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Joaquín Turina, 1914

Joaquín Turina (December 9, 1882 – January 14, 1949) was a composer of classical music from Spain. The majority of his work shows the influence of traditional music of Andalusia.

Early Life

Joaquín Turina Pérez was born in Seville, Spain. He was born into a middle class family. At the age of four, he became known as a child prodigy because of his improvised accordion playing. He began piano lessons in high school with Enrique Rodríguez. then started to study harmony and counterpoint with Evaristo García Torres.

Success and Performance

He started to gain success and recognition by playing and composing at social events in a piano quintet with his friends. His official presentation to the public was in 1897, at the Piazza de Sevilla, where he played a recital. It was a greatly revered performance. Later, he experimented with chamber ensembles, and eventually he began to write operas. He became interested in the field of medicine, but ultimately decided to dedicate his career to music.

Madrid  (1902 – 1905)

He premiered his first opera, "La Salumita", at the Royal Theater of Madrid. He then went on to perform works from Scarlatti, Beethoven, Schumann, Wagner, and his own compositions. He continued to study piano technique with José Tragó, and also continued to compose. With the death of his parents, he decided to move to Paris.

Paris (1905 -1913)

Upon his arrival in Paris, Turina began piano and composition classes with Moritz Moszkowski and Vincent D’Indy. He met Maurice Ravel and Claude Debussy, and became friends with Isaac Albéniz and Manuel de Falla. Albéniz encouraged Turina to explore the popular music of Spain, and Andalusia, and to draw inspiration from it. Turina took Albéniz's advice and moved his composition style away from the Schola Cantorum environment to music which is more characteristic of his native Andalusia.

He married Obdulia Garzón in 1908, who he would have five children with. He continued to perform his original works around Paris, with much success. The start of World War I forced him to leave Paris and return to Madrid.

Madrid (1914 – 1949)

Back in Madrid, he premiered his opera, Margot, with a libretto written by a married couple who would become his regular collaborators. Turina continued to perform concerts; his own, as well as with chamber ensembles, or with singers. In 1918, he was hired as the tour director of the Russian Ballet as it travelled Spain. He worked as a Maestro, a music critic, and a teacher of composition. During the Spanish Civil War, he was a ""worker" of the british consulate, and later held the title of General Commissioner of Music.

Death

He died of an unknown illness in Madrid on January 14th, 1949. He composed 14 original pieces in the last nine years of his life, the last titled "Desde mi terraza" (From my Balony).

Selected Works

• 3 Arias, Op.26
• Bailete, Op.79
• Canto a Sevilla, Op.37
• El Circo, Op.68
• Círculo, Op.91
• Concierto sin Orquesta, Op.88
• Cuentos de España, Series 1, Op.20
• Cuentos de España, Series 2, Op.47
• 3 Danzas Andaluzas, Op.8
• Danzas fantásticas, Op.22
• 5 Danzas Gitanas, Series 1, Op.55
• 5 Danzas Gitanas, Series 2, Op.84
• 2 Danzas sobre temas populares españolas, Op.41
• En el Cortijo, Op.92
• Jardín de niños, Op.63
• Jardines de Andalucía, Op.31
• La Leyenda de la Giralda, Op.40
• Mallorca, Op.44
• Miniaturas, Op.52
• Mujeres de Sevilla, Op.89
• Mujeres Españolas, Series 1, Op.17
• Mujeres Españolas, Series 2, Op.73
• Navidad, Op.16
• Niñerías, Series 1, Op.21
• Niñerías, Series 2, Op.56
• Partita in C major, Op.57
• Piano Quintet, Op.1
• El poema de una sanluqueña, Op.28
• Poema en forma de canciones, Op.19
• El Poema Infinito, Op.77
• Por las Calles de Sevilla, Op.96
• Radio Madrid, Op.62
• Recuerdos de la Antigua España, Op.48
• Recuerdos de mi rincón, Op.14
• Rincón mágicos, Op.97
• Rincones Sevillanos, Op.5
• Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Op.24
• Scene andalouse
• Sevilla, Op.2
• Silhouettes, Op.70
• Sonata fantasía, Op.59
• Sonata Romántica, Op.3
• String Quartet, Op.4
• Tarjetas Postales, Op.58
• La Venta de los Gatos, Op.32

Turina was born in Seville but his origins were in northern Italy (between Verona, Brescia and Mantova). He studied in Seville as well as in Madrid. He lived in Paris from 1905 to 1914 where he took composition lessons from Vincent d'Indy at his Schola Cantorum de Paris, and studied the piano under Moritz Moszkowski. Like his countryman and friend, Manuel de Falla, while there he got to know the impressionist composers Maurice Ravel and Claude Debussy.

In 1908 he married Obdulia Garzón, who was to bear him five children. She was the dedicatee of the Danzas fantásticas, which he completed in 1919.

Along with de Falla, he returned to Madrid in 1914, working as a composer, teacher and critic. In 1931 he was made professor of composition at the Madrid Royal Conservatory. He died in Madrid. Among his notable pupils were Vicente Asencio and Celedonio Romero.

His works include the operas Margot (1914) and Jardín de oriente (1923), the Danzas fantásticas (1919, versions for piano and orchestra), La oración del torero (written first for a lute quartet, then string quartet, then string orchestra), chamber music, piano works, guitar pieces and songs. Much of his work shows the influence of traditional Andalusian music. He also wrote a short one-movement Rapsodia Sinfonica (1931) for piano and orchestra. His music often conveys a feeling of rapture or exaltation.

He wrote several pieces for the Classic Guitar, including "Fandanguillo" and "Hommage a Tarrega", which were written for Andrés Segovia.

The dedicatee and/or first performer of a number of his piano works was José Cubiles.

External links

• Official website
• Further biographical information
• Free scores by Joaquín Turina at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)

Category:1882 births Category:1949 deaths Category:Madrid Royal Conservatory alumni Category:20th-century classical composers Category:Opera composers Category:Spanish classical composers Category:People from Seville Category:Andalusian musicians Category:Spanish people of Italian descent Category:Academics of the Madrid Royal Conservatory Category:Schola Cantorum de Paris alumni Category:Composers for piano