Spanish Music in the Twentieth Century [Hardcover]

Tomas Marco (Author), Cola Franzen (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1993

From the exhilarating impact of Isaac Albeniz at the beginning of the century to today's complex and adventurous avant-garde, this interpretive history introduces 20th century Spanish music to English-speaking readers. Tomas Marco, award-winning composer and critic, covers a wide spectrum of composers and their works: trends and movements, critical and popular reception, national institutions, influences from Europe and beyond, and the effect of such historic events as the Spanish Civil War and the death of Franco. Marco's aesthetic critiques are threaded throughout each phase of this account. Marco provides coverage of the key figures, including a chapter devoted to Manuel de Falla - Spain's most celebrated 20th century composer - and a survey of recent arrivals on the contemporary music scene. Exploring the rise and fall of the zarzuela, the author highlights innovative works in this authentic Spanish genre. He analyzes the attempts to find an audience for Spanish opera; demonstrates the flowering of symphonic and chamber music at the beginning of the century; traces currents such as romanticism, impressionism, and neoclassicism; and tracks the influence of Spain's distinctive regional folk traditions. Covering musical innovation after Spain's emergence from its period of isolation, Marco notes the speed with which many composers absorbed the work of Stravinsky and Bartok, the twelve-tone system, aleatory forms, electronic techniques, and other European developments. English-speaking scholars, musicians, critics, and general readers have for decades been without full information on the rich and varied work coming out of Spain in this century. This history aims to fill a long-felt need with the knowledge and insights of a significant figure in the musical world.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Marco, a Spanish composer and music critic, demonstrates an impressive knowledge of Spain and its often neglected art music in this detailed evaluation. Marco has written several books in Spanish on contemporary music. His intriguing evaluations of many obscure works may send serious students and scholars in search of music scores and recordings not readily available in American libraries. A more comprehensive index would have helped readers locate information on performers, composers (even Marco himself), and titles of individual works. Still, with the 20th century drawing to a close, this up-to-date volume should remain an authoritative guide to the century's Spanish music. Recommended for larger music collections and for collections with a strong emphasis on Spain.
- James E. Ross, Seattle P.L.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Spanish

Product Details

• Hardcover: 261 pages
• Publisher: Harvard University Press (January 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0674831020
• ISBN-13: 978-0674831025
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,957,603 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars richness of expressive innovation here, April 17, 2000

By 

scarecrow "scarecrow" (Chicago, Illinois United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Spanish Music in the Twentieth Century (Hardcover)

Marco a composer himself is equipped to deal with the expressive richness of Spanish composers. It's fascinating that he divides the book into two halves, claiming the Spanish Civil War,(1936 to 1939) as a moment which divided Spain. I would have gone farther into the Fifties,for Franco had kept a repression of the arts well past the official end of the Civil War. Spain had its grandfathers Manuel de Falla,Albeniz, and Granados,all here amply discussed as to their influence on future generations. The conservative side seemed to dominate Spanish music up to the Fifties, interests in a national voice with past nostalgia, composers of the Zarzuelas,and the Generation of 1927 are focal points. But composers here were quick to absorb the innovations of European modernity of Bartok and Stravinsky. The Generation of 1951 Marco refers is the post World War 2 generation, composers like Luis de Pablo who we see(almost exclusivily) on Europes most rigorous festivals. Spain has had a cultural distance an isolation from the power centers of Europe, and like embarking into the regions to acquire knowledge and wealth like colonialists, is a fascinating perspective here.It seems how the only Spanish composers who gained recognition in the capitals in Europe are those composers who fostered close ties with composer power brokers, like Italian composer Franco Donatoni,Pierre Boulez, or Stockhausen. The second half here of this book, is all about splinter groups it seems again a convenient way to describe different expressive interests, So we have The Associates,The Moderates,composers like Abril,who search for a meeting place of the conservative voice and innovation, The Independents.Spain still remains isolated in that we seldom have a chance to hear this music only read about it.

2.0 out of 5 stars Oddly Ideological and Nasty, September 4, 2011

By 

Peter P. Fuchs (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Spanish Music in the Twentieth Century (Hardcover)

Though I tend to read a lot of books of music history and musicology for fun and interest, I don't often think of commenting on them. The reason is wrapped-up in the current musicological tendencies, which at best are fascinatingly recondite, or at worst factionally leading. Music is such a great thing in my own life that I don't often want to muddy my enjoyment with critiquing extremes of interpretation as to understanding. I know what I think about music, and am interested what others think, but I don't want to get too serious about the latter. Frankly, it would take some of the fun of it out of it for me. But this book has moved me to feel the need to comment. There is a lot in it about composers I am guessing many will never have heard of, and if I may say so, probably will never again. But about many famous Spanish composers the odd ideological preconceptions of the author lead to very blinkered interpretations. The author, who is an avante-garde composer himself, seems to have had a very heavy layer of pre-judgment about many of his fellow composers of the past. Of course he has to say some good things about Grandos, Albeniz and De Falla. But slightly less well known composers like the Halffters, Ernesto and Rudolfo, are treated very cursorily, given their importance. And what amazed me most is that in discussing Rudolfo Halffter's imprtance as a piano composer he fails to even mention Padre Soler. This seems like a ridiculous omission in a book on Spanish music. Rudolfo Halffter's and Ernesto's works in the Soler vein are such a striking homage across the centuries, and one of the few true examples of successful updating of an antique form in musical history generally, that surely it deserved to be brought in to the discussion. Similarly, when he discusses the work of Carlos Surinach there seems a skewed ideological view, but it takes a really gratuitously nasty turn. Personally I don't mind if a commentator differs strongly on an approach and makes the parameters of that difference clear and thus distinguishes himself thereby. I don't call that nastiness, but criticism. And the person who receives the criticism can at least internalize it with the understanding that they are dealing with someone who differs greatly. But Marco does not make his ideological preference in favor of very abstract avante-garde music obvious till the end. Thus when he criticizes someone like Surinach it is not on seemingly serious grounds, but for what seems like petty nastiness. I don't mind saying that I take a somewhat personal interest in this because I knew Surinach somewhat. However one might have taken this very modernist gentleman, as a purveyor of "tourist" music it was quite impossible. Surely if his music was "flamencoized", as Marco avers, it had to do with the fact that he made his career writing quite modernist ballet scores. Of course Marco does not emphasize this ballet writing in any way, because he seems to have wanted to portray the flamenco character in Surinach's works as purely supper-clubby. It hardly fits what the man's career was about, and so to me just seems like gratuitous nastiness, not even acid with a purpose. Many of Surinach's works still seem quite striking.

Of course the purpose behind all of it becomes clear as the book nears the end. The fawning treatment of many avante-garde Spanish composers seems quite out of proportion. Just to take the example of Cristobal Halffter, the lavish treatment Marco gives him hardly seems justified next to his vastly more talented relatives, who get short shrift. He calls the Cello concerto "excellent" when it seems a very obvious grab-bag of avante-garde cliches, even if he did get Rostropovich to play it. Marco repeats several times the "scandal" caused by one of C. Hallffter's work as if that is a justification in itself of quality. Well, I have not heard C. Halffter's Mikrofonos, but I am quite sure it is no Le Sacre, and having heard his Cello concerto, was sorry I plunked down good money for the CD of it.

The only part of the book I really like, and the reason I am not giving one star only, is about the "Generation of the Motu Proprio". He discusses a number of composers influenced by the document of Pius X. It is quite interesting in terms of cultural history to see how these artists had their careers affected by this Papal document. It drives home again how special Spain always was in terms of the influence of Catholicism. It always seems a bit ironic that Italian culture was more "free" in this sense. I especially liked also his very terminal judgment on the future of liturgical music in general because of the later Second Vatican Council. He says such music is "finished". Somehow hearing this judgment from an avatar of the Darmstadt School gives the meaning of that finality several potential meanings. I am not particularly interested in what this author might mean if it were not finished. But, since I very much like Stockhausen's Gesang der Junglinge there is at least a potential for imaginative potential.