Joaquín Clerch Díaz

Joaquín Clerch was born in La Habana. He began learning guitar with Leopoldina Núñez, and in 1977 he entered the Escuela Nacional de Arte, where he studied under professors Martha Cuervo and Antonio Rodríguez. In 1984 he continued advanced studies in composition with Carlos Fariñas, and guitar with Rey Guerra, at the Instituto Superior de Arte. In 1989 he graduated from this prestigious institution, and subsequently took lessons from Isaac Nicola, Leo Brouwer, and Costas Cotsiolis.

In 1990 he entered the Escuela Mozarteum in Salzburgo, Austria, where he was a guitar student of Eliot Fisk, whom Andrés Segovia considered one of the most important contemporary guitarists. He studied early music with maestros Anthony Spiri and Nicolaus Harmoncourt. In 1991 he completed his studies at the Escuela Mozarteum with the highest grade and the award given by the Ministry of Culture to the most outstanding graduates.

During his artistic career, Clerch has received multiple national awards: first prize in the Concurso Amadeo Roldán, and honorable mention for best interpretation of Cuban music in 1982; first prize in the Composition Competition of the Unión de Escritores y Artistas de Cuba for his solo instrument work Yemayá in 1986; first prize for interpretation in the Competition of the Unión de Escritores y Artistas de Cuba in 1987. He has also received international awards, such as second prize in the Concurso Internacional Juventudes Musicales in Belgrado, Yugoslavia in 1984; second prize and special award for best interpretation of a Bach work at the III International Guitar Competition and Festival of La Habana in 1986; first shared prize for composition at the International Competition and Festival of Toronto, Canadá with his work Yemayá, and also fourth prize for interpretation in 1987; first shared prize at the IV International Guitar Competition and Festival of La Habana in 1988; first prize at the VI International Guitar Competition Andrés Segovia in Granada, España in 1989, and others such as the Heitor Villa-Lobos prize in Río de Janeiro, Brasil; Primavera de la Guitarra in Charleroi, Bruselas (Bélgica), and the ARD in München (República Federal de Alemania).

He has performed at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Konzerthaus in Viena, the Sala de la Filarmónica in Colonia, the Sala de la Filarmónica in München, the Alter Oper in Frankfurt, Radio France in París; at the Auditorio Nacional de Música in Madrid, the Theatre Royal de la Monnaie in Bruselas, and the Teatro Nacional de Cuba. As a soloist he has been accompanied by the Orquesta de la Radio de Baviera, the Orquesta Sinfónica del Mozarteum, the Orquesta Nacional del Capitolio de Toulouse, and the Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria, with which he made in 1998 the world premiere recording of El concierto de La Habana by Leo Brouwer, and the Guitar Concerto by Carlos Fariñas in 1996, both works written for him by his former teachers.

Also notable is Clerch's work in chamber music, which he has performed with Eliot Fisk, Anthony Spiri, violinist Ruggiero Ricci, and Gunter Teuffel, principal violist of the Orquesta de la Radio de Stuttgart, with whom he recorded an album in that format.

Joaquín Clerch has made the interpretation of the music of Juan Sebastián Bach a genuine specialty, mastering with precision a sound world that he executes with authentic beauty. In his interpretations of the two Preludes by the great German master, his maturity is evident, for the exposition of the planes is transparent, the concept of ornamentation is sober and elegant, and the structuring of sound images is properly understood.

In 2001 Clerch wrote his first Guitar Concerto for guitar and orchestra, which was premiered by Ricardo Gallén in Torrent, a locality in Valencia, España.

Joaquín Clerch is an extraordinarily gifted musician, for, in addition to his excellent technique and his poetic way of playing guitar, his capacity to understand the problems of interpretation and the ways of making music is also extraordinary.

At present he is a professor at the Universidad de Música Robert Schumann in Düsseldorf, while continuing his career as a performer.

Main Works
Concerto, 2001, for guitar and orchestra
Guitarresca
Omaggio
Yemayá