.Reviews
Resonating Color Fields on WSMR’s Modern Notebook
My work Resonating Color Fields featuring virtuoso trumpet player Andrew Kozar is being aired this Sunday night 7/28 between 8 and 10 ET on WSMR available at WSMR 89.1 and 103.9 and streaming at wsmr.org Host Tyler Kline described the work by stating: The interplay of piccolo trumpet and ambient soundscape is the focal point of Orlando Jacinto Garcia’s work “Resonating Color Fields.” It’s music where, with each ascending gesture of the trumpet, new colors in the electronics swirl to life to create an ever-evolving texture.
Reviews in Mexico re the premiere of my work imagenes de viento, lluvia, y sonidos cristalizados
For those of you that read Spanish, there are 3 wonderful articles that came out in the press in Mexico about my work imagenes de viento, lluvia, y sonidos cristalizados (images of wind, rain, and crystallized sound) premiered June 22 by the Orquesta de Camara de Bellas Artes with Jaime Marquez guitar soloist and Luis Manuel Sanchez conducting
https://nvinoticiaschiapas.com/cultura/24/06/2023/63083/
Review in Scherzo of the premiere of oscuro sobre luz blanco sobre rojo at the COMA Festival in Madrid, Spain
A recent review of the premiere of my work oscuro sobre luz blanco sobre rojo can be found in the Spanish Scherzo journal. The review in Spanish by distinguished composer, writer, and one of Spain’s leading cultural figures, Tomas Marco, cited that the work incorporated a brief text recited by the instrumentalists, where the praise of diversification intersects with a tribute to the light and color of the painter Mark Rothko. This translates musically into an excellent timbre palette that sparkles throughout a work that is more than an evocation, because it is also emotionally involved and an example of great music of this very moment.
The entire review can be found here
The Spacious Music of Orlando Jacinto Garcia blog post by the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra
This past April, Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra Board Member Kris Kautzman gave his impressions of my music after listening to Orlando Jacinto Garcia Orchestral Music Volume 2 on Toccata Classics. In the article the music was described as lyrical and minimal while also mentioning the time suspended aspect of the works. The article can be found here
All About the Arts includes Metier release as one of top Instrumental albums in 2021
Rafael de Acha states in his year end All About the Arts Blog: Orlando Jacinto García’s music spins continuously while minute changes of texture and tone happen imperceptibly in a METIER release to which one must listen attentively, the rewards then to be derived being immense. The Amernet Quartet plays this music with unflagging discipline and sensitivity. One hopes that METIER will continue to record the fascinating music of this pioneering artist. More here
Review in La Folia of my string quartet album on Metier
Let us not obsess over the fact that Garcia studied intently with Feldman. (See here for a 2003 release.) Some of the gestures are similar, and Garcia also likes to explore minimalist eddies where a few ideas or pitches are gently tumbled. But this composer is also interested in dramatic effects and these quartets delight in contrasts. More here
Review of my Metier release in All About the Arts
Intriguingly complex and moving: the music of Orlando Jacinto García
The prolific Cuban American composer Orlando Jacinto García recorded three of his string quartets with the invaluable Amernet Quartet for METIER. The CD came to my attention as a result of his having recently received a well-deserved GRAMMY nomination. See entire review here
Review in Gapplegate Classical-Modern Music Review of my Metier release with the Amernet
A recent review of my latest album appeared in Gapplegate Classical-Modern Music Review where the reviewer stated “If you live with this music for awhile like I have you may well find it a special thing, serious and expressive, thoughtful and in its own way a step ahead. It is sincere, intimate and a musical world unto itself, happily. Recommended” The entire review can be found here
Review in Arcana of my string quartet album released on Metier
A recent review in Arcana quoted “More approachable and immediate as Garcia’s idiom has become, there is never any sense of his music courting easy appeal or popular acclaim. Rather, these quartets maintain a steady and methodical course akin to a thawing out or loosening up of emotions audible from the outset.” The entire review can be found here
Review in the Rehearsal Studio of my latest album with my 3 string quartets performed by the Amernet on Metier Records
My latest album was reviewed in the Rehearsal Studio by Stephen Smoliar. The reviewer did a very good job of describing the works and my aesthetic concerns citing the fact that listening to these pieces was “a listening experience that can be likened to viewing the music through a microscope.” The entire review is available here
recent news
Guest composer at the Musicahora Festival in La Serena, Chile September 2-6
It's a great pleasure to be guest composer as part of the Musicahora Festival in La Serena, Chile taking place during the first week of September. I am looking forward to the premiere of my work sonic transformations for two guitars by Diego Castro and Erik Marroquin...
Resonating Color Fields on WSMR’s Modern Notebook
My work Resonating Color Fields featuring virtuoso trumpet player Andrew Kozar is being aired this Sunday night 7/28 between 8 and 10 ET on WSMR available at WSMR 89.1 and 103.9 and streaming at wsmr.org Host Tyler Kline described the work by stating: The interplay of...
la vida que vendrá on Flotation Device
la vida que vendrá recently released by Loadbang on New Focus Recordings was included on the July 7, 2024 Flotation Device show. You can listen to the show here
la vida que vendrá featuring Loadbang released on New Focus Recordings
My latest portrait album la vida que vendrá featuring the Loadbang Ensemble was released on New Focus Recordings on May 24. The album features 5 of my works including 4 works for soloist and fixed media as well as an acoustic work for the ensemble. You can listen on...
The Orlando Jacinto Garcia Composition Scholarship Endowment
Really fortunate to be able to start a scholarship for future FIU Music Composition students interested in Cuban Culture. More on the flyer below:
articles
Why References?
When I was in graduate school in the early and mid 1980s, I had the good fortune to work with an Asian American composer and teacher at the University of Miami named Dennis Kam. At that time he was very much involved with the idea of musical stasis or a music that by...
What is Art Music?
As we enter the next century the music world can seem a bit confusing. Twenty five years ago what was considered the Western Art music canon consisted of music from either Antiquity or the Renaissance through the Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and into the 20th...
Teaching Composition: Some General Thoughts
Teaching someone to compose is impossible! We all know that Bartok said it and refused to teach composition. My mentor Feldman taught composition but always claimed you couldn’t do it, for which he was often criticized by students. His now somewhat famous response to...
Boola Boola Revisited
Slightly more than 15 years ago, soon after finishing my doctoral studies, I had the great fortune of studying with Morton Feldman for 3 intensive weeks. These sessions proved to have a great impact on my career as a composer and pedagogue and I was fortunate to be...
Another Approach to Electroacoustic Music
At times I find myself feeling somewhat out of place at some of the electroacoustic music events where my work is presented. This is not because I do not find this genre of interest or because I am not pleased with my work or that of my colleagues, but because my...