De Falla didn't have much choice. It was either bow down or leave. What choice did he have?

Look at Rachmaninov, he high-tailed it out Russia and who could blame him. His attitude was simple "Russia doesn't want me and I don't want them."

I wish De Falla would have composed more music, but we're lucky to have what we have I suppose.

I was listening to El Amor Brujo...man what a great piece of music! I think it's a shame that de Falla didn't compose more music. He had such a great style. Really knew how to incorporate those interesting Spanish rhythms with such vigor.

And don't forget Noches en los Jardines de España and La vida breve.

Oh I could never forget "Noches en los Jardines de Espana"! That's such a beautiful piece of music. I have a version with Martha Argerich and Daniel Barenboim conducting that's top-notch.

I has problems with getting into him. Nights in The Gardens of Spain are really great, but what then? I can't find any other interesting work and move my interest in his music towards anything. I can't find any recordings of solo piano music, only Paco de Lucia classical guitar arrangements of his works, Atlantida and La Vida Breve. Atlantida throws me away. I've listened to several fragments and they sound terrible. La Vida Breve is not too long so I could give it a listen, but I can't find translated libretto. Maybe I'll try the Lucia thing.

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"Ritual Fire Dance" was the first piece of Spanish' music that attracted me when I was a young piano student. I dont think it's a very effective piano transcription, but it introduced me to deFalla, a composer that I like a great deal.

His solo piano works can almost be counted on the fingers of one hand, but I like the "Four Spanish Pieces" and the "Fantasia Baetica" a lot. The former is 'impressionistic' in the sense that MOST Spanish piano music is Impressionistic by its very nature, and the latter is an extremely complex work that occasionally imitates the 'quarter-tone' nature of Spanish Gypsy "Canto Hondo." Alicia dela Roccha recorded all of Falla's piano music some years back on a London CD that is pretty spectacular.

I'm also VERY fond of the ballets "El Sombrero de Tres Picos" and "El Amor Brujo." Falla transcribed three of the dances from "El Sombrero" for piano solo (Dance of the Miller's Wife/Dance of the Neighbors/Miller's Dance) and the transcriptions are exceptionally good and frankly, a lot of fun to play.

And though it takes a couple of listenings, his one-act opera "La Vida Breve" is some pretty powerful stuff. And the two Spanish Dances in the opera are absolutely stunning!

Though I don't consider "Nights in the Gardens of Spain" an actual 'piano concerto' (the piano is treated more like an instrument of the orchestra, IMO), I think it's an extraordinary work--beautiful and extremely sensual.

Heck, I just like deFalla, period!

Tom

I actually know very little about de Falla, despite being a passionate lover of Spanish classical music (I live in Spain too). My favorite piece of his is the mournful little "Fisherman's song" for guitar. I'm now trying to find a copy "La Vida Breve"...