Albert de la Fuente

If you’d told my 10-year-old self that one day I’d grow to become a composer, he would’ve said you must be insane. At that time I really hated all music!

At that age every Catalan schoolkid is supposed to learn the basics of how to play a plastic recorder, but I couldn’t even play a scale. Apparently, I was tone-deaf. The teacher showed no mercy, and music would be the only school subject I’d ever fail (twice).

At age 14 I got a much more likeable teacher, David Miret, who rekindled my love of music, and eventually found out all my difficulties came from a defective recorder.

I grew up in Vilafranca del Penedès (Barcelona province) in a family without any musical background nor any predilection for classical music. After discovering music could actually be fun, I started piano lessons at age 16 with local teacher Assumpta Breda.

At age 18 I began to commute every day to Barcelona to study industrial engineering, and was forced to leave all formal musical training. At that time I started to teach myself music theory from books, and made my first timid attempts at composition at age 19. Since then I’ve proceeded autonomously, becoming an utterly self-taught composer. 

Nowadays I’m based in Barcelona. I balance my passion for composing with my jobs as an industrial engineering consultant and as a university teacher in my Alma Mater.

My musical style’s based on classical forms and proportions, and places a very strong emphasis on melody. I try to always find a balance between emotion and intellectual rigour. I think humour is, unfortunately, and oft-neglected aspect of music, and I’m fond of mixing “high” and “low” art.  My harmonic language borrows from French Impressionism, Slavic Neo-primitivism, and Jazz. Some of my favorite composers include Schubert, Ravel, Bartók, Prokofiev, Poulenc and Kapustin.

I’ve been performed in Europe and the US. My Youtube channel has more than 2,300 subscribers. I’ve also been member of the Association of Catalan Composers since 2022.

Recognition (in case you care)

II Composition Competition of Cors Joves de Catalunya (Barcelona, 2020)

  • SA choir with piano category: Winner (Op.17/1)
  • SATB choir a cappella category: Winner (Op.17/2)
  • SATB choir with piano category: Winner (Op.17/3)
  • SATB choir with piano category: Honorable mention (Motet Nocte Surgentes)

VII Sant Antoni Composition Competition (Barcelona, 2022)

  • Winner (Op.16)
Premiere Project Festival of Choral Arts Initiative (California, 2024)
  • Selected composer fellow (Op.25)

II Saad Haddad Prize (New York City, 2024)

  • Finalist (Op.15)
Ensemble for These Times Call for Scores (San Francisco, 2024)
  • Winner (Op.12)
Bartók World Competition (Budapest, 2024)
  • Finalist (Op.18)
Photographs
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