Teobaldo Power
Teobaldo Power y Lugo-Viña (born January 6, 1848 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife , † May 16, 1884 in Madrid ) was a Spanish composer , pianist and music teacher . In Power's homeland, on the Canary Islands , his Cantos Canarios in particular have been a central symbol of cultural identity over the generations . His variation on the folk tune Arrorró was chosen in 2003 as the melody of the Canarian anthem .
Life
Teobaldo Power was born in 1848 in a house on the Plaza de la Candelaria in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the second child of Bartolomé Power and Margarita Lugo-Viña. His father, an official in the service of the Gobierno Civil , came from a family of Irish merchants who had settled in Tenerife in the 17th or 18th centuries . As an amateur musician with a penchant for the piano, he recognized his son's musical talent and began giving him music lessons from the age of six. Teobaldo Power began composing his own piano pieces as a child. In 1858, at the age of ten, he wrote the polka mazurca , which was mentioned in local newspapers. He made his debut as a pianist in August of the same year at a soirée by the painter Nicolás Alfaro , with pieces by Sigismund Thalberg , Alexandre Goria and Henri Rosellen . The audience and the press were impressed by the soulful and at the same time technically demanding performance.
A short time later, Bartolomé Power was transferred to Catalonia . His son went with him. After a first appearance in Barcelona in November 1858, the young artist took the opportunity to give a guest appearance in Madrid in front of Francisco de Paula de Borbón , a member of the Spanish royal family . A number of performances followed in the Spanish capital, including in front of professors from the Escuela Nacional de Música y Declamación . In the music-interested public he was considered a child prodigy . In 1860/1861 he received lessons in harmony and composition from Gabriel Balart in Barcelona . A state scholarship finally enabled him to complete training at the Paris Conservatory from 1862 to 1866 .
After completing his studies, Power went on an extensive concert tour that took him to Cuba in 1868 . After another stay in Paris, he moved to Madrid in 1870. In the course of further concert tours, his health deteriorated noticeably, so that in 1880 he retired to his home island Tenerife for two years. Inspired by traditional Canarian folk tunes, he composed the orchestral work Cantos Canarios there . In 1882 he returned to Madrid, where he worked as a music teacher at the Conservatory and as the second organist of the Capilla Real .
Teobaldo Power died on May 16, 1884 at the age of 36 of complications from pulmonary tuberculosis and was buried in Madrid. In 1923 his remains were transferred to Tenerife and buried in a side chapel of the parish church of Nuestra Señora de la Concepción in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
In the Canary Islands, Teobaldo Power's music has been a central symbol of cultural identity over the generations. Numerous streets and schools are named after him. A piece titled Arrorró from his orchestral work Cantos Canarios has been the melody of the official anthem of the autonomous community of the Canary Islands since 2003 .
Works (selection)
- Opera
- A Normand, Normand et demi
- orchestra
- La Aurora
- Cantos Canarios
- Polaca de concierto
- Sinfonia en do menor
- piano
- Grand sonata
- Cantos Canarios
- Polaca de concierto
- Canción española
- Vals de bravura
- Vals brilliant
- Doce estudios artísticos
- Tanganillo
literature
- Óliver Curbelo González: Teobaldo Power. Un pedagogo del piano. Círculo Rojo, 2013, ISBN 978-8-49030933-9 .
- Christiane Heine: Power Lugo-Viña, Teobaldo. In: Ludwig Finscher (Hrsg.): The music in past and present . Second edition, personal section, volume 13 (Paladilhe - Ribera). Bärenreiter / Metzler, Kassel et al. 2005, ISBN 3-7618-1133-0 ( online edition , subscription required for full access)
Web links
- Teobaldo Power on the Juan March Foundation website, accessed August 7, 2018 (Spanish).
- Teobaldo Power: 163 años del nacimiento del inspirador del Himno de Canarias on bienmesabe.org , accessed August 7, 2018 (Spanish).
- 170 años del nacimiento de Teobaldo Power en Santa Cruz de Tenerife on laopinion.es , accessed on August 7, 2018 (Spanish).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Los antiguos habitantes de Santa Cruz y los enterramientos en la Parroquia Matriz. In: amigos25julio.com. Retrieved September 23, 2018 (Spanish).
- ↑ Ley 20/2003, de 28 de April, del Himno de Canarias. In: boe.es. April 28, 2003, Retrieved August 7, 2018 (Spanish).
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Power, Teobaldo |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Power y Lugo-Viña, Teobaldo (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Spanish composer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 6, 1848 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Santa Cruz de Tenerife |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 16, 1884 |
| Place of death | Madrid |