Xavier Montsalvatge

Xavier Montsalvatge ( born March 11, 1912 in Girona; † 7 May 2002, Barcelona) was a Spanish composer and music critic from Catalonia. He is regarded as one of the key figures of the Spanish music of the second half of the 20th century.

Biography

Montsalvatge studied violin and composition at the Conservatory of Barcelona, ​​the Conservatorio Municipal de Música de Barcelona, ​​becoming a teacher was later ( from 1970) and then Professor of Composition ( 1978 ). He was a student of Maria Lluís Millet, Enric Morera, Jaume Pahissa and Eduard Toldrà. After the Spanish Civil War began as a music critic for the newspaper to write Destino (1942 ), was a Director in 1968 and 1975, as well as for the daily newspaper La Vanguardia (from 1962).

His musical work is to be divided into different phases. At the beginning, it is strongly influenced by the twelve-tone technique and the Wagnerianism that the Catalan music scene at that time dominated ( Sinfonía mediterránea 1949). This was followed by a period in which he was inspired by the music of the West Indies ( Cinco canciones negras 1945 Cuarteto indiano 1952). Later he maintained contact with the French composer Olivier Messiaen and Georges Auric that changed his style significantly. For this phase was the free polytonality characteristic ( Partida, 1958). Finally, he was influenced by avant-garde styles.

Works

The works Montsalvatges include virtually all genres, from opera (El gato con botas, Una voz en off ) to chamber music ( Cuarteto indiano ), between orchestral works as Desintegración morfológica de la chacona de Bach, Laberinto o Sinfonia de réquiem or Sinfonía Mediterranea (1949 ) for which he received the prize of the Academy of Music. Its international fame Cinco canciones negras he owed the for soprano and orchestra, in which he used rhythms and themes of the music of the West Indies, and particularly the Canción de cuna para dormir un negrito. He also wrote music for movies and in 1987 was nominated for the Goya for Best Original Score, and indeed for the film Dragón Rapide.

Other Works (selection):

  • Sonatina for Ivette (1962 )
  • Babel ( 1967)
  • Homenaje a Manolo Hugue (1971 )
  • Serenata a Lydia de Cadaqués ( 1971)
  • Reflections obertura (1975 )
  • Concert Capriccio (1975 ) for harp and orchestra
  • Fantasia (1985) for harp and guitar
  • Babel 46 (2002 premiere )
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