THE PAWNSHOP, Op. 7 for Wind Orchestra with film by ANTON ALCALDE (Spain, 1992)
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- 3 min read
[#351] April 13, 2026
Spain | 2012 | Wind Orchestra with Film | Grade 5 | 27’ | Film Score
Premiered by Santiago de Compostela Municipal Wind Orchestra
conducted by Xosé Carlos Seráns on May 02, 2012 in Santiago de Compostela, Spain
View and listen here:
The Pawnshop by Spanish composer, conductor and publisher Anton Alcalde is our Composition of the Week.
Commissioned by and dedicated to the "Curtocircuito" International Short Film Festival 2012 (Santiago de Compostela, Spain). In memoriam Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin. The first performance was given by the Santiago de Compostela Municipal Wind Orchestra, conducted by Xosé Carlos Seráns, at the "Curtocircuito" International Short Film Festival, Santiago de Compostela, Spain, May 2, 2012.
The work is cast in 17 sections:
i. Main Titles
ii. Chaplin Appears on Screen
iii. Bite the Dust
iv. Game with the Ladder: Part I
v. Confrontation: Part I
vi. Game with the Ladder: Part II
vii. Balancing Act
viii. Incident with the Policeman
ix. You're Fired!
x. Confrontation: Part II
xi. Love?
xii. Fight in the Kitchen
xiii. A Tale of Woe
xiv. The Thief
xv. The Clock Scene
xvi. Epilogue
xvii. Happy Ending
The Pawnshop is scored for standard wind band setting, including 6 percussion parts. The music has a duration of 27 minutes. The music is on sale at the composer’s website, and it is licensed for two years, with the possibility of renewal. More information here:
Antón Alcalde is a Spanish composer, conductor, and self-publisher based in Taiwan. Since the age of sixteen, he has received numerous national and international composition awards, and his works have been premiered and performed around the world — in over 35 countries to date.
Among the ensembles that have performed his music, it is worth highlighting groups such as the Real Filharmonía de Galicia (Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Galicia) (Spain), KOAN 2 Ensemble (Spain), Vigo430 Ensemble (Spain), Banda Sinfónica Juvenil 'Simón Bolivar' (Venezuela), Bevers Harmonieorkest (Belgium), Gents Universitair Harmonie Orkest (Belgium), Banda Sinfónica Portuguesa (Portugal), Sinfonischen Verbandsjugendblasorchester Ortenau (Germany), Stadtkapelle Memmingen (Germany), Blasorchester Feldmusik Neuenkirch (Switzerland), Harmonie Municipale de Sion (Switzerland), Stadtmusik Bludenz (Austria), Orchestra di fiati di Valle Camonica (Italy), Luxembourg Military Band, High School of National Taiwan Normal University, Izumo Symphonic Band -ENISHI- (Japan), University of Washington Symphonic Band (USA), University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Symphonic Band (USA), University of the Pacific Symphonic Wind Ensemble (USA), Western University Wind Ensemble (Canada), Musique des Parachutistes de Toulouse (France), Banda Primitiva de Llíria (Spain), Banda Sinfónica del C.I.M. "La Armónica" de Buñol (Spain), S.M.I. "Santa Cecilia" de Cullera (Spain), and the Municipal Bands of Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao, Palma de Mallorca, A Coruña, and Santiago de Compostela, among others.
Alcalde has received commissions from major national and international institutions, including the Consello da Cultura Galega (Spain), the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Galicia (Spain), the Certamen Internacional de Bandas “Vila de la Sénia” (Spain), and the Bevers Harmonieorkest (Belgium), among others. He has collaborated with internationally renowned soloists such as Roberto Oliveira (Koninklijk Conservatorium, the Netherlands), Arturo Costa (Royal College of Music, London), Ximo Vicedo (solo trombone of the Spanish Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra), and Hiroko Yamakawa (Showa University of Music, Japan). Additionally, his music has been premiered and performed at major festivals and concert halls worldwide, including the World Music Contest Kerkrade (the Netherlands), Flicorno d’Oro (Italy), the Certamen Internacional de Bandas de Música de Valencia (Spain), the Extravaganza Percussion Festival at the Royal Irish Academy of Music (Ireland), the Juilliard School (USA), the 1st National Congress of Wind Orchestras of Spain, the National Concert Hall (Taiwan), the Auditorium 400 at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (Spain), and Hiroshima Bunka Gakuen HBG Hall (Japan).
Alcalde has frequently been invited as a guest conductor by the FSSH Alumni Wind Band and the Hsinchu Municipal Wind Orchestra in Taiwan. He has also collaborated as a guest conductor with the HSNU Alumni Wind Band (High School of National Taiwan Normal University), the NCU Alumni Wind Band (National Central University), and the orchestra of Hsinchu County Cheng-Gong Junior High School (Taiwan).
He was a member of the Asociación Gallega de Compositores (Galician Association of Composers) from 2011 to 2021. Since 2016, he has been pursuing his own editorial project under the label "Aalcalde Music," exclusively selling his scores worldwide.
His music has received recognition in excess of twenty times among national and international awards and nominations, with notable achievements such as the first prize "Xavier Montsalvatge" at the prestigious XXXV Premio Jóvenes Compositores Fundación SGAE-CNDM (35th Young Composers Award of the SGAE Foundation-CNDM), the special award "Juventudes Musicales de España" — also awarded within the 35th Young Composers Award of the SGAE Foundation-CNDM — resulting in the role of composer-in-residence for the 2025-2026 season, and the honorable mention received at the prestigious 32th Concorso di Composizione Originale per Banda (Corciano, Italy).
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