José de Eusebio

Spanish conductor José de Eusebio is primarily renowned for his eloquent advocacy of the neglected stage works of composer Isaac Albéniz. Long regarded as of marginal interest owing to the clunky libretti of aspiring man-of-the-theater Francis Burdett Money-Coutts, Eusebio's careful reconstructions of Albéniz's original musical texts reveal that the music is as strong as Money-Coutts' books are weak. Eusebio's own beginnings were as a pianist who studied under Vlado Perlemuter, and continued his education in the United States as a Fulbright Scholar. Eusebio's reputation was made through the 1998 Decca release of Albéniz's opera Merlin, which he edited from Albéniz's manuscript score and conducted. Since then, he has added Albéniz's opera Henry Clifford to the recorded repertory and has presented a refined edition of Pepita Jiménez. Eusebio has stated that the same motivating force that compels him to revive forgotten music from the past also sparks his interest in contemporary music. From 1997 to 2002, Eusebio worked as the musical director of the Madrid-based Grupo Sax-Ensemble and has also led the EMEC-sponsored new music ensemble Modus Novus. Some among the contemporary composers with whom Eusebio has worked with include Jesús Rueda, Tomás Marco, György Kurtág, and Zulema de la Cruz.