ABOUT

For Alberto Álvarez-Calero conducting is mainly the art of communicating. He thinks that music should be a catalytic medium that serves to transform people and society, through the unrepeatable value of each performance.

Born in Seville (Spain), this conductor approaches works from different periods with the same knowledge, thoroughness, and enthusiasm. He has a special interest in performing lesser-known pieces, without forgetting the general repertoire. He draws on historically informed performance criteria when it comes to pieces from the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

He made his operatic debut conducting the operas I Pagliacci (Leoncavallo) and Bluebeard´s Castle (Bartók), at the State Opera of Stara Zagora (Bulgaria). Alberto Álvarez-Calero has conducted orchestras like the Chamber Orchestra of Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Württembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen, Russian Federal Orchestra, Orquesta Joven de Andalucía (OJA), Joven Orquesta Nacional de España (JONDE), Orquesta Sinfónica Ciutat d'Elx, Orquesta de Cámara "Andrés Segovia", etc.

He is the founder and leader of the Orquesta de Cámara de Bormujos since 2016, one of the most active professional chamber orchestras in southwest Spain, gaining good acceptance and critical acclaim. With it, the conductor is expanding new repertoires with works from the past performed little or not at all in the present, by composers such as J. Martin Kraus, P. Wranitzky, A. Gyrowetz, A. Eberl, J. Bologne (Chevalier de Saint Georges), J. B. Vanhal, A. Reicha, A. Salieri, E. Mayer, V. Martín y Soler, or Manuel García. He is also the founder of the "Maese Rodrigo" Choir (2006-2019), with which he won a First Prize in the 10th International Competition "Venezia in musica" (2012).

After studying first guitar until obtaining a professional title, later he reaches the title of Direction of Choir at the Seville Superior Conservatory of Music "Manuel Castillo". He trained to conduct with György Ráth, Michail Jurowsky, Bruno Aprea, Vakhtang Jordania, Pedro Halffter, Juan Luis Pérez, Maximiliano Zumalave, Manuel Hernández Silva, or Enrique García Asensio.
He holds a degree in Art History and a Ph.D. from the University of Seville. Concerned about disseminating historical music in today's society, Álvarez-Calero lectures and talks to different groups. In some of his concerts, just before he engages in an open dialogue with the audience, involving them in the creative process.

As a composer, he has premiered works for orchestra, choir, guitar, etc., in Spain and Italy, winning several awards: VII Creación Joven (Seville, 1996); Bienale dei Giovani Artisti dell'Europa e del Mediterraneo (Turin, 1997); III Composition Competition Prize "Ciudad de Getafe" (2009). He has published some orchestral works (Fantasia for cello and orchestra and Concerto for horn and strings) in the well-known Universal Edition.

Being Alberto Álvarez-Calero "a multifaceted figure of Spanish music, dedicated to research and interpretation" (Mario Guada), he has published many books and articles. His latest book, John Dowland. La música inglesa en tiempos de melancolía (Ed. Fórcola, 2022), is considered by the critics of the magazines Scherzo and Codalario as one of the best music books of the year 2022.