Xavier Montsalvatge
| Xavier Montsalvatge | |
|---|---|
Xavier Montsalvatge in 1999
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| Born |
Xavier Montsalvatge i Bassols 11 March 1912 Girona, Catalonia, Spain |
| Died | 7 May 2002 (aged 90) Barcelona, Catalonia |
| Cause of death | emphysema |
| Resting place | Cementiri de Sant Gervasi, Barcelona, Spain |
| Residence | Barcelona (from 1921) |
| Nationality | Spanish |
| Education | Conservatori Municipal de Música de Barcelona |
| Occupation | Composer, music critic, music professor |
| Known for | Cinco canciones negras |
| Title | Creu de Sant Jordi (1983), Spanish "Premio Nacional de Música" (1985), Catalan "Premi Nacional de Música" (1997), Medalla d'Or de la Generalitat de Catalunya (1999); Doctor Honoris Causa, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et Lettres. |
| Spouse(s) | Elena Pérez de Olaguer (m. 1947) |
| Children | Xavier, Yvette |
| Website | http://www.montsalvatge.com/ |
Xavier Montsalvatge i Bassols (Catalan pronunciation: [ʃəβiˈe munsəɫˈβadʒə] shə-vee-AY moon-səll-VAH-jə; 11 March 1912 – 7 May 2002) was a Spanish composer and music critic. He was one of the most influential music figures in Catalan music during the latter half of the 20th century.
Montsalvatge was born in Girona, and studied violin and composition at the Barcelona Conservatory. His principal teachers were Lluís Maria Millet, Enric Morera, Jaume Pahissa, and Eduard Toldrà. After the Spanish Civil War, Montsalvatge began work as a music critic when he joined the newspaper Destino in 1942, a publication he would eventually direct in 1968 and 1975. He wrote additionally for the daily La Vanguardia after 1962. Montsalvatge also returned to teach at his alma mater, becoming a lecturer in 1970, and then a professor of composition in 1978.
He was awarded Spain's Premio Nacional de Música for composition in 1985. He died in Barcelona, aged 90.
Montsalvatge's style evolved over several different phases. At the start of his career, he was strongly influenced by the twelve-tone technique and by Wagnerism, which together dominated the Catalan music scene during the period represented by his Sinfonía mediterránea of 1949. In the following period, he found inspiration in the music of the Antilles (Cinco canciones negras, 1945; Cuarteto indiano, 1952). His steady contact with the French composers Olivier Messiaen and Georges Auric led to a crucial change in his style, which soon became characterized by free polytonality (Partida, 1958). The final phase of Montsalvatge's work revealed the influence of the avant-garde.
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