Halffter (Escriche), Rodolfo

Halffter (Escriche), Rodolfo, eminent Spanish-born Mexican composer and pedagogue, brother of Ernesto Halffter (Escriche) and uncle of Cristóbal Halffter (Jiménez- Encina); b. Madrid, Oct. 30, 1900; d. Mexico City, Oct. 14, 1987. He was mainly autodidact although he received some instruction from Falla in Granada (1929). Halffter became a prominent figure in the promotion of modern Spanish music, and was made chief of the music section of the Ministry of Propaganda (1936) and then a member of the Central Music Council (1937) of the Spanish Republic. Following the defeat of the regime in the Spanish Civil War, Halffter fled in 1939 to France and then to Mexico, where he became a naturalized Mexican citizen. In 1940 he founded the contemporary ballet ensemble La Paloma Azul. From 1941 to 1970 he taught at the Conservatorio Nacional de México in Mexico City. In 1946 he founded the publishing firm Ediciones Mexicanas de Música and the journal Nuestra Música, which he ed. until 1952. In 1969 he was made a member of the Academia de Artes de Mexico and in 1984 he was made an honorary member of the Real Academia de Bellas Artes in Madrid. In his early works, Halffter followed in the path of Falla but he later explored contemporary techniques, including 12-tone writing. His Très Hojas de Álbum (1953) was the earliest 12-tone music publ. in Mexico.

Works

dramatic:Clavileño, opera buffa (1934-36; not extant); Don Lindo de Almeria, ballet (1935; Mexico City, Jan. 9, 1940; orch. suite, 1936); La madrugada del panadero, ballet (Mexico City, Sept. 20, 1940; orch. suite, 1940); Lluvia de toros, ballet (1940); Elena la traicionera, ballet (Mexico City, Nov. 23, 1945); Tonanzintla, ballet (1951; also as Très Sonatas de Fray Antonio for Orch.); much film music. ORCH.: Tres piezas (1924-25; rev. as an orch. suite, 1924-28; rev. 1930; Madrid, Nov. 5, 1930); Diferencias sobre La Gallarda Milanesa de Félix Antonio de Cabezón (1930); Obertura concertante for Piano and Orch. (1932; rev. version, Valencia, May 23, 1937); Impromptu (1932; not extant); Preludio atonal: Homenaje a Arbós (1933); Violin Concerto (1939-40; Mexico City, June 26, 1942; rev. 1952); Très Sonatas de Fray Antonio Soler (1951; also as the ballet Tonanzintla); Obertura festiva (1952; Mexico City, May 25, 1953); Très piezas for Strings (1954; Mexico City, Aug. 10, 1955); Tripartita or Tres piezas (1959; Mexico City, July 15, 1960); Diferencias (Mexico City, Sept. 13, 1970; rev. 1975 and 1985); Alborada (1975; Mexico City, May 9, 1976; incorporated in Dos ambientes sonoros, 1975-79); Dos ambientes sonoros (1975-79; incorporates Alborada, 1975); Elegia: In memoriam Carlos Chavez for Strings (1978). CHAMBER: Giga for Guitar (1930); Divertimento for String Quartet (1930; not extant); Pastorale for Violin and Piano (1940); Tres piezas breves for Harp (1951); Quartet for String Instruments (1957–58); Cello Sonata (1959–60); Tres movimientos for String Quartet (1962); Ocho tientos for String Quartet (1973); Capricho for Violin (1978); Epinicio for Flute (1979); …huésped de las nieblas…Rimas sin palabras for Flute and Piano (1981); Egloga for Oboe and Piano (1982); Paquiliztli for 7 Percussion (1983). piano:Naturaleza muerta (1922); Dos Sonatas de El Escoriai (1928; rev. 1929); Preludio y fuga (1932); Danza de Avila: En lo alto de aquella montaña (1936); Perpetuum mobile: Homenage a Francis Poulenc (1936); Para la tumba de Lenin: Variaciones elegiacas (1937); Muñieira des vellas (1938); Homenaje a Antonio Machado (1944); 3 sonatas (1947, 1951, 1967); Once bagatelas (1949); Al sol puesto (1952); Copia (1952); Tonada (1952); Tres hojas de album (1953); Música for 2 Pianos (1965); Laberinto: Cuatro intentos de acertar con la salida (1971–72); Nocturno: Homenaje a Arturo Rubinstein (1973); Facetas (1976); Secuencias (1977); Escolio (1980); Una vez y otra, con coda: Cantilena variada (1982). VOCAL: Marinero en Tierra for Voice and Piano (1925–60); Canciones de la Guerra Civil Española for Soloists, Chorus, and Orch. (1937–38); Dos Sonetos for Voice and Piano (1940–46); La nuez for Children’s Chorus (1944); Tres Epitafios for Chorus (1947–53); Desterro for Voice and Piano (1967); Pregón para una pascua pobre for Chorus, Trumpets, Trombones, and Percussion (1968).

Bibliography

J. Alcaraz, R. H. (Madrid, 1987); X. Ruiz Ortiz, R. H: Antologia, Introducción y Catalogos (Mexico City, 1990); A. Iglesias, R. H: Tema, Nueve décadas y Final (Madrid, 1991).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire