Today is the birthday of a 20th century composer who was born in Spain, came of age in Cuba, and, in his later years, was a resident of the United States.  His name was Julián Orbón, who was born in Avilés, Spain, on today’s date in 1925 and died in Miami Beach in 1991.

Orbón began composing at an early age, came to Cuba with his family when he was 10, and by his twenties was active as a music critic, essayist and pianist at concerts of contemporary Cuban music. He was a member of Grupo de Renovación Musical, or “The Group for Musical Renewal.” In 1946 he studied with Copland at Tanglewood and returned home to serve as director of the Orbón Conservatory in Havana, a music school founded by his father.

After the Cuban revolution, Orbón taught first at the National Conservatory in Mexico City, and then, after settling in the United States in 1964, at a number of American schools, including Washington University, Barnard College, and the Hispanic Institute at Columbia.

By then, Orbón was also a successful and award-winning composer of works often infused with the rhythms and colors of Cuban music and traditions.

Julián Orbón (1925 - 1991) – Concerto Grosso (Latinoamericano Quartet; Simon Bolivar Symphony; Eduardo Mata, cond.) Dorian 90178