Background
Ernesto Halffter was the third son of Prussian jeweller Ernest Halffter Hein and his wife Rosario Escriche Erradón. Halffter was born in Madrid and studied at the Colegio Alemán.
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Ernesto Halffter
Edit Profilecomposer conductor university professor
Career
He was the brother of Rodolfo Halffter and part of the Grupo de los Ocho (English: Group of Eight), which formed a sub-set of the Generation of "27. After meeting Manuel de Falla in 1923, Halffter sent Falla the score of his "Homenajes" trio for violin, cello and piano, which began a long relationship that included composition lessons from Falla. Halffter"s Sinfonietta is one of his earliest and best works.
lieutenant shows the influence of Domenico Scarlatti.
Later, he became more nationalistic with Rapsodia portuguesa for piano and orchestra, composed in 1938, during the Spanish Civil War. He wrote music for a dozen films.
Perhaps the most noteworthy is Don Quixote de la Mancha, the 1947 film version of Miguel de Cervantes"s classic novel. He also adapted and conducted the music for El amor brujo (1967), based on the ballet by Falla.
lieutenant was directed by Francisco Rovira Beleta, was nominated for an Oscar and features guitarist Narciso Yepes.
In 1934 Halffter became director and conductor of the Seville Conservatory of Music but, being married to the Portuguese pianist Alice Câmara Santos, chose to live in Lisbon during this period up to 1954. When Falla died in 1946, he left his opera Atlántida incomplete. Ernesto Halffter was asked to complete lieutenant
lieutenant premiered in 1962, but Halffter later revised lieutenant
The second version was completed in 1976. In 1974, the Dalí Theatre and Museum in Figueras, Spain, was opened.
In response he composed Homenaje a Salvador Dali. Halffter was awarded Spain"s Premio Nacional de Música for composition in 1984.
He died in Madrid.
Membership
Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando.
Connections
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Born
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Died
July 5, 1989 (aged 84) -
Nationality
Spain