José Luis Campana

Entrevista y catálogo: aquí.

Entrada en el diccionario New Grove:

(b Buenos Aires, 24 Aug 1949). French-Argentine composer. He studied composition in Buenos Aires with Jacobo Fischer (1968–75) and, as the recipient of a bursary from the French government, in Paris at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique (1979–84), where his teachers included Jolas (analysis) and Malec (composition). He also attended IRCAM and courses at the Groupe de Recherches Musicales (1980–97). In 1990 he was awarded the SACEM Enescu Prize for the entire body of his work.

Employing an atonal language which balances consonance and dissonance, Campana’s music is striking for its richly imaginative sounds and its use of electro-acoustics. In works such as Imago (1985), the distinction between voices and instruments or pre-recorded and altered sounds is often imperceptible. His articulation of musical forms is essentially dramatic; striking oppositions propel the musical discourse. Although his titles are often evocative and the musical atmospheres he creates suggestive, his compositions are not based on narrative structures. Instead, in works such as Noctal 1-2-3 (1992), events obey a dream-like logic. His airy polyphony is based upon the interaction of clearly differentiated timbres (Dholak, 1988; Involtura sonora, 1989), subtly poised combinations of planes and eloquent melodic lines (My, 1986).

Gérard Condé