Manuel de Falla y Matheu (Spanish pronunciation: [maˈnwel de ˈfaʎa]) was born on November 23, 1876, in Cádiz, Spain, and died on November 14, 1946, in Alta Gracia, Argentina. He was a Spanish composer and pianist. He was one of Spain’s most important musicians during the first half of the 20th century, along with Isaac Albéniz, Francisco Tárrega, and Enrique Granados. He is considered one of Spain’s greatest composers of the 20th century, even though he wrote fewer pieces than some other composers.

Biography

Manuel de Falla was born Manuel María de los Dolores Falla y Matheu in Cádiz. His father was José María Falla, from Valencia, and his mother was María Jesús Matheu, from Catalonia.

In 1889, he continued piano lessons with Alejandro Odero and studied harmony and counterpoint with Enrique Broca. At 15, he became interested in literature and journalism. He started two literary magazines called El Burlón and El Cascabel.

By 1900, he lived with his family in Madrid. He studied piano with José Tragó, a friend of Isaac Albéniz, and composition with Felip Pedrell. In 1897, he wrote a piece called Melodía for cello and piano and gave it to Salvador Viniegra, who held music events that Falla attended. In 1899, he won first prize in a piano competition at his school. He premiered his first works, including Romanza para violonchelo y piano, Nocturno para piano, Serenata andaluza para violín y piano, and Cuarteto en Sol y Mireya. That same year, he began using "de" with his first name, becoming known as Manuel de Falla. When only the surname is used, the "de" is not included.

In 1900, he wrote Canción para piano and other vocal and piano pieces. He premiered Serenata andaluza and Vals-Capricho para piano at the Ateneo de Madrid. Because his family had financial difficulties, he started teaching piano.

During his time in Madrid, Falla became interested in the music of his home region, Andalusia, especially flamenco, which influenced his work. He wrote several zarzuelas, including La Juana y la Petra and La casa de tócame Roque. On April 12, 1902, he premiered Los amores de la Inés at the Teatro Cómico de Madrid. That same year, he met composer Joaquín Turina and saw his Vals-Capricho and Serenata andaluza published.

In 1903, he composed and performed Allegro de concierto for a competition at the Madrid Royal Conservatory. Enrique Granados won first prize with a piece of the same name, but Falla’s Tus ojillos negros and Nocturno were published by the Society of Authors. He began working with Amadeo Vives on zarzuelas like Prisionero de guerra, El cornetín de órdenes, and La cruz de Malta (only parts of these remain).

His first major work was the one-act opera La vida breve (1905, revised for its 1913 premiere). With a libretto by Carlos Fernández Shaw, it won Falla first prize in a competition by the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, along with 2,500 pesetas and a promise of a performance at the Teatro Real in Madrid. This promise was not kept. In April 1905, he won first prize in a piano competition sponsored by Ortiz and Cussó. On May 15, his Allegro de concierto premiered at the Ateneo de Madrid, and on November 13, the Real Academia gave him his prize for La vida breve.

In 1907, Falla moved to Paris, where he stayed for seven years. He met composers like Maurice Ravel, Claude Debussy, Paul Dukas, Igor Stravinsky, Florent Schmitt, Isaac Albéniz, and Sergei Diaghilev. In 1908, King Alfonso XIII gave him a grant to finish his Cuatro piezas españolas. In 1910, he met Stravinsky, and in 1911–12, he traveled to London, Brussels, and Milan to promote La vida breve, which was finally performed in Nice on April 1, 1913. A second performance took place at the Opéra-Comique, where critics like Pierre Lalo and André Coeuroy praised it. He wrote Siete canciones populares españolas in mid-1914. After World War I began, he returned to Madrid, where he entered his mature creative period.

In Madrid, he composed well-known pieces, including:
– Noches en los jardines de España (1916), a nocturne for piano and orchestra.
– El amor brujo (1915), a ballet that includes the famous Danza ritual del fuego.
– El corregidor y la molinera (later called El sombrero de tres picos, 1917), a ballet produced by Sergei Diaghilev with set designs and costumes by Pablo Picasso. This work was based on a novel by Pedro Antonio de Alarcón.

From 1921 to 1939, Falla lived in Granada, where he organized the Concurso de Cante Jondo in 1922. In Granada, he wrote El retablo de maese Pedro (1923), a puppet opera, and a harpsichord concerto (1926). Both works were intended for Wanda Landowska. These pieces show more influence from Stravinsky than from Spanish folk traditions.

During the 1920s and 1930s, he visited Barcelona and Catalonia, working with Catalan artists like Joan Lamote de Grignon, Oleguer Junyent, Frank Marshall, Rafael Moragas, Jaume Pahissa, and Santiago Rusiñol. He attended concerts by Cobla Barcelona and collaborated with groups like the Associació de Música Da Camera and the Orquestra Pau Casals. In 1925, he said, “I have to tell you, and I say it with all my soul, that, without the Catalans, I might not have been able to carry out my work, or to be who I am.”

In Granada, he began writing Atlántida, an orchestral cantata based on a Catalan text by Jacint Verdaguer. After moving to Argentina in 19

Honours

• 1935: Member of the Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium.
• 1940: Received the title of Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Alfonso X the Wise.
• Member of the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando.
• Member of the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de Nuestra Señora de las Angustias.

Legacy

Manuel de Falla's home in Granada was a villa that looked over the city. This home has been kept in good condition as a museum that shows his life. In the 1970s, a concert hall called the Auditorio Manuel de Falla was built next to the villa. The hall opened with a concert featuring music written by Falla. Since then, it has been where the City of Granada Orchestra is based.

His picture was shown on the Spanish 100-pesetas banknote from 1970.

A station on Madrid Metro's Line 10 is named after Manuel de Falla.

• Manuel de Falla 1876–1946 Historical recordings; Andalusian Music Documentation Center.
• Pianola Rolls (Works by Albéniz, Granados, Turina, Ocón, Chapí, Alonso, and Others) (Almaviva, DS – 0141) ASIN B000GI34D6