Xavier

Xavier Gols Soler

Xavier Gols Solé

La Canonja , 2 de novembre de 1902
Tarragona , 7 de febrer de 1938

Composer

Composer

He began violin and piano with his father. In 1927 he won the Pau Casals scholarship, and moved to Barcelona with his brother. There, he studied piano and composition with Blanca Selva and Baltasar Samper, and collaborated in Obra del Cançoner Popular de Catalunya. In 1930 he returned to Tarragona, where he was appointed conductor of Orfeó Tarragoní and teacher of both the Conservatory of Tarragona and Taller-Escola de Pintura i Escultura of the Generalitat. During the Civil War he combined teaching and pianist jobs in theaters and cinemas, but he became ill and died prematurely. Gols's musical output includes song as well as spiano, chamber and choir music. He received several awards and has been compared to the Catalan composers of Grup dels Vuit.