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The Sociedad de Conciertos de Madrid (English: Madrid Concert Society) was the first permanent symphony orchestra in Spain.
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The Sociedad de Conciertos de Madrid (English: Madrid Concert Society) was the first permanent symphony orchestra in Spain.
The private Society was founded in 1866 by Francisco Asenjo Barbieri and Joaquín Gaztambide, who assumed responsibility for its organization and artistic direction. It was the heir of the orchestra formed by the Sociedad Artístico Musical de Socorros Mutuos which was based at the Teatro Real in Madrid.
Barbieri conducted the Orchestra during its inaugural season and was succeeded by Gatzambide in the following. The first musical director who served at length was Jesús de Monasterio, who was appointed in 1869 and remained until 1876. The Orchestra divided its activities between theatrical productions and symphonic concerts, and contributed to the spread of Wagernism and European symphonic music in Spain. It advanced the careers of new Spanish talents, such as Tomás Bretón, Joaquín Turina, Ruperto Chapí, and Isaac Albéniz.
In 1876, the conductorship passed to Mariano Vázquez Gómez, under whose guidance the Orchestra offered Spanish audiences the chance to hear the complete cycle of Beethoven's symphonies in their homeland for the first time.
On 27 February 1898, the Orchestra gave a performance Richard Strauss' symphonic poem Don Quixote at the Teatro Príncipe Alfonso on the Paseo de Recoletos, which was conducted by the composer himself. Other famous conductors who were invited to the Orchestra included Luigi Mancinelli and Jerónimo Giménez.
Due to a major economic crisis and irreconcilable disagreements between the section leaders of the Orchestra, the Society was dissolved in 1903. The majority of its members regrouped to form the Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid, which has continued to play to the present day.
Zarzuela is a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, the latter incorporating operatic and popular songs, as well as dance. The etymology of the name is uncertain, but some propose it may derive from the name of a royal hunting lodge, the Palace of Zarzuela, near Madrid, where that type of entertainment was allegedly first presented to the court. The palace in turn was named after the brambles that grew there.
The Madrid Royal Conservatory is a music college in Madrid, Spain.
Tomás Bretón y Hernández was a Spanish conductor and composer.
Juan Pascual Antonio Arrieta Corera, also known as Emilio Arrieta, was a Spanish composer.
Francisco Asenjo Barbieri was a well-known composer of the popular Spanish opera form, zarzuela. His works include: El barberillo de Lavapiés, Jugar con fuego, Pan y toros, Don Quijote, Los diamantes de la corona, and El Diablo en el poder.
Pedro Miguel Juan Buenaventura Bernadino Marqués y García was a Spanish composer and violinist.
The Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid, founded in 1903, is the oldest existing Spanish symphony orchestra in Spain not owned by an opera house or theater.
The Teatro de la Zarzuela is a theatre in Madrid, Spain. The theatre is today mainly devoted to zarzuela, as well as operetta and recitals.
Antonio Videgain García was a Spanish conductor and composer, who dedicated his career to writing zarzuelas, such as A vuela Pluma and El vals coqueto.
CristóbalOudrid y Segura was a Spanish pianist, conductor, and composer. He is noted for his many contributions to the formation and development of the zarzuela genre in Spain during the second half of the 19th century. He was a gifted musician—but with little technical knowledge, which he bragged about to receive more credit from others with relation to his creations. This habit earned him the scathing criticism of people like Antonio Peña y Goñi who, nevertheless, praised the bright, sensual and cheerful ease with which Oudrid used to bring to life the true meaning of the Spanish song.
Rafael José Maria Hernando y Palomar was a Spanish composer of zarzuelas, being that his contributions to the genre lead to the development of the zarzuela grande. His body of work consists of 17 operettas and some religious works. None of his zazuelas has been in the repertoire of today.
Joaquín Romualdo Gaztambide y Garbayo was one of the most prominent Spanish composers of zarzuela in the mid-nineteenth century. His contribution to the revival of the genre was highly significant; and although during the last century his work virtually disappeared from the Spanish musical scene, the early 21st century has reversed this trend. Of Italianate quality in the manner of Gaetano Donizetti, his music nonetheless makes use of Spanish rhythms and dance forms. Among other renowned works, his La Mensajera (1849), El valle de Andorra (1851), El sueño de una noche de verano, Catalina (1854), Los magiares (1857), El juramento (1858), and the one-act classic Una vieja (1860) stand out.
Miguel Hilarión Eslava y Elizondo was a Spanish composer and pedagogue.
Los diamantes de la corona is a zarzuela in three acts by the composer Francisco Asenjo Barbieri with a libretto by Francisco Camprodón. The opera is taken from the original French libretto by Eugène Scribe and Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges which was set to music by Daniel Auber in 1841. Barbieri's work was first performed at the Teatro del Circo in Madrid on 15 September 1854.
Matilde Pretel was a Spanish singer. A soprano from Valencia, she is remembered for her performances in opera and zarzuela.
Jesús de Monasterio y Agüeros was a Spanish violinist, composer, conductor and teacher. He was one of the main promoters of instrumental music in Madrid during the nineteenth century.
Francisco Lleroa y Salas was a Spanish classical opera singer (bass-baritone), one of the crucial figures in the revival of the zarzuela genre.
The Sociedad de Cuartetos de Madrid, 1863–1894, was an organization that provided concert series with an educational approach. They attempted to save chamber music from fading into oblivion since Italian opera and Zarzuela dominated Spanish concert life. Founded by violinist Jesús de Monasterio and pianist Juan María Guelbenzu Fernández in 1863, this society contributed significantly to the circulation and interest of chamber music in the Iberian Peninsula. The quality of the music, over their thirty-one seasons, was always praised. They also exposed a lack of interest by the majority of the Spanish composers for the chamber music genre during this time. Despite their great perseverance and increasing success, the society's activities concluded on January 5, 1894, due to health problems that troubled Monasterio for several seasons prior. The Society of Quartets represents the first serious and lasting initiative for the circulation of chamber music in 19th-century Spain. Their activities carried out through thirty-one concert seasons in Madrid as well as other concerts offered outside the capital.