La Vida Breve (M. De Falla) - Carmesí Guitar Duo

El amor brujo - Manuel de Falla

1,754,717 views Jan 23, 2007

1,754,717 views • Jan 23, 2007

Choreography of the film - El amor brujo - Carlos Saura - Antonio Gades

Barenboim - "El amor brujo" (Danza ritual del fuego) Falla

Daniel Barenboim conducts Manuel de Falla's "El Amor Brujo" (Danza ritual del fuego) with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from the Kölner Philharmonie (Germany)

Love Stories of Classical Composers (II - Joaquín Rodrigo)

 Joaquín Rodrigo and Victoria Kamhi Arditti

“The Light of my Eyes”

by Georg Predota , Interlude

Joaquín Rodrigo and Victoria Kamhi Arditti

On 14 March 1928 a concert honoring Manuel de Falla’s admittance to the French Légion d’Honneur took place in Paris. Falla insisted that music by some of his young Spanish colleagues should be heard as well, and Joaquin Rodrigo stole the show. A reviewer reports, “At that concert we admired both the spectacular piano performance of Joaquín Rodrigo (who lost his sight due to a grave childhood disease) and the dazzling way in which he composes for the piano.” Rodrigo’s compositions quickly attracted the attention of a number of eminent Spanish pianists, among them José Iturbi, Joaquín Nín and Ricardo Viñes. As it happened, Viñes was teaching Spanish piano repertoire to an exceptionally talented pianist from Istanbul. Victoria Kamhi Arditti was the daughter of Sephardic Jewish parents belonging to the cultural and economic elite of the Turkish high bourgeoisie, and she had started her piano studies at the age of four. Since her mother was Viennese, Victoria first furthered her studies in Vienna before moving on to Paris. She personally met Joaquín Rodrigo in 1929, and fell in love with his music. “First with his music and later with him.”

Joaquin Rodrigo: Cantico de la esposa (Song of the Bride)

Love is one thing, but the economic realities of a young composer with a severe disability struggling to make his way in the world seemed insurmountable. The relationship faced stern objections from parents, friends, and colleagues, and was characterized by periods of deep personal reflection. But in the end, love managed to clear all obstacles. Victoria writes, “on a gray November day I had taken the train to the Spanish border. In Barcelona Joaquín and his older brother, Paco, were waiting to welcome me to Spain. As we followed the highway to Valencia, I was lost in admiration of the picturesque little villages we passed through, and the exuberant vegetation. Everything seemed strange to me, the people, the customs, and the activities. I was surprised to see so much luxury, such abundance, in the house of my future parents-in-law.” They started to prepare for the wedding in the “strictest intimacy,” and the happy event took place on 19 January 1933. But the financial struggle continued. Initially they settled in Valencia, but when Rodrigo composed “Song of the Bride” in 1934, which he considered his best vocal work, it was “a very difficult time of our life when, after just one year of marriage, we had to be separated for economic reasons.” 

Eventually Rodrigo was awarded the “Conde de Cartagena Scholarhip” allowing him to join his wife in Paris. Victoria gave up her career as a pianist to devote all her efforts to the works of her husband, collaborating with him in musical and literary matters. When the scholarship was initially renewed, the couple decided to spend some time in Germany. However, with the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, the scholarship fund was no longer available and they had to find refuge at the Institute for the Blind in Freiburg. Three years of extended hardship finally came to an end in 1939, and Rodrigo completed his most famous composition, the Conceirto de Aranjuez. Victoria writes that shorty after the premiere of the concerto on 9 November 1940, their daughter Cecilia was born. “And what about her eyes?” Victoria asked weakly. “They’re magnificent, blue.”

Victoria Kamhi Arditti and Cecilia

Victoria Kamhi de Rodrigo played a crucial role in her husband’s later success as a composer. She wrote the scripts for his ballets “Pavana Real” and “Juana y los Caldereros,” and adapted the texts from the Dead Sea Scrolls. Kamhi was fluent in five languages, and she authored German and French versions of her husband’s vocal music.
She also penned her memoirs in 1986 published under the title “Hand in Hand with Joaquin Rodrigo. My life at the Maestro’s side.” Kamhi helped Rodrigo to develop an individual and distinct musical style, and she was his constant companion and inspiration. She took over a wide range of musical responsibilities, including managing his career. Rodrigo tenderly wrote, “My wife Victoria, my faithful companion and collaborator, has been my inspiration and my drive, she has given me confidence in myself and unending love, and she has dedicated her life to me and has been the light of my eyes.” Kamhi died in 1997, two years before her husband; they are both buried in Aranjuez.

Manuel de Falla - His Music and His Life

Manuel de Falla, also known as Manuel María de los

Dolores Falla y Matheu, is a renowned Spanish composer of international acclaim. The Spanish composer infused his compositions with unique idioms from native folk songs and dance to create his music on nationalistic lines. His fusion of poetry, simplicity, and passion represented the spirit of Spain in its purest form. Just like Isaac Albeniz, Enrique Granados and Joaquín Turina, Falla is deemed as one of Spain's most important musicians who contributed humongously the classical music of the first half of the 20th century. Manuel wrote several kinds of compositions including music for ballet, opera, chamber music, Spanish songs, piano music and zarzuelas. One of the most celebrated figures of Spanish music, Manuel de Falla has composed many pieces, which are considered as masterpieces of sorts. Noches en los jardines de Espana" ("Nights in the Gardens of Spain") is one of his major works of art. Also known for his ballet "El Amor brujo" (Love, the Magician) and opera "La vida breve" (The Short Life), Manuel de Falla really stands as a distinguished composer.

Manuel de Falla’s Childhood and Early Life

Manuel María de los Dolores Falla y Matheu was born on 23 November 1876 in the family home (3, Plaza de Mina) to José María Falla y Franco and María Jesús Matheu y Zabala. His early music teachers were his mother and grandfather. At the age of nine, he began his first piano lessons with Eloísa Galluzo. His relationship with Eloísa Galluzo soon ended after she chose to become a nun at the convent, Sisters of Charity. Then in 1889, Manuel went on to learn piano with Alejandro Odero, and harmony and counterpoint with Enrique Broca. He became interested in music and journalism and along with his friends, he created the literary magazine, “El Burlón”. At the age of 14, he displayed an aptitude for theatre, literature and painting and went about to create another magazine, “El Cascabel”, for which he was the "contributor" and, later, the "editor". At the age of 17, Manuel channeled his artistic tendencies towards music. He had frequent trips to Madrid in 1896, where he studied piano with José Tragó at the Escuela Nacional de Música y Declamación.

Beginning Of A Musical Career

In 1897, Falla composed “melodía” for cello and piano. His work was dedicated to Salvador Viniegra, in whose house Falla participated in performances of chamber music. As an external pupil of the Escuela Nacional de Música y Declamacíon in 1898, Falla passed with a distinction the first three years of music theory and the first five years of the piano course. He composed the Scherzo in C minor. By unanimous agreement, he won the first prize in piano at his institute “Escuela Nacional de Música y Declamación”, and he concluded his official studies in 1899. That same year he premiered his first works “Romanza para violonchelo y piano”, “Nocturno para piano, Melodía para violonchelo y piano”, “Serenata andaluza para violín y piano”, and “Cuarteto en Sol y Mireya”. In 1900, he composed Canción for the piano and some other pieces for voice and for piano. He also premiered “Serenata andaluza” and “Vals-Capricho” for piano and because of his family's unstable financial situation; he began to give piano lessons. Fallas’ first attempts at zarzuela, which include “La Juana y la Petra o La casa de tócame Roque”, date from this period. In 1901, he met Felipe Pedrell and composed “Cortejo de gnomos” and “Serenata”, both for piano. At the same time, he was working on the zarzuelas “Los amores de la Inés” and “Limosna de amor”. He then met the composer Joaquín Turina and saw his pieces “Vals-Capricho” and “Serenata andaluza” being published by the Society of Authors.

The composition of the “Allegro de concierto” was started in 1903 and was submitted to a competition organized by the Madrid Conservatoire. Enrique Granados eventually won the first prize, but the Society of Authors published “Tus ojillos negros” and “Nocturno”. Falla collaborated with Amadeo Vives on three zarzuelas of which only fragments survive. In 1904, the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando announced a competition for a new "Spanish opera in one act". Falla decided to enter the competition and hence began to work on “La vida breve”. He won the first prize for this composition. In April 1905, he won another piano competition organized by the Ortiz y Cussó Company. His “Allegro de concierto” was premiered at the Ateneo in Madrid. Manuel was encouraged by the composer Joaquín Turina to move to Paris and showcase his talents.

Musical Stint in Paris

Manuel de Falla travelled around France,Belgium, Switzerland and Germany as a pianist to a touring theatre company performing André Wormser's L'Enfant prodigue. He met a number of composers who had an influence on his style, including the impressionists Maurice Ravel, Claude Debussy and Paul Dukas. In 1908, he obtained a grant from the Spanish King Alfonso XIII to remain in Paris and finish “Pièces espagnoles”. He toured the north of Spain as the third member of a trio with violinist Antonio Fernández Bordas and cellist Víctor Mirecki and completed “Con afectos de júbilo y gozo”. The dramatist Paul Milliet translated the libretto of “La vida breve” into French, to have it performed in France. In 1910, Falla had his first encounter with Igor Stravinsky and he met Georges Jean-Aubry, Ignacio Zuloaga, Joaquín Nin and Wanda Landowska. On his first visit to London in 1911, he gave a recital in March. Then in 1912, he travelled to Switzerland and Italy and in Milan, Tito Ricordi negotiated him for his publication of La vida breve. In 1913, La vida breve was premiered at the Municipal Casino in Nice and later that year, his work was given “répétition générale” before the press and the public, at the Théâtre National de l'Opéra-Comique in Paris. Max Eschig published the score and became Falla's publisher. After the outbreak of World War I in 1914, Falla returned to Spain and settled in Madrid. It was at this stage that Falla entered into his mature creative period.

Return to Madrid

Manuel de Falla returned to Madrid at the outbreak of the World War 1. The Ateneo de Madrid, a private cultural association, paid homage to Joaquín Turina and Manuel de Falla in 1915. In the same year, he joined María Lejárraga (wife of Gregorio Martínez Sierra) on a trip to Granada Ronda, Algeciras and Cádiz. On his brief trip to Cau Ferrat in Sitges, he worked intensively on his well-known nocturne for piano and orchestra “Noches en los jardines de España”. In 1916, The Revista Musical Hispano-Americana published Falla's article "Enrique Granados: Evocación de su obra", and the newspaper La Tribuna published his "El gran músico de nuestro tiempo: Igor Stravinsky". During the spring and summer of this year, he gave concerts in Seville, Cádiz and Granada. The Revista Musical Hispano-Americana published a further article by Falla in its December issue: "Introducción al estudio de la música nueva". Fallas first performance of a version of “El amor brujo” for small orchestra was given in 1917. During this year he also wrote the prologue to Joaquín Turina's “Enciclopedia abreviada de Música”, and published "Nuesta música" in the June issue. In 1918, he worked on the comic opera Fuego fatuo, to a libretto by María Lejárraga. In April that year, he delivered a speech at a function at the Ateneo de Madrid to pay tribute to a French composer. The Princess de Polignac commissioned him to write a work for her salon in Paris, and Falla visioned the idea for El retablo de maese Pedro. In 1919, Manuel’s parents died. This really shook him. However, in the same year, his concert version of El sombrero de tres picos, a ballet, was premiered in London with choreography by Léonide Massine and sets and costumes by Pablo Picasso. This was amongst one of his most renowned works. In 1919 itself, Manuel visited Granada with his sister María del Carmen and Vázquez Díaz and his wife, to attend a tribute being paid in his honour by the Centro Artístico.

Stay at Granada

From 1921 to 1939, Manuel lived in Granada. Falla became closely involved with the cultural life of Granada, associating with personalities such as Miguel Cerón, Fernando de los Ríos, Hermenegildo Lanz, Manuel Ángeles Ortiz and, above all, Federico García Lorca. Here he organized the “Concurso de cante Jondo” in 1922. He wrote the puppet opera “El Retable De Maese Pedro” and a concerto titled Harpsichord Concerto. Both of these works were written with Wanda Landowska in mind. In Granada, Falla began work on the large-scale orchestral cantata “Atlàntida”. He considered Atlàntida to be the most important of his works. In 1924, Falla along with Ángel Barrios was unanimously elected permanent member of the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de Granada. He also completed ‘Psyché’, a setting of a poem by Georges Jean-Aubry. In the same year, he was named an honorary member of the Real Academia Hispano-Americana de Ciencias y Artes de Cádiz. On Falla's initiative, the Orquesta Bética de Cámara was founded in Seville too. In 1927, on Fallas fiftieth birthday tributes continued and the Orquesta Bética de Cámara hosted concerts at the Coliseo Olympia in Granada. While in Granada, Falla received a lot of recognition for his work. However, by 1937, due to his fragile state of health, he was confined to his house. In 1939, he moved from Granada to Barcelona with his sister and then from Barcelona he embarked to Argentina to conduct a series of four concerts in the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires.

His Last Years

Falla continued to work on Atlàntida after moving to Argentina in 1939. He settled initially in Villa Carlos Paz, then, later, in Villa del Lago. He conducted a concert—Orquesta Sinfónica de Córdoba in aid of the victims of floods in the capital and received the Gran Cruz de la Orden Civil de Alfonso X el Sabio. Later in 1940, he conducted two concerts on Radio "El Mundo". Manuel’s health had seriously started deteriorating and at the beginning of 1942, he moved to the chalet "Los Espinillos", near Alta Gracia in the province of Cordoba. This became his final residence. He rejected an invitation from the Spanish government to return to Spain. In spite of ill health, he continued to work on Atlántida and by 1945, he began to transcribe final versions of some sections of the work.

Personal Life

Manuel de Falla never married and had no children. His relationship with women did not last long and there were even rumors of homosexuality and misogynistic tendencies. His public image was ascetic and saint like. 

 

Death

On 14 November 1946, nine days before his seventieth birthday, Falla suffered a heart attack and died in his sleep at "Los Espinillos". The funeral took place in Córdoba Cathedral and in December, his sister María del Carmen embarked for Spain, with his remains. His body was finally entombed in the cathedral crypt of his native city.