RIP Odón Alonso

Spanish composer, conductor Odón Alonso, who was currently the Director of Fall Musical Soriano along with José Manuel Aceña died February 21, 2010, in Madrid. He was 85.

During the closing of the Festival in 2008, the Mayor of Soria, Carlos Martinez, announced that one of the main squares of the city would receive the composer’s name.

Alonso was one of the most important Spanish conductors of the second half of the twentieth century. He conducted the National Orchestra of Spain, the Symphony Orchestra of Spanish Radio & Television (1968-1984), the Philharmonic Orchestra of Málaga (1995 -1999) and the Symphonic Orchestra of Madrid.

Alonso also composed the original scores for films like “Residencia para Espias "(1966) and “El Diablo que vino de Akasawa” (1971), both directed by Jesus Franco. Alonso composed scores for two Euro-westerns “The Coyote” (1955) and “The Justice of the Coyote” (1956). Odón was awarded the Order of Isabel by the Catholic Church and the Gold Medal by UNICEF, among others, and in 1977 was named the best Spanish director of the year by the magazine Record World.