(b. 21 November 1940, La Paz).
Bolivian composer of mostly orchestral, chamber, choral, vocal, and piano works that have been performed in the Americas and Europe.
Prof. Villalpando studied music as a child privately with José Díaz Gainza and Santiago Velásquez in Potosí. He studied composition with Alberto Ginastera and Roberto García Morillo at the Departamento de Artes Musicales Carlos López Buchardo of the Instituto Universitario Nacional del Arte in Buenos Aires from 1958–62. He later attended courses with Luigi Dallapiccola, Bruno Maderna, Riccardo Malipiero, Olivier Messiaen, and other composers at the Instituto Di Tella in Buenos Aires in 1963–64.
Among his honours is the Premio Nacional de Cultura de Bolivia (1998).
He has also held other posts. He served as chief of the Instituto Estatal de Cine de Bolivia in La Paz from 1964–67 and as director of the Departamento de Música del Ministerio de Cultura de Bolivia in La Paz from 1967–73. He later completed a diplomatic posting in Paris in the late 1970s.
He taught composition at the Conservatorio Plurinacional de Música in La Paz from the 1960s–2000s. He also taught a composition seminar at the Universidad Católica Boliviana San Pablo in La Paz from the 1970s–2000s, where he co-founded with the conductor Carlos Rosso the course in experimental music Taller de Música.
In addition to the works listed below, he has made many arrangements and has composed music for films, stage and TV productions.
SELECT LIST OF WORKS
STAGE:
Danzas para una imagen perdida (ballet, scenario by the composer), small orchestra, 1969
Yamar y Armor (ballet, scenario by Blanca Wiethüchter, after indigenous sources), voice, orchestra, fixed media, 1977
Manchaypuytu (opera in 3 acts, libretto by Néstor Taboada), 1995–96
La lagarta (ballet in 3 scenes, scenario by Blanca Wiethüchter), fixed media, 2000–02
ORCHESTRAL:
Liturgias fantásticas, 1963
Concertino semplice para flauta y orquesta, flute, orchestra, 1966
Concertino para piano y orquesta de cámara, piano, small orchestra, 1968
Música para orquesta I, 1974
Música para orquesta II, 1975
Música para orquesta III, 1976
Mística No. 7, small orchestra, 1977
Música para orquesta IV, 1984–85
Las transformaciones del agua y del fuego en las montañas, 1991
Música para orquesta V, 2003
...Y bajaron del cielo, harp, celesta, percussion, string orchestra, 2006
Sinfonía No. 1, 2008
Acortando la espera, small youth orchestra (piano, timpani, strings), 2009
Sinfonía No. 2, 2009–10
Concierto para violín y orquesta de cámara, violin, small orchestra, 2010
Diálogos de Tunupa, viola profonda, string orchestra, 2010
Concierto triple, alto saxophone, violin, piano, orchestra, 2014
Concierto para piano y orquesta de cámara, piano, small orchestra, 2015
En la vasta llanura, youth orchestra, 2016
Lamentaciones en vida de Tunupa, guitar, small orchestra, 2020–21
Música para orquesta VI, 2021
Música para orquesta VII, 2022
Concierto para quena y orquesta de cámara, quena (flute from South America), small orchestra, 2023
Música para orquesta VIII, 2024
CHAMBER MUSIC:
Trío, flute, clarinet, bassoon, 1961
Cuatro juegos fantásticos, clarinet, cello, piano, percussion, 1962
Preludio, passacaglia y postludio, string quartet, 1963
Estructuras, piano, percussion, 1964
Mística No. 1, string quartet, 1965
Mística No. 3, double bass obbligato, ensemble (flute, French horn, 4 violins, 2 violas, 2 cellos), fixed media, 1970
Mística No. 4, piano, 2 violins, viola, cello, fixed media, 1970
Juego para cinco, 2 pianos, 3 percussion, 1975
Mística No. 5, clarinet, bassoon, French horn, violin, viola, cello, double bass, 1976
Término cartela en lacería Churrigueresca, 2 guitars, 1986
Interludio, violin, 1986
Preludio al vino, guitar, 1989
Mística No. 6, violin, cello, piano, 1993
Mística No. 8, guitar, violin, cello, 1994–95
Sonatita de piel morena, cello, piano, 1999
Los tres alegres compadres, oboe, bassoon, piano, 1999
Mística No. 10, viola profonda, piano, 2008
Mística No. 11, violin, cello, piano, 2011
Mística No. 12, 2 violins, viola profonda, cello, 2012
Mística No. 13, alto saxophone, violin, piano, 2013
Mística No. 14, guitar, 2016
Mística No. 15, clarinet, cello, piano, 2019
Tiento de falsas, violin, 2020
CHORAL:
Tres piezas (texts from anonymous sources in Quechua), female chorus, 1961
Cantata solar (texts from traditional sources in Nahuatl, Quechua, from Egypt), soprano, baritone, mixed chorus, small orchestra, 1964
Cantata de Homenaje (text by Jesús Urzagasti), alto, baritone, mixed chorus, orchestra, 1975
Te-Deum, mixed chorus, orchestra, 1978
Al Mar (text by Óscar Cerruto), soprano, male chorus, orchestra, 1978–79
Qantatai (text by Blanca Wiethüchter), speakers, mixed chorus, fixed media, 1996–97
Luminoso amor (text by Blanca Wiethüchter), soprano, mixed chorus, 2004
Tres motetes profanos (text by Blanca Wiethüchter), soprano, mixed chorus, string orchestra, 2007
Pater Noster, mixed chorus, string orchestra, 2024
VOCAL:
Tres canciones sobre antiguos textos chinos (texts by poets from China [Spanish translations]), soprano, piano, 1960
Variaciones tímbricas, soprano, small orchestra, 1963
Tres canciones (text by the composer), soprano, flute, viola, piano, percussion, 1963 (lost)
Nocturnales (text by Jaime Saenz), baritone, flute, French horn, cello, piano, 1967
Tres canciones (text by Jaime Saenz), tenor, piano, 1968
La máscara (aria, text by Jaime Saenz), baritone, orchestra, 1973 (lost)
Mientras crece un árbol sobre el mar (text by Blanca Wiethüchter), soprano, vibraphone, string orchestra, 2000
Mística No. 9, soprano, violin, cello, piano, 2005
Tres canciones sin palabras (vocalise), soprano, guitar, 2009
Cuatro cantares del alma (text by the composer), soprano, piano, 2011
El extrañamiento de Dios (text by Martin Heidegger [translated by Alberto Ciria]), baritone, orchestra, 2018
PIANO:
Cinco preludios, 1960
Variaciones, 1961
Evoluciones, 1965
Mística No. 2, 1965
Tres piezas, 1971
Homenajes y profanaciones, piano 4 hands, 1977
Cinco bagatelas, 2002
Piano 3, piano, fixed media, 2002
Endechas Libro 1, 2006
Endechas Libro 2, 2007
Cuatro tientos, 2 pianos, 2013
Sonata para piano No. 1, 2017
Sonata para piano No. 2, 2020–21
ELECTROACOUSTIC:
¡Bolivianos...!, fixed media, 1973
Desde el jardín de Morador, synthesizers (1 player), computer, 1989
De los Elementos, synthesizers (1 player), computer, 1991
Evocaciones 1, fixed media, 2005