"When writing history, there are usually people who have a decisive influence on their time, either by what they say or by what they do. Álvaro d'Ors is one of them, understanding his brilliant professional activity as a service". Gabriel Pérez, professor at School of Communication at the University of Navarra, has pronounced these words on the occasion of the publication of his book Sinfonía de una vida (Rialp), the biography of Full Professor Álvaro d'Ors, who died in 2004.

The third and last son of the writer, philosopher, journalist and art critic Eugenio d'Ors ( "Xenius"), Álvaro d'Ors "was and is one of the most important figures of his time in various fields of knowledge", Gabriel Pérez points out that he excelled in the legal programs of study , especially the Roman Law to those of Epigraphy and Papyrology, passing through the Philology Classical, Ancient History, the History of Law, Foral Law, the Canon Law and Political Theology. He received distinctions such as the award Eusko Ikaskuntza-Laboral Kutxa of Humanities, Culture, Arts and Social Sciences and the Gold Medal of the University.

As he explains, Sinfonía de una vida makes reference letter to the comparison that professor d'Ors made with his life trajectory. "A symphonic work performed by different instruments directed by a firm will to do at each moment what he had to do, without leaving it for later," he explains.

An intellectual with vital coherence

"This peculiar symphony begins with an adagio for the time of his childhood and youth in Barcelona and Madrid; the years of the civil war constitute an allegro vivace; his long academic life, with almost 40 years of active service are for him an andante and the final time, from his retirement until his death, an allegro maestoso", comments Gabriel Pérez.

For the author of the book, "if there is one quality among the many that Álvaro d'Ors possessed, it is his absolute vital coherence. He thought what he did and did what he thought. Everything fit into his worldview, so often seen by him from very original perspectives".      

The volume is promoted by the Chair Álvaro d'Ors del Institute for Culture and Society (ICS), directed by Professor Rafael Domingo. It is the result of a agreement of the University and the Citizenship and Values Foundation and aims to promote the interdisciplinary and transversal research in the area of Law and Human and Social Sciences.

Gabriel Pérez Gómez (Guadix, 1951) has a PhD in Information Sciences and is a journalist. He has been director of Televisión Española in Navarra and president of association of Journalists of Navarra. award He received the National Journalism Award from the Ministry of Health and is currently a professor of Audiovisual Narrative at School of Communication. In 1976 he married a daughter of Álvaro d'Ors, which allowed him to live closely and know first hand many of the events described in this biography.