Benvingut

Benvingut Socias Mercadé
Bienvenido Socias Mercader
El Vendrell , 19 October 1877
El Vendrell , 4 March 1951
Composer and Performer

Biography

Pianist and composer

He studied at Escolania de Montserrat with Joan Baptista Guzmán and later at the Escola Municipal de Música of Barcelona with Joan Baptista Pellicer. He was organist at the Parish of Santa Anna in Barcelona whilst developing an international career as a pianist. From 1907 onwards he devoted himself to composition. On occasion he sojourned in Paris, where he accompanied Pau Casals, London, Berlin, Munich, and Washington and New York from 1910 onwards. Back in Barcelona, he was a lecturer at the Conservatori del Liceu and a member of the Pau Casals Orchestra. His output includes Gran Missa a la Santíssima Trinitat (1897) with which he won the Sacred Music Contest of Santiago de Compostela. In addition to religious music, he also composed sardanes and chamber music.