Jesús Torres
Jesús Torres was born in Zaragoza on July 15, 1965. He received his musical training at the Conservatorio Superior de Música in Madrid. At the same time, he took several courses in musical analysis with Luis de Pablo. Between 1986 and 1988, he studied composition with Francisco Guerrero.
His catalog consists of 140 compositions, including twenty orchestral works, among them seven concertos—for piano, accordion, violin, percussion, and clarinet, and harpsichord—as well as *Transfiguración*, a double concerto for cello, accordion, and string orchestra. He has also written chamber music for a wide variety of instrumental ensembles. Among his most notable interests is the setting of texts to music, with his ongoing engagement with the poetry of Vicente Aleixandre standing out, in addition to authors such as San Juan de la Cruz, Jorge Manrique, Luis de Góngora, Lope de Vega, Francisco de Quevedo, Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, Rubén Darío, Juan Ramón Jiménez, Antonio Machado, Miguel Hernández, Juan Eduardo Cirlot, Leopoldo Panero, Antonio Carvajal, and Alejandro Duque Amusco.
His music has been performed at festivals and concert series in numerous countries, including the Venice Biennale, Musica 99 Strasbourg, Musikfestspiele Saar, Ars Musica in Brussels, Ibermúsica, Radio France’s Présences 2000, the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, the Kuhmo Festival, the ISCM Festival (Copenhagen and Bucharest), the Alicante Festival, and the UNESCO International Rostrum of Composers (2001 and 2008).
Also at PRIX Italia, the Royal Academy in London, Prague Premieres 2008, the Puentes Festival in Mexico, the Latin American Festival in Caracas, Gare du Nord in Basel, Konzert Theater Bern, Wiener Konzerthaus, Ultraschall Berlin, Sound Ways Festival in St. Petersburg, Lucerne Festival, Manuel Enríquez International Forum for New Music, Quincena Musical Donostiarra, Santander International Festival, Granada International Festival of Music and Dance, Transart Festival, Marvão Festival, and Schwetzinger Festspiele, among others.
He has received commissions from numerous public and private institutions, including the INAEM, the Gaudeamus Foundation (Amsterdam), the SGAE Foundation, the European Union’s Caleidoscopio Program, the Community of Madrid, the Colegio de España in Paris, The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, the RTVE Symphony Orchestra, the Spanish National Orchestra, the Spanish National Youth Orchestra, FestClásica, the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra and National Orchestra of Catalonia, the Teatro de la Zarzuela, the Cuenca Religious Music Week, the Hazen Hosseschrueders Foundation, the Program for Cultural Cooperation (University of Minnesota), the State Society for Cultural Commemorations (SECC), the Siglo Foundation, the Siemens Stiftung, the BBVA Foundation, the Teatro Real Foundation, the Soriano Musical Autumn Festival, and the Ibermúsica Foundation, as well as a wide range of performers.
He has been awarded numerous prizes, including the SGAE Prize (Madrid, 1992), the Gaudeamus Prize (Amsterdam, 1995), the Valentino Bucchi Prize (Rome, 1997), the Reina Sofía Prize (Barcelona, 1999), the Millennium Chamber Players Prize (Chicago, 2008), and the National Music Prize (2012). He was composer-in-residence with the Spanish National Youth Orchestra during the 1998–1999 season. Since 2002, his entire body of work has been published by Tritó Edicions in Barcelona, and his music appears on numerous recordings released by the labels Naxos, Kairos, IBS Classical, and Tritó.
His works include: *Sinfonía* ( 2005), commissioned for the 40th anniversary of the founding of the RTVE Symphony Orchestra; *Faust* ( 2008), orchestral music for the screening of F. W. Murnau’s 1926 silent film, which premiered at the Teatro de la Zarzuela in Madrid; *Evocación de Miguel Hernández* ( 2010), for soprano, choir, and orchestra, composed for the centennial of the poet’s birth and premiered at the Alicante Festival; Apocalipsis ( 2011), for Gregorian choir, double choir, and instrumental ensemble, with texts by St. John, commissioned by the 10th Cuenca Religious Music Week; Libro de los secretos ( 2003/2011), commissioned by the Fundación Autor for the OBC and premiered at the Auditori in Barcelona; Concerto for Violin and Orchestra ( 2011), commissioned by the BBVA Foundation and premiered at the Teatro Monumental in Madrid; the extensive choral cycle *Aleixandre-Coros*, begun in 2014; *Sonetos* ( 2014–2015), for choir and orchestra, commissioned by the National Orchestra and Choir of Spain; *Folías de España* ( 2015), commissioned by the Castilla y León Symphony Orchestra; *Two Poems by Antonio Carvajal* ( 2016), commissioned by the Música Sur Festival; and *Malagueña ausente*, commissioned by the Siemens Foundation to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Arbós Trio.
In 2015, he received one of the BBVA Foundation’s Leonardo Fellowships to compose two new orchestral works. In addition, he was awarded the 8th AEOS-BBVA Foundation Prize for his orchestral work *Tres pinturas*. He was named composer-in-residence at the CNDM for the 2017–2018 season. The magazine *Sibila: Revista de Arte, Música y Literatura* dedicated its 52nd issue (October 2017) to him , accompanied by the release of a monographic CD. In 2019, he was named composer-in-residence of the City of Zaragoza Symphony Orchestra. The Teatro Real commissioned his first opera, *Tránsito*, based on the play of the same name by Max Aub, which premiered during the Teatro Real’s 2020–2021 season.
The Principality of Asturias Symphony Orchestra, in collaboration with the SGAE Foundation, commissioned a new orchestral work from him for the 2021–2022 season: *Final* for voice and orchestra, based on poems by Alejandro Duque Amusco. In addition, the Ernst-von-Siemens-Musikstiftung and the BRANDNEU 2022 Organ Festival in Kassel commissioned his first piece for organ, *Introspección*. The Spanish Guitar Society commissioned a new work for guitar, *Himno a la tristeza*, for publication in the magazine *Roseta*.
The Teatro Real in Madrid commissioned his second opera, *Tejas verdes*, which premiered in 2025. That same year, five new vocal works premiered: *Coplas* ( based on texts by Jorge Manrique), *Oda* ( Vicente Aleixandre), *Tres poemas de Tejas verdes* ( Miguel Hernández), *Cantares de Machado*, and *Eternidades* ( Juan Ramón Jiménez). His first opera, *Tránsito*, received the 2024 Impulso Award for Best Proposal for a New Opera at the 7th edition of the Ópera XXI Awards.
In 2025, he completed a new work for ensemble, *Concertante*, commissioned by the CNDM to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Manuel de Falla’s birth and the 30th anniversary of the Arbós Trio. The work will premiere in 2026 at the Reina Sofía National Art Museum in Madrid. In December 2026, *Tránsito* will be performed again as part of the Ópera de Tenerife’s 2026–2027 season.
He is currently working on a new orchestral work, *Memorial*, commissioned by the Staatskapelle Dresden to commemorate the bicentennial of Ludwig van Beethoven’s death. The premiere is scheduled for April 2027, as part of a tour that will take in Dresden (Semperoper), Vienna (Wiener Musikverein), Barcelona (Palau de la Música Catalana), Valencia, and Madrid (Auditorio Nacional de Música).
Jesús Torres lives in Madrid and is represented by the agency Ibermúsica Artists.
