NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Manuel Maria Ponce

Manuel María Ponce Cuéllar (8 December 1882 – 24 April 1948) was a distinguished Mexican composer active in the 20th century. His work as a composer, music educator and Mexican music enthusiast researcher, connected the concert scene with a usually forgotten tradition of popular song and Mexican folklore. Constant citation of harmonic and formal traits from traditional song within his works characterised some of his compositional periods. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... December 8 is the 342nd day (343rd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1882 (MDCCCLXXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar. ... April 24 is the 114th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (115th in leap years). ... 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1948 calendar). ... A composer is a person who writes music. ...

Biography

Early years

Originally born in Fresnillo, Zacatecas, only a few weeks after his birth, his family moved to the city of Aguascalientes and lived there until Ponce was 15 years old. Main Central Square often called The Exedra The city of Aguascalientes is the capital of the state of Aguascalientes in western central Mexico. ...

He was famous for being a "musical phenomenon"; according to his biographers, he was barely four years of age when, after having listened to the piano classes received by his sister, Josefina, he sat in front of the instrument and interpreted one of the pieces that he had heard. Immediately, his parents had him receive classes in piano and musical notation.

Travelling years

In 1901 Ponce entered the National Conservatory of Music, already with a certain prestige as a pianist and composer. There he remained until 1903, the year in which he returned to the city of Aguascalientes. This was only the beginning of his peregrination. In 1904 he travelled to Italy for a superior study of music in the School of Bologna.

Years at the National Conservatory

After some years abroad, Ponce returned to Mexico to become a teacher for piano and history of music, back at the National Conservatory of Music, from 1909 to 1915, and 1917 to 1922. He interrumpted his work as he travelled from 1915 to 1917 to La Habana, Cuba.

In 1912 he composed his work "Estrellita" (little star), which is not a normal love song, as is usually thought, but "Nostalgia Viva" (live nostalgia).

That same year, Ponce gave in the "Arbeau Theater" the memorable concert of Mexican Popular music that, although he scandalized by the ardent defenders of the European, came to constitute a fundamental landmark in the history of the national song.

Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959), who met Ponce in Paris in the 1920's, wrote: "I remember that I asked him at that time if the composers of his country were as yet taking an interest in native music, as I had been doing since 1912, and he answered that he himself had been working in that direction. It gave me great joy to learn that in that distant part of my continent there was another artist who was arming himself with the resources of the folklore of his people in the struggle for the future musical independence of his country."[1] Heitor Villa-Lobos (March 5, 1887 - November 17, 1959) was a Brazilian composer, possibly the best-known classical composer born in South America. ...

With valuable activity of promotion of the music of the country and with melodías like "Estrellita", "A la orilla de un palmar", "Alevántate", "La Pajarera", "Marchita el Alma" and "Una Multitud Más", Ponce gained the honorable title of "Creator of the Modern Mexican Song . He was also the first Mexican composer of popular music that projected its music to the foreigner: "Estrellita", for example, has been part of the repertoire of the main orchestras of the world and countless singers, although quite often the interpreter ignores the origin of the song as well as the name of the author.

He was married to Mrs. Clema Ponce, next to whom he died in Mexico City, Mexico. Before that he received the "National Arts and Science Prize". Nickname: Ciudad de los Palacios Location of Mexico City in central Mexico Coordinates: Country Mexico Federal entity Federal District Boroughs The 16 delegaciones Founded (as Tenochtitlan) c. ...

His body was buried in the Roundhouse of the Illustrious Men in the Pantheon of Dolores in Mexico City. In his honor there is a board of recognition by the state of Aguascalientes in the base of the column of The Exedra, next to the fountain from a spring dedicated to this musical poet, in his childhood and young adult City of Aguascalientes, where he first was introduced to the music studies. Aguascalientes (a Spanish name meaning hot waters for the abundance of hot springs in the area; so the corresponding adjective for the state and its inhabitants is the whimsical demonym hidrocÃ¡lido) is a state of Mexico, situated in the center of the country. ... Main Central Square often called The Exedra The city of Aguascalientes is the capital of the state of Aguascalientes in western central Mexico. ...

Music

Ponce wrote music for solo instruments, chamber ensembles, and orchestra. His piano and guitar works outnumber those dedicated to other solo instruments within the set of pieces we know.

Guitar music

Ponce's guitar music is a core part of the instrument's repertory, the best-known works being Variations and Fugue on 'La Folia' (1929) and Sonatina meridional (1939). He also wrote a guitar concerto Concierto del sur dedicated to his long time friend and guitar virtuoso Andrés Segovia. His last known work was written in 1948, a few months before his death. It was entitled Variations on a Theme of Cabezón. It is unclear whether this was indeed a theme by Cabezón, or Ponce's own teacher, Enrique Bossi. 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full year calendar). ... AndrÃ©s Segovia AndrÃ©s Torres Segovia, marquÃ©s de SalobreÃ±a (February 21, 1893 â€“ June 3, 1987) was a Spanish classical guitarist, and later nobleman, born in Linares, Spain who is considered to be the father of the modern classical guitar movement by most modern music scholars. ...

Francisco TÃ¡rrega Francisco TÃ¡rrega (Francisto Tarrega y Eixea) (November 21, 1852 â€“ December 15, 1909) was a Catalan composer and guitarist. ...

Piano works

According to oral testimonies and contemporary press, the composer was himself an extremely developed piano performer.

Songs

Ponce interacted with many important artists from the Mexican vocal scene during

Chamber music

Orchestral works

Concertos

Notes about the works

An important group of Ponce's works were previously unknown to the public, as self-proclaimed heir Mr. Carlos Vázquez, Mexican piano performer and educator who studied with Ponce, kept most of the original manuscripts under his possession. Most of them were finally donated to the National School of Music (UNAM) in Mexico City, as an analytic catalogue of his works could still be published.

One of Ponce's melodies still heard today in various arrangements is "Estrellita" (1912).

Bibliography

Categories: 1882 births | 1948 deaths | Mexican composers | 20th century classical composers | Composers for guitar | People from Zacatecas A classical guitar, also called a Spanish guitar, is a musical instrument from the family of musical instruments called chordophones. ... The history of the classical guitar and its repertoire span over four centuries, including its ancestry the baroque guitar. ... This article lacks information on the importance of the subject matter. ... This article or section may be confusing or unclear for some readers, and should be edited to rectify this. ... // Gaspar Sanz (1640-1710) InstucciÃ³n de mÃºsica sobre la Guitarra EspaÃ±ola Fernando Sor (1778-1839) (Spain) Method for the Spanish Guitar First published in French under the name â€œMÃ©thode pour la Guitareâ€ (1830) and then translated in English under the name â€œMethod for the Spanish Guitar... This article is about the Contemporary classical guitar technique. ... A Classical guitarists generally perform on classical guitars with classical guitar technique. ... Although competitions are not the only way to establish oneself as a talented musician, they do serve various beneficial purposes. ... // Introduction Musicology Performance Laboratories [1] Guitar Forum is a printed journal dedicated to in-depth scholarly work on the classical guitar, its technique and its repertoire. ... // Sydneys Classical Guitar Society website Classical Guitar Society of Melbourne website Classical Guitar Society of Calgary website Classical Guitar Society of Toronto Edmonton Classical Guitar Society Lethbridge Guitar Society Lethbridge, Alta Mississauga Guitar Society Montreal Guitar Society Ottawa Guitar Society Toronto Guitar Society Regina Classical Guitar Society Vancouver Guitar... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... An engravers impression of Antonio Stradivari examining an instrument. ... Please wikify (format) this article or section as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ...

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