Jorge Garciaporrúa Álvarez

Garciaporrúa is a musician, advisor, director, dramaturg, pedagogue, and composer.

He was born in La Habana. He completed his musical training at the Havana conservatories Castillo and Amadeo Roldán, the National School of Art, and the Higher Institute of Art, where he finally obtained his Bachelor's degree in Composition (1981).

Among his teachers stand out José Ardévol, Leo Brouwer, Félix Guerrero, and Roberto Valera.

In 1979 he served as musical advisor to the National Opera of Cuba (National Lyric Theater of Cuba) and in 1989 he was its general director.

He has also served as director and advisor to other Cuban artistic institutions and companies. He is currently musical director of the National Ballet of Cuba.

His catalog as a composer includes symphonic music, chamber music, choral music, incidental music, opera, and ballet. His work majísimo is part of the repertoire of the National Ballet of Cuba. Some of his works have been awarded prizes and mentions in national competitions.

He is the author of the music for the operas: El pilco de oro, leyenda inca; Las ambiciosas frustradas, El becerro de oro, the three of which are unperformed, and the musical comedy Un viaje entretenido (libretto by Nicolás Dorr), which premiered in 1972.

He also has in his catalog several symphonic and chamber works in which he always employs the human voice: Requiem a Ernesto Che Guevara, for soprano, narrator, choir, and orchestra (Unique Mention of the UNEAC Competition, 1970); Los zapaticos de rosa, cantata for two sopranos, alto, choir, and orchestra; among others, as well as several songs for voice and piano.

In the music of Jorge Garcíaporrúa, the use of different contemporary techniques and languages is frequent, such as: controlled aleatoricism, serialism, post-serialism, and traditional techniques. He has also utilized African melodies and rhythms, brought to Cuba by enslaved people from those continents in past centuries.

However, Garcíaporrúa himself has expressed that he considers himself an impressionist composer, due to the importance he places on color and dynamic variations.

Jorge Garcíaporrúa Álvarez was a score-reading teacher at the Faculty of Music of the Higher Institute of Art of Cuba and has taught music in various centers. But one of his most notable activities has been his specialization in different theatrical genres that include opera, operetta, and zarzuela, and in that capacity he has served as advisor to groups such as Teatro Estudio, the National Opera of Cuba, and the National Lyric Theater.

In the catalog of works by Jorge Garcíaporrúa, titles such as "Tres preludios" and "Tema y variaciones," both for piano, stand out; "Réquiem" and "Viet Nam," for symphony orchestra, as well as songs, choral pieces, and incidental music for theater and film.

As the winner of the National Prize for Chamber Music in the UNEAC Competition of 1970, Jorge Garcíaporrúa exhibits in his catalog works of that genre such as "Diálogo con la charanga," String Quartet, and a Chamber Sonata.