11/3 Falla and the Theater In 1904, Carlos Fernandez Shaw introduced Manuel de Falla to "The Three-cornered hat," Pedro Antonio de Alarcón’s satire of 1874 of village life in Andalucía. It’s best known by Manuel de Falla’s music for the ballet of 1919. Falla’s original plan for the novel was to produce it as a pantomime-farce. Joaquín Turina conducted the premiere of "The Magistrate and the Miller’s Wife" on April 7, 1917. We'll hear the complete work, along with selections from "El Amor Brujo."
11/10 Cuba’s Classical Legacy Whether making their homes in Spain, the United States, or never venturing from the Pearl of the Antilles, Cuba’s best-known and best-loved composers are featured on this program. Hear their indelible impact on classical music through their unique combinations of European melodies and African polyrhythms, through contradances, waltzes, mazurkas and more by Havana-born composers Leo Brouwer, Joaquín Nin, Tania León, and “the Cuban Gershwin,” Ernesto Lecuona.
11/17 El Llibre Vermell The Shrine of the Virgin of Montserrat was a major pilgrimage site in the 14th century. El Llibre Vermell de Montserrat, or the Red Book of Montserrat, is a 14th-century collection of devotional texts and music for the pilgrims to the Catalonian Montserrat Monastery. Tonight we hear selections from the 6 music folios contained in El Llibre Vermell, presented by La Capella Reial de Catalunya and Hespèrion XXI, under the direction of Jordi Savall. Recorded live in concert November 25, 2013, in Barcelona’s Gothic Santa Maria del Pi Church.
11/24 Argentina More Than Just Tango The international success of the Argentine tango may have eclipsed the variety of Argentina’s classical music. Although it may be Argentina's best-known musical export, it’s far from the only musical expression to be discovered. On this edition of The Spanish Hour, we explore the rich and varied classical music of Argentina: works for guitar, orchestra, and chorus by Carlos Guastavino, Alberto Ginastera, and Astor Piazzolla: “El rey del tango.”
