Enric Torra i Pòrtulas

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Enric Torra

Enric Torra i Pòrtulas (born March 16, 1910 in Fornells de la Selva , † August 4, 2003 in Arenys de Mar ) was a Catalan pianist, composer, conductor, choir director and music teacher. As a student and as a teacher at the Acadèmia Marshall , Torra belonged to the Catalan Pianist School .

life and work

Enric Torra received his first musical lessons from his father. He later took piano lessons with Francesc Casellas in Girona. He continued his education at the Acadèmia Marshall . There he studied piano with Frank Marshall and in harmony and composition with Domènech Mas i Serracant .

After completing his studies, he himself taught piano at the Acadèmia Marshall . In 1927 he moved to Mataró , the city from which he built his career. With the Quintet Clavé founded there, he made music for the cinema and in dance and concert halls. In the 1930s he performed primarily in Catalonia with the interpretation of works by Johann Sebastian Bach , Ludwig van Beethoven , Claude Debussy , Frédéric Chopin , Enric Granados , Manuel de Falla and Isaac Albéniz . With the performance of this classical-romantic and the Catalan-Spanish piano repertoire, he gained an outstanding reputation as a pianist.

The Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) suddenly interrupted this pianist career. From 1939 onwards, Torra concentrated on teaching, composition and directing choirs and orchestras. He directed Zarzuelas in La Sala Cabañes de Mataró or at Orfeó Mataroní . One of his music and piano students was the British musician and painter Neil Harbisson .

As a composer, Torra has eleven symphonies, a concerto for piano and orchestra from 1964, the opera Burriac as well as numerous chamber music compositions (e.g. Costa Brava from 1947), solo pieces for piano (e.g. the Sonata evocadora from 1939), Collections of songs (such as the Cinc cançons amatòries from 1964), Catalan folklore pieces and numerous sardanas. The works composed by Torra Els Pastorets from 1941 and La Passió from 1947 are still performed annually in Mataró.

Torra is the author of the Método español de piano (1951) and the Método Musical Escolar (music school method , 1970). He also worked as a music critic. Torra has left more than 200 compositions and around 70 music critical publications. Some of these works are available in the Arxiu Comarcal del Maresme (Archive of the Comarca Maresme).

In 2001 the city of Mataró made Torra its honorary citizen, in 2005 it named one of the streets surrounding the central city park after its sound artist. Along with Alicia de Larrocha and Rosa Sabater, Torra was considered one of the most important pianists to emerge from the Acadèmia Marshall .

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Web links

Individual references and comments

  1. ↑ The article was created on the basis of the article of the same name on the Catalan-language Wikipedia. Additional evidence was obtained from the relevant articles in the Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana and the Gran Enciclopèdia de la Música .
  2. ↑ a b c d e Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana. Enric Torra i Pòrtulas.
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k Gran Enciclopèdia de la Música. Enric Torra i Pòrtulas.
  4. ↑ a b c d e Information from the article of the same name on the Catalan-language Wikipedia.

See also

personal data
SURNAME Torra i Pòrtulas, Enric
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Catalan pianist, composer, conductor, choir director and music teacher
DATE OF BIRTH March 16, 1910
PLACE OF BIRTH Fornells de la Selva
DATE OF DEATH August 4, 2003
Place of death Arenys de Mar