Lorenzo Palomo


Lorenzo Palomo was a Spanish composer and conductor. He was chief conductor of the Valencia Orchestra from 1973 to 1976 and conductor and pianist of the Deutsche Oper Berlin from 1981 to 2004. Several of his compositions, often based on Andalusian traditions, were performed internationally and were recorded.
WWW lorenzopalomo.com

Biography

Soon after his birth in Ciudad Real in 1938, where his father was stationed during the Spanish Civil War, his mother returned with him to Pozoblanco where the family lived. Shortly afterwards, they moved to Córdoba where the composer spent his youth. Palomo studied piano and harmony at the Córdoba Conservatory and at the age of twenty he entered the Barcelona Conservatory, where he studied composition with Joaquín Zamacois and piano with Sofía Puche de Mendlewicz. He studied conducting further with Boris Goldovsky in New York City, with a scholarship from the Fundación Juan March.
He was chief conductor of the Valencia Orchestra from 1973 to 1976 and conductor and pianist of the Deutsche Oper Berlin from 1981 to 2004.
His ballet La leyenda del Monte Bangkay was premiered in Manila, Philippines, in 1980. His song cycle Canciones españolas was first performed by Montserrat Caballé at Carnegie Hall in New York City in 1987. His Nocturnos de Andalucía, Suntory Hall in Tokyo and Auditorium Tschaikowsky in Moscow.
Palomo lived in Berlin for 38 years, but returned to Madrid in 2019. In 2022, he dedicated a new composition to the city of Córdoba on the occasion of the thirtieth anniversary of the Orquesta de Córdoba, Canto a Córdoba, setting a text by Juana Castro Muñoz.
Palomo died in Madrid on 13 April 2024, at the age of 86.

Works

Palomo composed many works for the voice, such as songs and song cycles, sometimes with optional accompaniment by harp or orchestra instead of piano. Several works were recorded.
His compositions are, according to his works list:

Compositions

La leyenda del Monte Bangkay, balletDel atardecer al alba, song cycle for voice and piano or orchestraTientos, song for voice and piano or orchestraPlenilunio, song for voice and piano or orchestraUna primavera andaluza, song cycle setting lyrics by Juan Ramón Jiménez for voice and piano or orchestraNocturnos de Andalucía, concertante suite for guitar and orchestraFdB – Música para un festival, for orchestraAndalusian Divertimento, piano trioConcierto de Cienfuegos, for four guitars and orchestraCantos del alma, suite soprano, clarinet and orchestraMadrigal y Cinco canciones sefardíes, song cycle for voice and guitar or piano or harpDulcinea, cantata for soprano, alto, tenor, bass, chorus and orchestraDanza-Scherzo', for oboe and pianoSinfonía a Granada, for soprano, guitar and orchestraFanfarria para una noche de estío, for trombone quartet
  • Toccata, for guitarNocturno y Danza, for orchestraRebeka's Rainbow, fong for voice and pianoMi jardín solitario, song cycle for voice and guitar or pianoPerlas y lágrimas, for guitarHelianthus, for guitarEl amor de los dos ositos, symphonic fairy-tale for soprano, mezzo-soprano and orchestraPinceladas de primavera, suite for two guitarsFulgores, for violin, guitar and orchestraThe Sneetches '', symphonic poem for narrator and orchestra or two pianosCaribiana, for orchestraSinfonía Córdoba, for orchestra, including a short intervention of voice and guitarHumoresca, for double bass and orchestraArabescos, for violin and orchestraFantasía sobre temas del folklore alemán, for violin and guitarEscenas de una primavera alemana, song cycle for voice and guitarAldonza y Alonso, for soprano, tenor, chorus and pianoRumbalina, for clarinet and pianoSendero mágico, song cycle for voice and pianoEl jardín de Baco, for marimba and orchestra

Recordings

Dulcinea, with soloists, chorus and orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin conducted by Miguel Ángel Gómez Martínez, recorded live in 2006 at Konzerthaus BerlinMy Secluded Garden

Honours

In 2010 Palomo was knighted into the Order of Isabella the Catholic by King Juan Carlos I of Spain for his work disseminating the culture of Spain worldwide through his music.