Alcaraz, José Antonio (1938–2001)

José Antonio Alcaraz (b. 5 December 1938), Mexican composer. Alcaraz studied at the National Conservatory in Mexico and then pursued postgraduate studies at the Schola Cantorum in Paris, the summer courses for new music in Darmstadt, and the Opera Center in London. With his interest in music theater and mixed media, Alcaraz has composed some very significant works, including the aleatoric opera Arbre d'or à deux têtes for voice, piano, and toy instrument; an evening of theater music entitled Qué es lo que faze aqueste gran roido, sol de mi antojo (1983); and a series of profane madrigals for voice and piano. De Telémaco for soprano, flute, and piano (1985); Toccata for piano (1957); Otra hora de junio, a two-voice madrigal (1988); D'un inconnu for violin and voice (1973); and Cuanta consagración para tan poca primavera (1981) and Aubepine (1984) for four mezzo-sopranos. His ballet Homenaje a Lorca (1963) received a prize from the University of the Theater of the Nations in Paris.

Alcaraz wrote Hablar de música (1982), Suave teatro (1984), and Al sonoro rugir del telón (1988). He founded the Micrópera de Mexico and the Opera de Cámara of the National Institute of Fine Arts (INBA). He published Reflexiones sobre el nacionalismo musical mexicano in 1991 and Carlos Chávez, un constanta renacer in 1996. He was appointed as a research scholar at the Carlos Chávez National Center for Musical Research, Documentation, and Information. He died in Mexico City in October 2001.

See alsoMusic: Art Music .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Pauta (1982), p. 123; X Foro internacional de música nueva (1988), pp. 15, 44-45; XIV Foro internacional de música nueva (1992), p. 128.

Additional Bibliography

Estrada, Julio, ed. La música de México. 2 vols. Mexico City: Instituto de Investigaciones Estéticas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 1984–1988.

                                                    Alcides Lanza