Mallavibarrena (born
Oviedo 1970) studied guitar with Carmen Ross at the Conservatory of Music in Madrid, flute with Giulio Capocaccia, Music Theory with Alvaro Zaldivar, Chamber Music with
Emilio Moreno, Gregorian chant with
Ismael Fernández de la Cuesta, basso continuo with
Guido Morini, and conducting with Martin Schmidt and
Helmut Rilling. Mallavibarrena began directing choirs at age 17, specializing in music of the Renaissance and the Baroque. A notable contribution to the rediscovery of Spanish renaissance music was the recovery and the three-volume complete recording of the 61 spiritual
villanescas of
Francisco Guerrero with the sponsorship of the
Junta de Andalucía. In 2005 with the orquesta Civitas Harmoniae, Musica Ficta performed, and Mallavibarrena conducted, the
zarzuela “Salir el Amor del Mundo" by
Sebastián Durón in the
Teatro Arriaga of
Bilbao. == Discography ==