Manuel de Falla (1876 - 1946) Spanish

      Manuel de Falla  (Wikipedia article)

      Complete List of Compositions by Manuel de Falla


Falla's Best Known Works: 

Besides Noches en los jardines de España ("Nights in the Gardens of Spain") and the solo 
piano work Fantasía Bética, Falla is known for his one act opera La vida breve ("Life is Short"), 
the ballets El amor brujo ("Spell-bound Love") with it's famous "Danza ritual del fuego" 
(Ritual Fire Dance) and El de tres picos ("The Three Corned Hat"), and the chamber piece 
Concerto for Harpsichord, Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Violin and Cello.

Falla's Life and Music: 

Falla was born in Cádiz, Spain and was given piano lessons and began composing in his youth.  
His first success was his 1905 opera La vida breve.   However, he moved to Paris for seven years 
in 1907.  There he met the impressionists Maurice Ravel, Claude Debussy and Paul Dukas, as well
as Igor Stravinsky and Isaac Albéniz.  They had a big impact on Falla's style.  Returning to Spain 
in 1913 he produced his most famous compositions over the next four years using the modern styles.

Falla moved to Argentina in 1939 following Francisco Franco's victory in the Spanish Civil War.  
He died there in 1946.



Works for Solo Piano

     Cuatro piezas españolas, Pièces espagnoles ("Four Spanish Pieces")   (c. 1906–1909)
                                                                               for Isaac Albéniz

                1.  Aragonesa  (3:00)  Azumi Nishizawa, piano

                2.  Cubana  (4:00)  Azumi Nishizawa, piano

                 3.  Montañesa  (5:00)  Azumi Nishizawa, piano

                 4.  Andaluza  (4:25)   Javier Perianes, piano


     Fantasia Baetica  (1919, dedicated to Arthur Rubinstein)  Alex Alguacil, piano  (8:30)  


Works for Piano and Orchestra

     Noches en los jardines de España  ("Nights in the Gardens of Spain")  (c. 1909–1916)


      1.  En el Generalife  (In the Generalife):  The first gardens are in the Generalife, the 
                                                                        jasmine-scented gardens surrounding the Alhambra.

                   Alicia de Larrocha, piano, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Charles Dutoit, cond.  (10:15)

      2.  Danza lejana  (A Distant Dance):  The second garden is an unidentified distant one 
                                                                   in which there is an exotic dance.

                   Daniel Barenboim, piano, Chicago Symphony Orchestra  (6:00)

      3.  En los jardines de la Sierra de Córdoba  (In the Gardens of the Sierra de Córdoba):
   
                                                                     The  third set of gardens are in the Sierra de Córdoba.
                                                                      The best-known inhabitant of the gardens of the Sierra 
                                                                     de Córdoba was the Sufi philosopher Ibn Masarra, and 
                                                                     the dances depicted here are presumably Sufi dances.

                   Yuja Wang, piano, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Charles Dutoit, cond.  (9:00)