Albert

Albert Cotó Fita

Alberto Cotó

Figueres , 13 February 1852
Barcelona , 24 April 1906

Composer and Performer

Composer and pianist

He began his studies with his uncle Narcís Fita (organ) and with P. Solana (violin). He played the piano at cafes and conducted the choir Erato. At the age of thirteen he joined the Orquesta Figueras, where he began composing ballables. In 1888 he moved to Barcelona where he was a pianist-conductor in several renowned theatres. There, he also founded Orquestra Cotó together with some lecturers at Liceu, and toured around Europe. He created a type of staged revista called Portofolios Musicales. From 1878, he became famous for composing hundreds of dance pieces (the so-called 19th-century dances and americanas), which were performed by orchestras throughout Catalonia. He continued to compose small stage music with success, as well as works for male choirs, sardanes and easy piano pieces. His composition has been compared to that of other contemporary European composers, and especially to that of Johann Strauss the Son.