Orlando Jacinto Garcia has established himself as an important figure in the new music world through some 150 works composed in a wide range of genres. The distinctive character of his music has been described as ‘time-suspended haunting sonic explorations’, qualities developed from studies with Morton Feldman and others. Born in Cuba, he came to the US in 1961. In demand as a guest composer, he is the recipient of honours and awards from a variety of cultural institutions, most recently, four Latin Grammy nominations. With performances in most capitals of the world, his music is recorded on O.O. Discs, CRI/New World, Albany, North/South, Capstone/Parma, New Albion, Opus One, Innova, Rugginenti, CNMAS, and Toccata Classics, among others. The founder of the New Music Miami ISCM Festival and a dedicated educator, he is Professor of Music and Composer in Residence at the School of Music at Florida International University.

El viento distante II was written for virtuoso clarinettist Wojciech Mrozek and is based on el viento distante (I), written for the same artist nine months earlier. The new work was created at the request of the soloist, who felt that a new version of the earlier work scored for solo clarinet and strings would not only work effectively but would be much easier to programme. el viento distante II retains what the earlier piece exhibits, namely, my aesthetic concerns whilst displaying the control, virtuosity, and musicianship of this great soloist. While the solo clarinet part in this new work is very similar to the one in el viento distante (I), adjustments to sonorities and timbres make it a somewhat different work. As with much of my music, its main concerns include the focus on timbre, the counterpoint between pacing, timbre, and density, and the slow evolution of material.