Manuel de Falla

Manuel de Falla was one of the most influential Spanish composers of the early 20th century. He was born in Cádiz, a port city in southwestern Spain, into a music-loving family. His father was a Valencian businessman, while his mother was a Catalan from a musical background. He began taking piano lessons from his mother and grandfather at an early age, and later studied with various teachers in Cádiz and Madrid. He also developed an interest in literature and journalism, and co-founded two literary magazines. Falla moved to Paris in 1907, where he met and befriended many prominent composers of the time, such as Debussy, Ravel, Dukas, and Stravinsky. He was influenced by the French impressionist style, as well as by the Spanish folk music that he had encountered in his youth. He composed some of his most famous works during this period, such as Nights in the Gardens of Spain, a symphonic impression for piano and orchestra inspired by the Moorish gardens of Granada; The Three-Cornered Hat, a ballet based on a novel by Pedro Antonio de Alarcón; and El amor brujo, a ballet-pantomime that features the ritual fire dance. Falla returned to Madrid in 1914, at the outbreak of World War I. He continued to compose and conduct, and also became involved in various cultural and educational projects. He founded the Orquesta Bética de Cámara, a chamber orchestra that promoted contemporary Spanish music; he collaborated with Federico García Lorca and other artists in the revival of the cante jondo, a form of flamenco singing; he participated in the creation of the Concurso de Cante Jondo, a flamenco contest held in Granada in 1922; and he taught at the Madrid Royal Conservatory. In 1921, Falla moved to Granada, where he lived in a house near the Alhambra palace. He immersed himself in the Andalusian culture and history, and composed some of his most original and innovative works, such as El retablo de maese Pedro, a puppet opera based on an episode from Don Quixote; Harpsichord Concerto, a neoclassical work that combines elements of Baroque and Spanish music; and Atlántida, a large-scale cantata that remained unfinished at his death. Falla left Spain in 1939, after the end of the Spanish Civil War. He settled in Argentina, where he was invited to conduct a series of concerts devoted to Spanish music. He lived in Buenos Aires and later in Alta Gracia, a town in the province of Córdoba. He continued to work on Atlántida, but his health deteriorated due to a chronic intestinal disorder. He died of heart failure on November 14, 1946, at the age of 69. His remains were transferred to his hometown of Cádiz in 1947, after the restoration of democracy in Spain. His legacy lives on through his music, which is widely performed and admired for its expressive beauty and originality.