David Moliner

The Spanish composer and percussionist David Moliner has been described as one of the most complete European musicians of his generation. Born in 1991 in Cuenca, Spain, he studied with Pascal Dusapin at the Haute École de Musique de Genève and with Jörg Widmann at the Universität der Künste and Barenboim Said Academy in Berlin.

Early in his career, Moliner began to develop a compositional aesthetic that has enabled him to pioneer new genres and to invent new forms. He has been implementing this aesthetic, which he calls “dynamism,” in a series of works titled Eglogas, Masquerades, Mystiques, Estructuras, Entes and Esoterics. “Dynamism” originates from Moliner’s experience as a percussionist who, like singers, uses the body to make music. His transition from performance to composition took place within this context. Moliner’s formal compositional ideas are rooted in gestures and movements he first learned as a percussionist.

Orchestral and chamber music figures prominently in Moliner’s oeuvre to date, which is published by Universal Edition. His instrumental compositions have a strong theatrical element, expressing a dramaturgy that emphasizes the physical aspect of music.

Moliner’s works have been performed by such orchestras as the Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra, West Divan Orchestra, Valencia Symphony Orchestra and Spanish Youth National Orchestra, as well as by such ensembles as the SWR Vokalensemble, Klangforum Wien, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Ensemble Recherche and Plural Ensemble. Moliner also enjoys a close association with such soloists as the clarinetist/composer Jörg Widmann, for whom he has written a concerto; Moliner in turn has performed Widmann’s music as a percussionist.

As a percussion soloist, Moliner has performed his own percussion compositions at such concert venues as the Philharmonie in Berlin, the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, the KKL Luzern, the Philharmonie in Paris and the Guggenheim in Bilbao.

Among the distinctions Moliner has garnered are first prize at the Vibraphone Competition of the Italian Percussion Arts Society, the Universität der Künste Berlin Composition Prize commission and the Roche Young Commissions Award presented by Lucerne Festival.

Thomas May / Written in August 2023