Javier Martín de la Torre was born in 1999 in El Puerto de Santa María (Cádiz). He began his musical career at the age of seven at the Rafael Taboada Music Conservatory. Later, he continued his studies at the Conservatory Joaquín Villatoro in Jerez de la Frontera, where he obtained his Professional Degree and won a first prize in the young performers’ competition at the conservatory in 2017. He has been an outstanding student of the Orchestra Studies Academy of the Barenboim-Said Foundation, under the tutelage of Jerome Ireland, while also holding the principal viola position in the Youth Orchestra of Andalusia and the National Youth Orchestra of Spain. He has also been a member of the Youth Orchestra of the Community of Madrid and the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester. During his training, he has received instruction from renowned teachers such as Kim Kashkashian, Alexander Zemtsov, Cibrán Sierra, Pierre Amoyal, Diemut Poppen, Jonathan Brown, the Cuarteto Casals, Cecilia Berkovich, Sergey Teslya, Alan Kovacs and Humberto Armas. He has had the honour of performing in prestigious venues, including the National Auditorium of Madrid, the Alte Oper Frankfurt, the Isarphilharmonie, the Liederhalle Stuttgart and the Großes Festspielhaus Salzburg, among many others. Additionally, he has been played under renowned conductors such as Teodor Currentzis, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Juanjo Mena, Pablo González, Lucas Macías and Guy Braunstein. He has also performed as a soloist with important orchestral ensembles such as the Álvarez Beigbeder Orchestra, the Youth Orchestra of Xerez, and the Orchestra of the Katarina Gurska Higher Center. He completed his higher studies at the Katarina Gurska Higher Center under the supervision of Laure Gaudron, and he is currently pursuing his Master’s degree at the Mozarteum University of Salzburg under the tutelage of Veronika Hagen. In addition, he has collaborated with the Mozarteum Orchestra. Starting in 2023, he is a member of the Luxembourg Philharmonic Academy and is supported by the Œuvre Nationale de Secours Grande-Duchesse Charlotte.
Can you present us your instrument in three words?
Warm, brilliant and powerful!
Do you remember the first time you fell in love with your instrument?
When I started playing in youth orchestras, I had to play both the viola and the violin and that is when I realised that the viola is my thing.
If you could have dinner with one composer or artist (dead or alive), who would it be and why?
It would probably be William Primrose. He is a violist I admire a lot, and I would love to meet him.
If you had to impress someone at an audition, what piece would you play?
I would play Mauricio Sotelo’s Muros de dolor.
What have been your favourite moments with the Luxembourg Philharmonic Academy so far?
Probably the first tour we did in Stockholm, we had some free time to discover the city. The last tours to San Sebastian and Amsterdam were also great, and we had a lot of free time.
When you’re not busy playing music, where are we most likely to find you?
I love to go hiking. When I am not in Luxembourg, I am usually in Salzburg, close to the mountains so I can go as often as I want to. I also like to do the usual stuff: watch movies, meet with friends, go out…
What three songs are living rent-free in your head?
The Fourth Symphony by Brahms, Besos by El Canto del Loco and Querría by El Kanka.
©: Sebastien Grebille
