Carles Quilmetas

Carles Quilmetas (1775-1834) was a Spanish composer, violinist, and double-bassist long active in Girona.

Quilmetas was born in Vic, and worked for more than forty years at Girona Cathedral, where he was the first layman to take a permanent position as a musician. Almost nothing else of his biography is known, save that he was the first in a line of musicians known to have been active through the 19th century.[1] He is also known to have suffered various hardships during his time in Girona, most related to the Napoleonic invasions of Spain.[2] He wrote a symphony whose manuscript is currently held in the Library of Catalonia; it shows the influence of Joseph Haydn in some of its features.[1] Whether or not the piece was ever performed during the composer's lifetime is unknown; it has been recorded on a disc with works by Rafael Cuenta.[3]