six oil paintings of the same name of the Fundación Selgas Fagalde (El Greco, Giordano, Snayeers, Morales, van Loon and Roelas), and with texts of the great Spanish writer María Teresa Álvarez. The cycle was premiered by María José Montiel (Premio Nacional de Música 2016 of the Ministerio de Cultura, Educación y Deporte del Gobierno de España) and Iván Martín (one of the most highly acclaimed Spanish pianists) in 2016. The cycle will be published in a book-DVD in the coming months.
Another work that is worth noting is his rhapsody for violin and orchestra, “Der wanderer Über dem Nebelmeer,” premiered in 2014. This work was recognized with a national prize and premiered by the maestro Gerard Claret.
Finally, Martínez’ “Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 1” is also worth mentioning. This three-movement piece was commissioned by the Jornadas de Piano “Luis G. Iberni” and performed in the context of this festival by acclaimed Argentine soloist Horacio Lavandera in 2013.
Guillermo Martínez has numerous publications, including notated music, as well as CD and DVD material.
Awards
In 2009, Martínez was awarded with the scholarship Cajastur for Artists in support of his Masters in composition. In 2011, he was awarded the Premios de la Crítica TPA as the best composer of the year for his fantasia for soprano and orchestra, “Monumentum pro mathematica.” This work was commissioned, premiered, and recorded by the Real Sociedad Matemática Española for the occasion of the 100-year anniversary of the institution. In 2012, Martínez won the First National Competition of Young Composers in the City of Oviedo for his piece “Der wanderer Über dem Nebelmeer.” His choral work “No llores, paloma mía” was awarded a prize in the 2014 Ortus International New Music Competition, New York.

Latest publications

Live performances of Guillermo Martínez’s works

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Recently published works by Guillermo Martínez

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