Rodolfo Halffter Escriche (October 20, 1900 – October 14, 1987) was a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

composer.

Early years

Born in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, into a family of musicians, Rodolfo Halffter was the brother of

Ernesto Halffter Ernesto Halffter Escriche (16 January 19055 July 1989) was a Spanish composer and conductor. He was the brother of Rodolfo Halffter and part of the ''Grupo de los Ocho'' ( en, Group of Eight), which formed a sub-set of the ''Generation of '27''. ...

and uncle of

Cristóbal Halffter Cristóbal Halffter Jiménez-Encina (24 March 1930 – 23 May 2021) was a Spanish classical composer. He was the nephew of two other composers, Rodolfo and Ernesto Halffter and is regarded as the most important Spanish composer of the gene ...

, also composers. His father Ernest Halffter Hein came from

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. His mother was Rosario Escriche Erradón, a

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

who taught the first music lessons to her children.

Career

Rodolfo Hallfter was self-taught as a composer and in the 1930s took part in the intellectual environment of Madrid, particularly in the composers' society " Grupo de los Ocho" or "Grupo de Madrid". This group was influenced by Spanish musician

Adolfo Salazar Adolfo Salazar Ruiz de Palacios (6 March 1890 - 27 September 1958) was a Spanish music historian, music critic, composer, and diplomat of the first half of the twentieth century. He was the preeminent Spanish musicologist of the Silver Age. Fluen ...

(1890-1958), who encouraged them to innovate and introduced them to the

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

music of the time, including the works of

Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...

, Schoenberg,

Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...

and Bartók. It was in this period that Halffter wrote the majority of his most important works, and at the same time he worked as a music critic in ''La Voz'' as well as in the propaganda ministry of the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

government (as compared to his brother Ernesto, who supported

Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" Prefix * Franco, a prefix used when ref ...

). Because of this relationship, he went into exile in Mexico at the end of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

. In

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

he taught in the National Conservatory and was director of ''Ediciones Mexicanas de Música''. He never quit composing and always kept the influence of the "Grupo de los Ocho". His works tend to develop in a free

polytonality Polytonality (also polyharmony) is the musical use of more than one key simultaneously. Bitonality is the use of only two different keys at the same time. Polyvalence or polyvalency is the use of more than one harmonic function, from the same key ...

with a

classicism Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. In its purest form, classicism is an aestheti ...

in a Scarlatti style. It is believed that Rodolfo Halffter brought

serialism In music, serialism is a method of Musical composition, composition using series of pitches, rhythms, dynamics, timbres or other elements of music, musical elements. Serialism began primarily with Arnold Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique, thou ...

. Halffter returned to

on many occasions after 1963, teaching in

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

and

Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, as the destination of the Way of St ...

and taking part in music festivals. He was awarded Spain's highest award for composition, the

Premio Nacional de Música The National Music Award ( es, Premio Nacional de Música, links=no) is one of Spain's annual National Awards by the Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: * Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) *Mini ...

, in 1986. He died in

in 1987.

Selected filmography

* '' The Lady from Trévelez'' (1936) * ''

Michael Strogoff ''Michael Strogoff: The Courier of the Czar'' (french: Michel Strogoff) is a novel written by Jules Verne in 1876. Critic Leonard S. Davidow, considers it one of Verne's best books. Davidow wrote, "Jules Verne has written no better book than thi ...

'' (1944)

References

Classical.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Halffter Escriche, Rodolfo 1900 births 1987 deaths Musicians from Madrid Spanish people of German descent Spanish composers Spanish male composers Spanish people of the Spanish Civil War (Republican faction) Exiles of the Spanish Civil War in Mexico Mexican people of German descent Mexican people of Catalan descent National Conservatory of Music of Mexico faculty 20th-century composers 20th-century Spanish musicians 20th-century Spanish male musicians