Joaquín Turina
1882 - 1949
Spanish
Summary
Biography
Joaquín Turina was born in 1882 in Seville and in 1905 he moved to Paris to complete his education as a pupil of Mozskovsky at the Schola Cantorum. His meeting with Isaac Albeniz, who published a dedication to him in his Quinteto Op 1, was influential in the starting of his career. Slowly he abandoned the formalistic academicism of the Schola for a more personal language in which all that is Spanish became his main inspiration. Also he incorporated into his language the impresionism of Debussy and Ravel.
From 1915 he returned to Spain where he maintained a continuous activity in many different musical aspects. He was a notable pianist both as a soloist and in chamber music. As orchestra conductor he conducted performances of Serge Diaghilev’s famous ‘Ballets Russes’. A renowned teacher, he was named professor of the Conservatory in Madrid in 1913, and after the Spanish civil war he was named General Commissary of Music, a post in which he carried out an efficient and conciliatory role. In 1946 he published his ‘Tratado de composición’, a fundamental work for post-war Spanish musicians.
Turina was a very prolific composer with a catalogue of more than one hundred works in which he explored all musical styles: symphonic music, piano solo, piano and vocal, ballet, chamber music. His pianistic output is very large, buoyed by the important contract signed with UME in 1929. At the end of the twentieth century he continues to be one of the favourite spanish musicians amongst the great performers and there has developed a large discography.
From 1915 he returned to Spain where he maintained a continuous activity in many different musical aspects. He was a notable pianist both as a soloist and in chamber music. As orchestra conductor he conducted performances of Serge Diaghilev’s famous ‘Ballets Russes’. A renowned teacher, he was named professor of the Conservatory in Madrid in 1913, and after the Spanish civil war he was named General Commissary of Music, a post in which he carried out an efficient and conciliatory role. In 1946 he published his ‘Tratado de composición’, a fundamental work for post-war Spanish musicians.
Turina was a very prolific composer with a catalogue of more than one hundred works in which he explored all musical styles: symphonic music, piano solo, piano and vocal, ballet, chamber music. His pianistic output is very large, buoyed by the important contract signed with UME in 1929. At the end of the twentieth century he continues to be one of the favourite spanish musicians amongst the great performers and there has developed a large discography.
News
- Wise Music works in upcoming Australian Festivals
- 26th March 2023
- We explore the Wise Music works featured in festival programs across Australia in the coming months.
- New recordings of UME composers by Deutsche Grammophon
- 25th November 2013
- The album "Spanish Landscapes" by the prestigious Spanish violinist Leticia Moreno and the pianist Ana-María Vera is out now on Deutsche Grammophon. The recording is available on CD and on the most important media...
Performances
26th April 2025
- PERFORMERS
- Boise Philharmonic
- LOCATION
- The Morrison Center Boise Idaho, Boise, ID, United States of America
27th April 2025
- PERFORMERS
- Boise Philharmonic
- LOCATION
- The Morrison Center Boise Idaho, Boise, ID, United States of America
29th June 2025
- PERFORMERS
- Cheltenham Philharmonic Orchestra
- CONDUCTOR
- Stephen Belinfante
- LOCATION
- Cheltenham Ladies College, Cheltenham, United Kingdom
Photos
