José Ramón Encinar, Conductor
Born in Madrid in 1954, José Ramón Encinar has at one time or
another conducted practically all of Spain’s major orchestras. Moreover,
his conducting career outside the confines of Spain has taken him to a number
of European and American cities at the helm of orchestras, such as the Mexican
Philharmonic, Puerto Rican national, Argentine National, Radio Cracow, Yugoslavian
National and Radio, Portuguese Radio Symphony, English Bach Festival and London
Symphony Orchestras, while simultaneously maintaining an active profile in Italy,
whether with the RAI, in theatres or on tour in the provinces.
On the operatic front, he has distinguished himself by a lifelong devotion to
20th – century music. In this regard, he can pint to the premières
of operas such as “Kiu” and “El viajero indiscreto”
by Luis de Pablo, “Francesca” by Alfredo Aracil, “El bosque
de Diana” by José García Román, “Luz de oscura
llama” by Eduardo Pérez Maseda, “El secreto enamorado”
by Manuel Balboa and his own “Fígaro”, to which he also penned
the libretto.
Similarly, he has conducted a series of “revivals” of operas enjoying
less prominence in the standard repertoire, e.g., “La Clementina”
by Luigi Boccherini and Ramón de la Cruz, the production of which (the
very first since it was premièred in the 18th century9 took place on
the occasion of the second Madrid Regional Autumn Festival in 1985, and “La
Zapatera Prodigiosa” a work based on Lorca by the Argentine composer,
Juan José Castro, and likewise staged at the Madrid Autumn Festival,
in its 1987 edition. Furthermore, he has conducted new productions of operas
by Mozart, Salieri, Hindemith, Menotti, etc., at venues both here in Spain and
abroad, including the Petruzzelli Opera House in Bari, the San Carlos Opera
House in Lisbon, the Badisches Staatstheater in Karlsruhe, La Fenice in Venice,
among others.
His long list of gramophone recordings for national and international labels
feature the Koan Ensemble and Choir, Spanish National Choir, Madrid Symphony
Orchestra, Emilia Romagna Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, and
Gran Canaria Symphony Orchestra.
José Ramón Encinar acted as composition aide to Franco Donatoni
during the international master classes held at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena,
from 1976 to 1982. In the more than twenty years that have elapsed since 1972,
he has directed the Koan Group, an ensemble debuted to the interpretation of
20th - century music, ranging from the classics, such as Stravinsky and Ravel,
to today’s young composers. This has entailed an intense performance schedule,
covering Spain and a good number of European countries, e.g., Portugal, France,
Italy, Norway, United Kingdom and Germany, among others.
From 1982 to 1984, he was the resident and artistic conductor or the Gran
Canaria Philharmonic. Since 1985, he has been a Spanish Committee Member of
the International Contemporary Music Society.
Among the may prizes received, special mention should be made of the Icarus
(Ícaro) Prize, awarded by the Diario 16 newspaper in 1982, the First
Prize for Polyphonic Composition awarded by the Ministry of Culture in 1981,
and the C.E.C.A. First Prize for Chamber Music Composition awarded in 1978.
In 1998, he received the Ministry of Culture’s National Music Prize.
Since 1994, José Ramón Encinar has been a Corresponding Member
of the Granada Royal Academy of Fine Arts.
To single out some of his latest offerings, unstinting critical acclaim met
the Spanish première of Luis de Pablo’s opera, “La madre
invita a comer”, the opening of the 1995 Madrid Opera Season with a Stravinsky
“special bill” comprising “Oedipus Rex” and “Le
Rossignol”, his participation in the Venice Biennale, in which he has
played an active role as a composer and conductor since 1985, and the closing
ceremony of the 1995 Strasbourg Festival.
During the Madrid 1997/98 Zarzuela Theatre season, he conducted “Los
Amantes de Teruel”, an opera by Tomás Bretón that had never
been staged since its début performance at Madrid’s Teatro Real
(Theatre Royal) in 1889. As part of the first season at the newly refurbished
Teatro Real, José Ramón Encinar has conducted the world première
of Carmelo Bernaola’s ballet, “La Celestina”.
In 1997, he was awarded the C.E.O.E.’s “Larios” Prize for
musical interpretation, “... in recognition of his work as a conductor,
which has been characterised by his musical rigour and open-minded approach
to the music of our time, and has led him to give numerous first performances
of essential contemporary works, both Spanish and foreign”.
In 1998, José Ramón Encinar was made Principal Associate Conductor
of the Segovia Summer Music Festival and, as form the 1998/99 season became
the Principal Guest Conductor of the “Proyecto Gerhard” Chamber
Ensemble. The 1999/2000 season marked his appointment to the post of resident
conductor of the Portuguese Symphony Orchestra.
Since September 2000, José Ramón Encinar has been the resident
conductor of the Comunidad de Madrid Orchestra & Choir.