Alcides Lanza

Canadian-Argentinian composer, conductor, and pianist alcides lanza was born in Rosario, Argentina, in 1929.  When he received his Guggenheim Fellowship in 1965, he moved to New York, where he worked from 1965 to 1971 at the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center.  In 1971 he was appointed professor of composition at the Faculty of Music of McGill University in Montreal.  Since 1974 he has been director of the Electronic Music Studio at McGill.  alcides lanza is now the EMS Director Emeritus.

alcides lanza continues to have a very active international career as a pianist and conductor specializing in the avant-garde repertoire.  His programs reflect his particular interest in the music of the three Americas.  He has performed piano marathons at Pollack Hall in Montreal, in 1987 and 1992.  The latter featured him performing for five hours nonstop, and included forty-eight pieces for piano, electronics, and film.  alcides lanza has done innumerable radio and television concerts, several LP recordings and compact discs, and has organized contemporary music forums and events.

During his long career, alcides lanza has received numerous honors: in 1966 CIDEM (Interamerican Music Council) and the OAS awarded him the Diploma de Honor, with high distinction, in recognition of his contribution to the promotion of the music of the Western hemisphere; in 2003, the Canada Council for the Arts designated alcides lanza as the recipient of the Victor Martyn Lynch-Staunton Award in recognition of his outstanding accomplishments as a composer; and in 2007 the Concejo Deliberante (City Council) of Rosario, Argentina, designated alcides lanza as Artista Distinguido, honoring him with a diploma and a medal.