Nicanor Zabaleta
Encyclopedia
Spanish people
The Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....
virtuoso and populariser of the harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
.
Zabaleta was born in San Sebastián, Spain
San Sebastián
Donostia-San Sebastián is a city and municipality located in the north of Spain, in the coast of the Bay of Biscay and 20 km away from the French border. The city is the capital of Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. The municipality’s population is 186,122 , and its...
, on January 7, 1907. In 1914 his father, an amateur musician, bought him a harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
in an antique shop. He soon began taking lessons from Vincenta Tormo de Calvo (Madrid Conservatory faculty) and Luisa Menarguez
Luisa Menarguez
Luisa Menárguez was a Spanish harpist and educator, who taught several of the world's premier harpists of modern times, including Marisa Robles, Nicanor Zabaleta, and Maria del Milagro Azpiazu...
. In 1925 he began studies in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, where his teachers were Marcel Tournier
Marcel Tournier
Marcel Lucien Tournier was a French harpist, composer, and pedagogue who composed important solo repertory for the harp that expanded the technical and harmonic possibilities of the instrument. His works are regularly performed in concert and recorded by professional harpists, and they are often...
and Jacqueline Borot. In 1926, in Paris, he made his own official concert debut. Then he travelled to the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and there, on July 5, 1934 he made his North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
debut in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. At a concert in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
in 1950 he met Graziela and they were married in 1952. They relocated to Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and Zabaleta began touring Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. During the years of 1959–1962 he led a harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
class on Accademia Musicale Chigiana
Accademia Musicale Chigiana
The Accademia Musicale Chigiana is a music institute in Siena, Italy. It was founded by Count Guido Chigi Saracini in 1932 as an international centre for advanced musical studies. It organises Master Classes in the major musical instruments as well as singing, conducting and composition...
courses in Siena
Siena
Siena is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.The historic centre of Siena has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site. It is one of the nation's most visited tourist attractions, with over 163,000 international arrivals in 2008...
.
He performed mainly music of the 18th century, and also ancient and modern music. People who composed for him include Alberto Ginastera
Alberto Ginastera
Alberto Evaristo Ginastera was an Argentine composer of classical music. He is considered one of the most important Latin American classical composers.- Biography :...
, Darius Milhaud
Darius Milhaud
Darius Milhaud was a French composer and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as The Group of Six—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions are influenced by jazz and make use of polytonality...
, Heitor Villa-Lobos
Heitor Villa-Lobos
Heitor Villa-Lobos was a Brazilian composer, described as "the single most significant creative figure in 20th-century Brazilian art music". Villa-Lobos has become the best-known and most significant Latin American composer to date. He wrote numerous orchestral, chamber, instrumental and vocal works...
, Walter Piston
Walter Piston
Walter Hamor Piston Jr., , was an American composer of classical music, music theorist and professor of music at Harvard University whose students included Leroy Anderson, Leonard Bernstein, and Elliott Carter....
, Ernst Krenek
Ernst Krenek
Ernst Krenek was an Austrian of Czech origin and, from 1945, American composer. He explored atonality and other modern styles and wrote a number of books, including Music Here and Now , a study of Johannes Ockeghem , and Horizons Circled: Reflections on my Music...
, Joaquín Rodrigo
Joaquín Rodrigo
Joaquín Rodrigo Vidre, 1st Marquis of the Gardens of Aranjuez , commonly known as Joaquín Rodrigo, was a composer of classical music and a virtuoso pianist. Despite being nearly blind from an early age, he achieved great success...
. Josef Tal's Concerto for Harp and Electronics was commissioned by Zabaleta in 1971, and premiered by him in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
the same year. It is estimated that Zabaleta sold nearly three million records.
He was awarded the Premio Nacional de Música
Premio Nacional de Música
The Premio Nacional de Música forms part of the annual National Awards in Spain....
of Spain in 1982 and six years later, in 1988, he was elected to the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando
Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando
The Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando , located on the Calle de Alcalá in the heart of Madrid, currently functions as a museum and gallery....
.
Zabaleta's final concert on June 16, 1992 in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
was given when his health was already declining. He died on March 31, 1993 in San Juan
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
.
Recordings
- Harfe (Harp). Ravel, Debussy, HandelHANDELHANDEL was the code-name for the UK's National Attack Warning System in the Cold War. It consisted of a small console consisting of two microphones, lights and gauges. The reason behind this was to provide a back-up if anything failed....
, Albrechtsberger. Paul KuentzPaul KuentzPaul Kuentz is a French conductor who studied at the Paris Conservatoire from 1947 to 1950, with Noël Gallon, Georges Hugon and Eugene Bigot. He founded the Paul Kuentz Chamber Orchestra in 1951 and made many tours of Europe and the USA, performing the orchestral works of Bach at the Church of...
Chamber Orchestra. DGG LP 139 304. 1967. - Johann Sebastian Bach. Partita #2 in D minor BWV 1004, Suite #3 in B minor BWV 814, Partie A major BWV 832. Deutsche Grammophon 12" vinyl: 2530 333. 1973
- Handel, Bach, Mozart, Dittersdorf, Krumpholtz, Wagenseil, Boieldieu: various harp works, Deutsche Grammophon CD 413 684-2
- Camille Saint Saens: Morceau de concert G-dur op. 154. ... Germaine Tailliferre: Concertino pour Harpe et Orchestre.... Alberto Ginastera: Concierto para harpa y Orquestra. Nicanor Zabaleta & Jean Martinon. DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 2530 008. LP
- Ravel. Introduction & Allegro (with Berlin RSO cond. Fricsay). Deutsche Grammophon 10" vinyl: DG 17135.