Composer and conductor Cristóbal Halffter passed away on May 23, 2021 at the age of 91 in Villafranca del Bierzo.

Halffter was born in Madrid, Spain and was educated at the Real Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid.

A member of the so-called “Generación del 51,” he led the creation of Spanish music, highlighting pieces such as the Elegies to Death by Three Spanish Poets, conceived by Antonio Machado, Miguel Hernández, and Federico García Lorca; his composition style was highlighted by writing music in which he combined traditional Spanish elements with avant-garde techniques.   Among his major vocal compositions were three poems of Spanish lyric for baritone and orchestra and the opera “Don Quijote.”

He was a member of the Berlin Academy of Arts, the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando, and the Royal Academy of Doctors of Spain. He was also a professor of composition and musical forms at the Real Conservatorio de Madrid.

Here is part of his opera “Don Quijote.”