Manuel de Falla (1876 -1946)
Biography:
His parents were José Maria Falla and Maria Jesús Matheu. As a boy, he
began piano lessons with his mother; then continued with a local teacher, and
by the age of 10 was attending chamber concerts in Cádiz. He had a fondness for
puppets and he played elaborate games centering on Christopher Columbus. As he
got older and his musical abilities grew, he began writing short stories and
decided to become and author. His work was carefully edited
and with extensive correspondence with important figures in the arts and
government. After the mid-1800’s, he decided to become a composer and began
working with Alejandro Odero; who taught harmony and counterpoint at the local
conservatory. Falla soon began performing his own music in public and he would
spend long intervals in Madrid studying the piano. He eventually enrolled into
the Madrid Conservatory where he won several honors, including the first prize
in piano in 1899.
Falla eventually became frustrated with the musical institutions in
Spain because no authorization from a Spanish theater materialized for his
public performance. He then accepted an offer in 1907, to tour France as an
accompanist and ended up living in Paris for the next seven years. He tried
playing his piece La Vida Breve, but it was not performed for 6 years. Later in
1911-12, he traveled to Milan, Brussels and London both to give concerts and
investigate possible venues for La Vida Breve; which was finally presented in
Nice in 1913. Falla tried to bring his family to Paris after his successes but
because of World War I, he was forced to move back to Spain. Falla later
composed and performed many more works and visited many more countries but his
ill health and the political realities that were involved during that 1960s
prevented him from composing more. He is well known for his colorful, folkloric
compositions than for his works from the 1920s.
Discography:
v El Amor Brujo, 1967, Label: Fratelli Fabbri Editori, Ensemble
vEl Sombrero De Tres Picos, 1961, Label: Belter, Soloist
v L’Amour Sorcier, 1928, Label: Odeon, Ensemble
v La Vida Breve, 1954, Label: RCA Victor, Album
v Nights in the Gardens of Spain, 1954, Label: Columbia Masterworks, Ensemble
v
Une Infante Defunte, 1971, Label: ICI, Ensemble
Bibliography:
“Manuel de Falla.” Discogs. Zink Media, Inc, n.d, Web. 10 Oct. 2013.
http://www.discogs.com/artist/Manuel+De+Falla#t=Reseases_Album&
“Manuel de Falla. “Oxford
Music Online". Oxford University Press, n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2013. http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.ezproxy.lib.umb/subscriber/article/grove/music/09266q=Manuel+de+Falla&search =quick &pos=1&_start=1#firsthit
