Arriaga (y Balzola), Juan Crisóstomo (Jacobo Antonio)

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Arriaga (y Balzola), Juan Crisóstomo (Jacobo Antonio)

Arriaga (y Balzola), Juan Crisóstomo (Jacobo Antonio), greatly gifted Spanish composer; b. Bilbao, Jan. 27, 1806; d. Paris, Jan. 17, 1826. He began to compose at a very early age, producing an Octet for Horn, Strings, Guitar, and Piano at 11, and the opera Los esclavos felices at 13. In 1821 he went to Paris and studied violin with Baillot and harmony andcounterpoint with Fétis at the Cons. His death just 10 days before his 20th birthday was a tragic loss to Spanish music. He managed, however, to complete a well-crafted Sym. and 3 fine string quartets, as well as the biblical scene Agar, fugues, piano pieces, and songs. A memorial was unveiled in his honor in Bilbao in 1933.

Bibliography

J. de Eresalde, Resurgimiento de las obras de A. (Bilbao, 1953); B. Rosen, A.: The Forgotten Genius: The Short Life of a Basque Composer (Reno, 1988).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire

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