CASTILLO, Graciela

GRACIELA CASTILLO (1935–2023) was an Argentine pianist, composer, improviser, educator and researcher, recognised as a pioneer of electroacoustic and experimental music in Argentina. Born in Córdoba, she studied piano, composition and electroacoustic techniques with Nicolás Alessio, César Franchisena and Francisco Kröpfl. During the 1960s, she performed twentieth-century Argentine music and helped establish the Experimental Music Centre at the National University of Córdoba, where she later taught composition and musical analysis.
Castillo composed instrumental, concrete and electroacoustic music, frequently combining recorded material with voices, acoustic instruments, processed sound and unconventional objects. Her early works include Concreción 65, Diálogos, Homenaje a Eliot, Estudio sobre mi voz and El pozo, whose graphic score appeared in John Cage’s book Notations. Her later compositions include Memorias, Tierra, Iris en los espejos, Los 40 pianos de San Francisco, Alma mía, Ofrenda and La vuelta (Tango). Her work played an important role in the development and dissemination of avant-garde and electroacoustic music in Córdoba.