Multi-talented artist Carles Santos died on Monday aged 77

The acclaimed multi-talented artist, Carles Santos, who began his musical career in Barcelona’s prestigious Conservatori Superior de Música del Liceu passed away this Monday at 77 years of age.

The town hall of his hometown Vinaròs in Valencia has expressed its “deep pain” over the death of the Renaissance man. As well as being a composer and musical director, he also dedicated himself to other artistic disciplines such as photography, cinema, literature, and sculpture.

Among Santos’ most important acheivements are the Barcelona Award for International Screening, the National Composition and Theater Awards of Catalonia, and the Saint George’s Cross, the highest honour that can be received from the Catalan government.

“An impressive artist”

Declared the favourite son of Vinaròs, a statement made by the local council called him “the man and friend of the town that never left his side.” Indeed, his career led him all over the world to countries such as France, Australia, and the United States.

The president of the Valencian government praised Santos’ career, calling him “an impressive artist, a universal Valencian, and a person committed to his land.”

Lluís Puig, the deposed Catalan Minister of Culture defined him as “an unaccounted and creative musician who has contributed so much to the Mediterranean Fair and popular culture in general.”

Throughout his career he helped shape the avant-garde shows such as the “Irregular Concert” by Catalan poet and playwright Joan Brossa. He also composed and directed the music for the opening ceremony of the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. In 2003 he debuted as a stage director with a production of ´The Barber of Seville’.

Unrepeatable character, an unforgettable person

In his memory, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Barcelona (MACBA) will hold a special event on December 12 with screenings of ‘La Tempesta’ (2003) and ‘Visca el Piano’. Entry to the event is free.

The cultural manager of the museum, Àlex Susanna, said he hopes that the rebellious, iconoclastic and creative spirit of Santos “will continue to live on: his work has been one of the most brutal and stimulating bursts of fresh air in Catalan culture in the last 50 years.” He went on to say Santos was an “unrepeatable character, an unforgettable person.”