Cristóbal Halffter

Cristóbal Halffter
(b Madrid, 24 March 1930). Composer and conductor, nephew of (1) Rodolfo Halffter and (2) Ernesto Halffter.

His childhood was spent partly in Germany because of the civil war in Spain. He subsequently studied with Del Campo at the Madrid Conservatory, graduating in 1951 and winning a prize for his Scherzo; he also took private lessons with Tansman. At the beginning of his professional career he worked for a time in Spanish radio, before taking up a chair in composition (1960) at the Madrid Conservatory, of which, in 1964, he became director. He resigned the post two years later in order to concentrate on composing and conducting. He later taught at Darmstadt and served as honorary president of the International Festival of Contemporary Art, Ruyan.