Alexandre Vilalta i Faura

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Alexandre Vilalta i Faura , Spanish also Alejandro Vilalta Faura , (born November 29, 1905 in Barcelona , † May 24, 1984 in Torreón ) was a Catalan - Mexican classical pianist who, as a result of the Spanish Civil War over France, South and North America in 1953 went into exile in Torreón, Mexico and finally established himself there. Because of this exile situation, he had become almost unknown in Europe. Vilalta was the son of the Catalan composer and pianist Emili Vilalta . Alexandre Vilalta is assigned to the Catalan School of Pianists .

life and work

Alexandre Vilalta received his first music and piano lessons from his father Emili Vilalta, a student of the composer and pianist Isaac Albéniz . At the age of six he made his debut at a private concert at the home of Apel·les Mestres . Carles Gumersind Vidiella then offered him free piano lessons, an offer that he gladly accepted until Vidiella's death in October 1915. He then enrolled at the Conservatori Municipal de Música de Barcelona and studied piano with Carlos Pellicer . At the age of 14 he completed this training with distinction. He completed postgraduate studies with Frank Marshall at his academy and developed into a virtuoso pianist.

At the age of only 20 he was invited to accompany the famous violinist Joan Manén to 60 concerts on his tour of Spain. He gained an outstanding reputation, especially at chamber music events and as a piano accompanist. He took part in major symphony concerts, which were conducted by personalities such as Manuel de Falla (1926), Igor Stravinsky (1934), Pau Casals and Ricard Lamote de Grignon , and in which well-known artists such as the violinist Fritz Kreisler and Francesc Costa as well the cellists Pierre Fournier , Gaspar Cassadó and Maurice Maréchal took part. The Costa – Vilalta duo was an established institution on the Barcelona chamber music scene in the 1920s and 1930s. In the 1930s, Alexandre Vilalta had his own music academy in Barcelona.

During the Spanish Civil War , Vilalta was appointed cultural ambassador by the Catalan government . In this function he gave concerts in England, Belgium, Holland and France. In 1937 he gave concerts on the occasion of the “small world exhibition in Paris” , at which Pablo Picasso's anti-war image “Guernica” was presented to the public for the first time in the Spanish salon . After the looming victory of the Franquists , Vilalta did not return to Catalonia. He first went into exile in France and in 1938 traveled with the singer Conxita Badia on a concert tour of Brazil and Argentina. He later continued his career as a pianist with Manuel de Falla in Buenos Aires, who was also in exile, and as a soloist in Uruguay, Chile, Peru, Panama, Venezuela and Mexico. After the war ended in 1939, Vilalta decided to remain in exile. He made his Carnegie Hall debut in New York and gave concerts in the United States for more than six years . In 1947 he returned to Mexico and gave numerous concerts in Mexico City with a symphony orchestra under the direction of Raul Lavista . After a new tour of the USA, Vilalta finally settled in 1953 in Torréon in the Mexican state of Coahuila . In this city he founded and directed the cultural association “Patronato Lagunero Pro Arte y Cultura”. This association organized concerts with artists such as the pianist Alexander Slobodyanik , the flautist Jean-Pierre Rampal and the violinist Viktor Tretyakov , who made the city famous in cultural circles around the world. Vilalta also directed the choirs of the “Colegio La Luz” and the “Instituto Francés de la Laguna” in Torreón.

Vilalta's piano technique was qualified as near perfect. Xavier Montsalvatge described him as the ideal piano accompanist in the field of chamber music. His lecture was characterized by an extremely high level of sensitivity.

As a composer, Alexandre Vilalta is ascribed the sardana "Borges Blanques".

Alexandre Vilalta died on May 24, 1984 at the age of 78 in Torreón in the middle of preparing a series of concerts for Mexican television. He was buried in the "Pantheon Jardines del Carmen" in Torreón.

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Individual references and comments

  1. ↑ The article, especially the paragraph “Life and Work”, is based on the article of the same name “Alexandre Vilalta i Faura” on the Catalan-language Wikipedia. He was asked for evidence from the "Gran Enciclopèdia de la Música" and evidence and references from the necrology of "Xavier Montsalvatge. 1984 "added. The "Gran Enciclopèdia de la Música" is a condensed version of the life of Alexandre Vilalta.
  2. ↑ a b El Siglo de Torreón (Cultura, Mexican local newspaper): Los sonidos del Centenario. September 15, 2007, Retrieved June 17, 2019 (Spanish). , there life data of Alexandre Vilalta stating the date of death May 24, 1984 and the place of death Torreón (Mexico). The Catalan-language Gran Enciclopèdia de la Música (Barcelona) does not correctly state the place of death as Mexico City.
  3. ↑ a b c d e f Xavier Montsalvatge. 1984.
  4. ↑ a b c d Gran Enciclopèdia de la Música. Alexandre Vilalta.
  5. ↑ a b The Gran Enciclopèdia de la Música briefly mentions Alexandre Vilalta's chamber music work before the Spanish Civil War.
  6. ↑ a b c The Gran Enciclopèdia de la Música mentions the establishment and management of several organizations and associations by Alexandre Vilalta in Torréon.
  7. ↑ sardanista.cat: Les Borges Blanques. Retrieved June 17, 2019 (Catalan).
  8. ↑ "Borges Blanques" is a Catalan comarca.
  9. ↑ a b Lluís Gassó i Carbonell. Alexandre Vilalta.

See also

personal data
SURNAME Vilalta i Faura, Alexandre
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Vilalta Faura, Alejandro (Spanish name form)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Catalan-Mexican classical pianist
DATE OF BIRTH November 29, 1905
PLACE OF BIRTH Barcelona
DATE OF DEATH May 24, 1984
Place of death Torreón