Ataúlfo
ArgentaFruhbeck de Burgos
José Iturbi
Jesús López Cobos
Lorenzo Palomo
Felipe Pedrell
Ataúlfo
Argenta
Fruhbeck de Burgos
José
Iturbi
Jesús López Cobos
Lorenzo Palomo
Felipe Pedrell
(The Guitarists by Joaquin Sorolla)
Ataúlfo Exuperio Martín de Argenta Maza was born in Castro Urdiales, Cantabria, in 1913. His parents were Juan Martin Argenta and Laura Maza. Ataúlfo studied at a Catholic school called Doctrina Cristiana. His musical aptitude became evident since an early age, when he sang as a soloist at a local choir. Lack of financial resources precluded his enrollment in a music school until the “Catholic Circle” decided to finance classes of solfaggio, piano and violin for persons of modest means. The family moved to Madrid in 1927 where he demonstrated extraordinary musical abilities as a pianist at the Conservatory of Madrid.
Argenta went to Belgium to take advanced music lessons at the famous Liege Musical Conservatory with Professors Jean du Chastein and Armand Marsik. His poor health, aggravated by the cold climate in that region, forced him to leave for Brussels. After a few years in Belgium he returned to Spain where its Civil War was about to start. He volunteered for service with the Civil Guard and was assigned to the communications battalion in Salamanca, Segovia, Aguilar de Campo and Cistierna. He married Juana Pallarés Guisáosla during the Spanish civil war. He had met her years earlier at the Conservatory of Madrid where she was a student.
After the war he played the piano at theaters and with small orchestras to earn a living, until he won a scholarship to study music in Germany with Professor Carl Schuricht. He eventually got a position at the Kassel Conservatory, but WWII interrupted his career once again. Upon his return to Spain in 1941 he learned that although his name and abilities as a pianist were recognized in many European countries he was very much a stranger in his own land. In 1941 he moved to Barcelona where Wolff offered him an opportunity to appear as a piano soloist. He eventually got a job as a pianist at the National Orchestra, and became orchestra director at Radio Nacional de España, where he directed a program about Mozart.
In 1949 he founded the Chamber Orchestra of Madrid, with whom he gave numerous successful concerts and tours throughout Spain. At about this time he became guest director of the French National Orchestra. Some of his most memorable concerts were given in Paris and London, with José Iturbi as piano soloist. He also gave four concerts in Argentina. Argenta became director of the National Orchestra of Spain in 1947, and a member of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in 1956. Argenta, who is considered one of the best orchestra directors Spain ever had, died in Los Molinos in 1958. He won the great cross of Alfonso X, the Wise, posthumously.
Rafael
Fruhbeck de Burgos was born in the city of Burgos, Spain,
in 1933. His parents were from Austria. Rafael studied violin, piano, theory
and composition at the conservatories of Bilbao and
Madrid; and conducting at the Munich Hochschule fur Musik
where he graduated Summa Cum Laude, and won the Richard Strauss Prize. Rafael’s
love for Spain is so deep that he added “de Burgos” to his surname. Even though
his classical music repertoire is among the largest of any modern conductor he
often selects pieces by Spanish composers such as Albéniz, Falla
and Rodrigo for his concerts.
Fruhbeck de Burgos is the music Director of the Radio Symphony Orchestra of Berlin, and was the music Director of the Deutsche Opera of Berlin and of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. He has served as Guest Conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra of Washington, D. C. and the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo. He was also the music Director of the Bilbao Orchestra, the Spanish National Orchestra of Madrid, the Dusseldorf Symphoniker, and the Montreal Symphony. He is also a frequent guest conductor in Israel, Great Britain, and Germany.
Since his debut with the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra he has conducted almost every major orchestra in the United States and Canada, including the National, Philadelphia and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestras. He has also toured these countries repeatedly as a conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, the National Orchestra of Madrid, and the Swedish Radio Orchestra.
He has recorded on numerous occasions for EMI, DGG, Decca, ORFEO and Spanish Columbia. His most memorable recordings are interpretations of the complete works of Falla, Rodrigo’s Concerto de Aranjuez, Mozart’s Requiem, Mendelssohs’s Elijah and St. Paul, and Bizet’s Carmen.
José Iturbi was born in Valencia, Spain, in 1895. His parents were Ricardo Iturbi, a gas company employee, and Teresa Baguena an opera singer. His musical aptitude became apparent at an early age when he was enrolled in the music school of Maria Jordan. By the time he was seven years old he was earning money giving piano lessons, performing at silent movie theaters and at recitals!
He studied music at the Conservatory of Valencia, and took private lessons with Joaquín Malats; until several private citizens and organizations raised donations to send the promising young student to the Conservatoire de Musique in Paris to complete his studies with Professor Staub. After graduating with top honors, José moved to Zurich where he earned a living working in a café, until the director of the Geneva Conservatory heard him play and hired immediately to head the Conservatory’s piano department.
In 1916 Iturbi married Maria Giner, who died after the birth of their daughter Maria. From 1919 to 1921 José devoted all his energies and talent to his teaching responsibilities, but in 1921 he felt an unmitigated urge to play professionally and began giving concerts in various European cities. Two years later he quit his teaching job. In addition to piano playing and conducting, Iturbi composed several piano works with a Spanish folklore flavor; his most popular piece is “Pequeña Danza Española”. He excelled as an interpreter of Spanish music.
He made his London debut in 1923 on a tour with Igor Stravinsky, when he performed the Russian composer’s new piece, L’Historie du soldat”. He made his American debut in 1929 with the Philadelphia Philharmonic Orchestra, playing Beethoven’s G Major Concerto Nr. 4. Two months later he debuted in New York where he played Mozart’s D Minor Concerto, K 466, and Liszt’s Hungarian Fantasia with the New York Philharmonic.
The brilliant successes in these cities were followed by one in Mexico City, and multiple performances throughout the United States where he was a frequent guest of the New York and Detroit Orchestras. In 1936 he was appointed conductor of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, and performed as a guest conductor with most American orchestras. His recital at Town Hall in New York was acclaimed by the New York Times as “an evening of almost super smooth piano playing”.
After his performance at Carnegie Hall in 1941 a New York Times critic wrote “José Iturbi’s stunt brought down the house, when he added to his piano duties a vivid job of leading his band he had the audience at his mercy. Mr. Iturbi did not miss a cue. If his hands were occupied he beat time with his head. If one hand was playing a fragment of music, the other hand beat time or gave a cue”.
His successes on the stage led to several movie contracts, playing the piano in a variety of styles and conducting a military band in his first film “Thousands Cheer” (1943), which starred Kathryn Grayson and Gene Kelly. His most memorable movies were a starring role with Jeanette McDonald in “Three Dancing Daughters” (1948), and an on-screen appearance in “A Song to Remember” (1945) for which he recorded Chopin’s Polonaise in A Flat. Over a million copies of this record were sold. He also had appearances in films like “Music for Millions”, “Two Sister and a Sailor”, “Anchors Away”, “Holiday in Mexico”, and “That Midnight Kiss”.
His debonair and friendly
performances on the stage were very much in contrast with his off-stage
behavior. He was labeled as a sexist as a result of his assertion during an
interview in which he said “women are temperamentally limited and unable to
attain the same standards of musical performance as men”. His statements,
however, were at odds with his personal behavior; he frequently toured with his
sister, Amparo Iturbi, who was also a gifted pianist and actress. Another
incident that caused public outrage was his last-minute withdrawal from a
concert with Benny Goodman because, in his opinion, “jazz and classical music
don’t mix”. On another occasion he complained because members of the audience
were making too much noise eating their hot dogs.
Iturbi was
awarded a number of honors including Greece’s Order of St. George, and the
French Order of the
Légion
d'Honneur.
He died in Los Angeles, California.
Jesús
López Cobos
was born in 1940 in Toro, Zamora, in northwestern Spain. He began his music
studies at the Conservatory in Malaga, and continued at the Conservatory of
Madrid while he was pursuing a a degree in Philosophy at the University of
Madrid. His exceptional talent and musical aptitude were so obvious that in
1966 he decided to study conducting in Italy with Professor Franco Ferrara, and
later in Vienna with Professor Hans
Swarowsky,
until he got a scholarship from
Banco
Urquijo
to take advanced music lessons in New York.
Jesús
won first
prize at the
Besançon
(France) International Conducting
Competition in 1968, while he was still a student. This prestigious prize led
to an invitation to perform at the Concert Festival in Prague in 1969.
He made his professional conducting debut in Venice where he conducted the opera La Fenice; and as a concert conductor in Prague. His dual symphonic and opera orientations characterized the rest of his professional career.
Jesús López Cobos was Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra from 1986 to 2000, Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra from 1990 until 2000, General Music Director of the Deutsche Oper Berlin from 1981 until 1990 and Music Director of the Spanish National Orchestra from 1984 until 1988. He was also Principal Guest Conductor of the London Philharmonic from 1981 to 1986.
He has worked with many of the world's major orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw, Vienna Philharmonic, Vienna Symphony, Hamburg NDR, Munich Philharmonic, Zurich Tonhalle, Israel Philharmonic, Cleveland, Chicago, Boston Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh Symphony and Los Angeles Philharmonic and with all of the London Orchestras. He has also conducted opera productions at La Scala, Metropolitan Opera House, Covent Garden and the Vienna Opera. In 1987 with the Deutsche Oper he conducted the complete Ring cycle in Japan, a first for that country. In 1989 they performed the Ring in Washington DC.
Under the direction of Jesús López-Cobos, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (CSO) released 26 recordings, beginning with a 1987 album of music by Spanish composer Manuel de Falla. The recording became legendary for its idiomatic interpretation and was named "Record of the Year" by Stereo Review. For his final recording as Music Director of the CSO, López Cobos returned to the music of Spain, leading evocative performances of Danzas Fantásticas, Op. 22, Sinfonía Sevillana, Op. 23, and La Procesión del Rocio, Op. 9 by Joaquín Turina. Also on that recording is the exotic Iberia from "Images for Orchestra" by Claude Debussy. The Telarc CD (CD-80574) is, in short, a "must-have" for anyone who enjoys music at its best.
As a musicologist he recorded a revision of the operas Lucia di Lammemour, Othello, and Moses and presented it at La Scala in 1979. Jesús López Cobos is an Honorary Member of the Deutsche Oper of Berlin, won Germany’s Medal of Merit for his contributions to the advancement of culture in that country; and he is a Doctor Honoris Causa at the University of Cincinnati. He also won the prestigious Fundación Principe de Asturias award for Music in 1981. The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and their conductor Jesús López Cobos won the "Best Orchestral Performance" Grammy nomination in 2003 for Music of Turina, Falla, and Debussy.
Lorenzo Palomo was born in Ciudad Real, Spain in 1938. He began composing songs and choral works at an early age, while studying piano, composition and conducting in Spain and New York. His family moved to Córdoba, in Southern Spain, when Lorenzo was a young boy. His frequent visits to the Tablao Flamencos, where he saw emerging artists improvise their performances in the best Andalusian tradition helped shape his taste in music and made a lasting impression on the young composer.
He studied piano and music theory at a local school and, later, at the Córdoba Conservatory; and took advanced music lessons at the Music Conservatory in Barcelona, where he learned composition with Joaquín Zamacois, and piano with Sofia Puche Mendlewicz. His friendship with the Romeros, with whom he perfected his guitar skills, also influenced his style, and helped him discover the beauty of the guitar and the exuberance of flamenco music. After his graduation in Barcelona he won a Juan March Foundation grant to study opera conducting with Boris Goldovsky in New York.
Palomo returned to Spain in 1971. In 1973 he became the conductor of the Valencia Symphony Orchestra, and principal guest conductor of the Manila Symphony Orchestra in the Philippines. In 1976 he conducted L’orchestre de la Suisse Romande during a centennial concert of music by Manuel de Falla. He has conducted with some of the best artists in the world including Montserrat Caballé, Plácido Domingo, Pilar Lorengar, Franco Corelli, Alexis Weissenberg, and Pepe Romero.
He made his debut as a conductor in New York with Madame Butterfly; conducted La Traviata in Philadelphia; and led Samson and Dalila, and Fidelio, in Santiago de Chile. In 1980, the success of his ballet “The Legend of Mount Bangkay” in Manila convinced him to curtail his conducting activities and concentrate on composing.
Palomo dedicated his masterpiece “Andalusian Nocturnes” to Pepe Romero and his father, Celedonio. This wonderful composition, which had its CSO premiere in 2000, depicts the romanticism and passion of flamenco; while exploring the roots of this musical style. It introduces Hebraic and Arabic elements, mixed with traditional Spanish melismas into a delightful composition. In April 2003, music Director Jesús López-Cobos and The Romeros presented the premiere of Palomo’s Concierto de Cien fuegos ("Concerto of a Hundred Fires") in the United States, a work for guitar quartet and orchestra.
Palomo currently resides in Berlin where he is a conductor and pianist of the Deutsche Opera of Berlin. He has composed over 200 compositions for piano, solo voice with various accompaniments, choir, orchestra, and for the guitar. His admiration and friendship with the Romeros influenced the creation of many of his guitar works.
Felipe
Pedrell was born in Tortosa, Spain in 1841. He began his music career as a
choir boy at the Cathedral of Tortosa, with father Juan Nin as his teacher. Nin
provided him with a deep understanding of the austerity and structure of
Spanish and Italian music of the XVI century.
His operas “El último Abencerraje” (1874) and “Quasimodo” (1875) had limited success but earned him a scholarship in Rome in 1876, and in Paris a year later. While in these countries he wrote several religious pieces and symphonies. The most relevant are: “Misa da Gloria, Te Deum”, “Milá Symphony”, “Triumphal March”, several songs with an Oriental flare, “Lo cant de la montanya”, and the opera “King Lear and Cleopatra”.
His fame, however, is centered on his efforts as a researcher and author of historical music books. His extensive knowledge of music is evident in his book “Salterio Sacra-Hispanic”, the magazine “Musical Notes”, and the anthology “Hispaniae Scholae Música Sacra” dedicated to Cristóbal de Morales, an expert in polyphony.
His best known books are “Los Pirineos” (The Pyrenees), a famous trilogy based on poems by Victor Balaguer, a fellow Catalonian. A year later he wrote “Por nuestra música” a treatise in which he attempts to clarify aesthetic ideals. His most important work was the “Cancionero musical popular español” published in four volumes in 1922. This book contains one of the most valuable compilations of Spanish folklore in existence.
In 1894 he became a professor at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Madrid where he continued to investigate and divulge the roots of Spanish folklore. Felipe Pedrell died in Barcelona in 1922.
As a researcher, author, and professor of music his achievements are many. In fact, he is widely regarded as one of the most important elements of the Nationalist Movement in XIX century Spain. In fact, the research conducted by this Catalonian musician is often credited for establishing a link between the music of the XVI and XVII centuries and that of the XIX century, when popular folklore music became fashionable. He is also remembered as the teacher of Albéniz, Granados and Falla. His fame as a composer, however, is limited at best. His compositions and operas did not survive the test of time.
He almost single handedly resurrected the works of many great and nearly forgotten Spanish composers. His “Hispaniae schola música sacra” include rare compositions by Cabezón, Morales, Victoria and other outstanding XI century polyphonists. His “Antologia de organistas clasicos españoles” (1908) has a large collection of keyboard music by several Spanish organists; and his “Cancionero de música popular Española” is also of great importance, albeit for some concerns about the purity of some editions.
To Top