Biography (read more)
Manuel de Falla y Matheu (1876–1946) was a Spanish composer and pianist, born in Cádiz. He studied piano and composition in Madrid, and after moving to Paris in 1907 came under the influence of Debussy, Ravel, and Dukas before returning to Spain at the outbreak of World War I. Along with Isaac Albéniz, Francisco Tárrega, and Enrique Granados, he is considered one of Spain’s most important musicians of the first half of the 20th century, drawing on Andalusian folk idiom and cante jondo within a sophisticated, French-influenced harmonic language. He died in Alta Gracia, Argentina, in 1946, having emigrated there in 1939.
Falla has a strong claim to being Spain’s greatest 20th-century composer. His ballet El sombrero de tres picos (The Three-Cornered Hat, 1919), from which the guitar-transcribed “Danza del Molinero” (Miller’s Dance) is drawn, is among the most celebrated works of Spanish nationalist orchestral music and has become a repertoire staple in guitar transcription.
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