Benet Casablancas is widely acclaimed as one of the leading Spanish composers of his generation. Born in Sabadell, Barcelona in 1956, he studied Philosophy and Doctorate in Musicology in Vienna and at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.

His pieces have been performed internationally by ensembles such as BBC Symphony Orchestra, Deutsche Radio Philharmonie, NHK Tokyo, London Sinfonietta, Arditti and Casals quartets and Seattle Players, and have been conducted by Vladimir Jurowski, Oliver Knussen, Josep Pons, Vasily Petrenko and Ángel Gil-Ordóñez.

He was appointed First Composer in Residence at L’Auditori, Barcelona from 2013 to 2015, presented with a Carte Blanche by the Filmoteca de Catalunya in 2014 and awarded the National Prize of the Generalitat de Catalunya in 2007 and the National Music Prize of the Ministry of Culture of Spain in 2013.

Casablancas’ works have been recorded on record labels such as Sony Classical, Naxos, Stradivarius, and Columna Música. He has been a professor at both the Pompeu Fabra University and the University of Alcalá, Pedagogical Director of the Young National Orchestra of Catalonia and director of the Conservatori Superior de Música del Liceu from 2002 to 2014.

His book, The Humour in Music was published by Galaxia Gutenberg in 2014, who also released Arquitecturas de la emoción, La música de Benet Casablancas, a portrait of the composer and his works. In February 2019 his first opera, L’Enigma di Lea with texts by Rafael Argullol and commissioned by the Gran Teatre del Liceu (Barcelona), was premiered in Barcelona.

La Vanguardia’s feature on Benet Casablancas