Cristòfor Taltabull (28 July 1888 - 1 May 1964) was a Spanish

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

and pedagogue who played a role in the reconstruction of musical life in Catalonia after the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

Biography

Taltabull was born in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

. He came from an educated, middle-class family and studied music (mainly piano) locally. Upon the first publication of his work in 1907, he moved to

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

to study aesthetics and music theory under Franz Wiedermeyer. He also studied composition in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

with

Max Reger Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger (19 March 187311 May 1916) was a German composer, pianist, organist, conductor, and academic teacher. He worked as a concert pianist, a musical director at the Paulinerkirche, Leipzig, Leipzig University Chu ...

, to whom Taltabull dedicated his ''Sonatina per a piano'' (1910). In 1911, after a brief stay in Barcelona, he established himself in Paris working as a composer, pianist, and arranger. While in Paris, he continued his musical studies with André Gedalge, Charles Tournemire and

Charles Koechlin Charles-Louis-Eugène Koechlin (; 27 November 186731 December 1950), commonly known as Charles Koechlin, was a French composer, teacher and musicologist. Among his better known works is '' Les Heures persanes'', a set of piano pieces based on th ...

. He married Lea Masson in 1914. He was forced to leave Paris during the German invasion of France during World War II. When Taltabull returned to Barcelona, he was received indifferently and did not find much professional success in Spain under

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces i ...

. He supported himself by giving private music lessons in his home. He died in Barcelona in 1964. After his death, Taltabull's pupils celebrated him as a gifted teacher. Some of the most important Catalan musical figures of the later 20th century, such as Xavier Benguerel,

Joan Guinjoan Joan Guinjoan i Gispert (28 November 1931 – 1 January 2019) was a Catalan composer and pianist. Life Born in Riudoms, Guinjoan studied at the Conservatori Superior de Música del Liceu in Barcelona. In 1954, he moved to Paris and continued ...

, Josep Mestres Quadreny, Josep Soler, and

Salvador Moreno Manzano Salvador Moreno Manzano or Salvador Moreno (1916-1999) born in Orizaba, (Veracruz), was a composer, History of art, art historian and Mexico, Mexican painter closely linked to Catalonia. Biography A disciple of Alejandro Mestizo, Salvador More ...

, were among Taltabull's students. The archives and personal papers of Cristòfor Taltabull are preserved in the

Biblioteca de Catalunya The Library of Catalonia (, ) is the Catalan national library, located in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The primary mission of the Library of Catalonia is to collect, preserve, and spread Catalan bibliographic production and that related to the ...

in Barcelona.

References

External links

Personal papers of Cristòfor Taltabull in the Biblioteca de Catalunya
(in Catalan) * http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/47305?goto=taltabull&_start=1&type=biography&pos=1 {{DEFAULTSORT:Taltabull, Cristofor Composers from Catalonia 20th-century classical composers 1888 births 1964 deaths Spanish male classical composers Spanish classical composers 20th-century Spanish musicians 20th-century Spanish male musicians