Enrique Igoa | Real Conservatorio Superior de Musica. Madrid, Spain (original) (raw)

Enrique Igoa

Enrique Igoa studied music at the Real Conservatorio de Música de Madrid, Spain. He attended courses of jazz with Pedro Iturralde, of Composition and Electronic Music in Berklee College and New England Conservatory at Boston (with a Fulbright scholarship) and of Contemporary Composition at the Darmstadt Summer School (with B. Ferneyhough, H. Halbreich, M. Feldmann and W. Rihm). He is also Doctor in Hispanic Music (Universidad Complutense).
He has been Professor of Musical Analysis, Composition and Orchestration in the Royal Conservatory of Music in Madrid and invited professor by conservatories and universities in Spain and abroad.
He is the author of many articles on analysis and three books on the same subject. His works have been premiered and played in Festival COMA in Madrid, Festival Internacional of Alicante, Festival Internacional of Santander, Festival of Contemporary Music of Bilbao BBK, Festival of Choral Music in Jihlava (Czech Republic), Festival de Musique Sacree (Fribourg – Switzerland), etc., and in other concerts in Spain and rest of Europe, Israel, Cuba, Mexico, Venezuela, China and United States.
Enrique Igoa is Member of Annuary Who's who in the World from 2009 and Member of 2000 Outstanding Intellectuals of the 21st Century from 2010, (International Biographical Centre, Cambridge, England).
His compositions ranged from works for solo instruments (piano, organ, guitar, accordion, harp and harmonica), duos, trios, string quartet, guitar quartet, chamber ensemble, percussion ensemble, vocal music, choral music and electronic music to works for guitar and orchestra, violin and orchestra, chorus and orchestra, symphonic orchestra, scenic and dance works. He has been awarded the following prizes:

* 1st Composition Prize of the Festival de Musique Sacrée of Fribourg (Switzerland), 1989, for his work Estudio III “Ascensión” op.14 for organ
* 1st Prize of Marimolin 8th Annual Composition Contest de Princeton, New Jersey (USA) in 1995, for his work Estudio VI “Secuencias” op.22b for violin and marimba
* 1st Prize of the 10th Composition Contest for Classic Guitar in Granada (Spain) in 1997 for his work Estudio VII “Regreso a Jan Mayen” op.29 for guitar
* 2nd Prize of the International Composer’s Competition “Jihlava 1998” (Czech Republic) for his Antífona de Adviento op.24 for mixed choir
* 1st Prize of the Juan Bautista Comes Composition Contest of the XVI Festival of Choral Music of Segorbe, Castellón-1999 (Spain) for his work Antífona de Navidad op.34 for mixed choir
* Obertura para un paisaje urbano, selected by C.D.M.C. (Ministery of Culture) for XII Festival de Música Electroacústica “Punto de encuentro” (2003), by XX and XXI Festival Internacional de Música Contemporánea de Alicante (2004, 2005) and by the “Laboratorio del Espacio” del LIEM (2011)
* Mention of honour of the Composition Competition pour Orgue de la Ville de Nice et des Alpes Maritimes (France) for his work Invocationes tempore belli op.47 for organ.

Web: www.enriqueigoa.net

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Books by Enrique Igoa

Análisis musical I, 2020

This is the book I have prepared and used for 20 years in the class of Musical Analysis I, as Pro... more This is the book I have prepared and used for 20 years in the class of Musical Analysis I, as Professor of Musical Analysis and Composition in the Real Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid. This is a subject intended for students (players, conductors, composers, musicologists and pedagogues) in college or university level. It contains my own reflections in theory and analysis, as well as quotations from well-known scholars in the field of Theory of Music. It encompass a first theme devoted to the definition, place and types of analysis, followed by another theme with varied concepts as function, Fibonacci series, golden section and psychology of music. The third theme goes back to Gregorian modes and rhythmic modes, as well as the world of tones. The fourth is devoted to Rethoric of music and the Theory of topics, and this is a good place to propose an analysis of a fugue of Bach. The fifth theme explains the functional harmony, a field from which I have written several papers before in Academia. And the sixth theme updates the theory of sonata with the last publications and contrubutions of scholars as William Caplin and Hepokosky & Darcy. It ends with the analysis of a binary sonata of Scarlatti and a classical sonata by Mozart.
The book contains a list of works to analyse from Gregorian Chant to 19th century, an extended bibliography and many pages devoted to theory including several charts, figures, examples and analysis.

The aim of this doctoral thesis is the study of the form in the keyboard sonatas of the spanish c... more The aim of this doctoral thesis is the study of the form in the keyboard sonatas of the spanish composer Antonio Soler (1729-1783), a hieronymite monk born in Olot (Gerona, Spain) who became Choir Master at the monastery of El Escorial, where he spent all his working life. In this place he composed all his enormous religious and instrumental work, consisting of more than 471 entries in the Catalogue of Samuel Rubio, and also had the opportunity to engage with members of the nobility and royalty. In fact, in addition to the sonatas he wrote for use by the brothers of the order in Montserrat for educational purposes, many of the sonatas composed since 1765 were probably dedicated first to Pedro de Santamant (between 1765 and 1772), a young protégé of the Duke of Medina Sidonia, and then to the Infante Don Gabriel, son of King Carlos III, to whom he also wrote 6 Concerts for two organs and the 6 Quintets for harpsichord and strings.
The first requirement for this research has been to expose as a preliminary framework (hence I have numbered it as Chapter 0) the whole terminological apparatus needed to explore the thematic, harmonic and formal aspects of the sonatas, as well as the abbreviations resulting from the concepts, functions and defined terms, that will be used consistently throughout the work. In the commentary on the methodology details will be given about the sources used to develop this terminology.
Chapter 1 provides a biographical sketch of Antonio Soler, in order to update the information already known with the latest bibliographical data, and especially revising or denying some claims that have been perpetuated through successive generations of researchers and monographic texts. Perhaps most prominent in this regard is to confirm that Soler was never the keyboard teacher of the Infante Don Gabriel, partly because of the obvious distance from their respective homes. The regular teacher of the Infante after the death of José de Nebra in 1768 was Nicolás Conforto, and autumn seasons when the Court was in El Escorial were, therefore, almost the only occasion on which the monk and the Infante could meet and make music together, all of which happened moreover from 1773, not from 1766, as a mistaken interpretation of a Soler’s letter to Padre Martini led believe to several musicologists throughout the twentieth century. Many other almost unknown aspects of the life of Soler –like the trips to Andalusia to review an organ, the meetings with the Infante in Aranjuez and El Pardo, his facet of enlightened man and worthy son of the century, his less mystic side or its disagreements with the prior of the order– will emerge in this chapter, a quite surprising one to anyone who has read the biographies circulating until now in most dictionaries, monographs and books of history.
Chapter 2 focuses on the theoretical argument required for the study of the sonata and its assimilation in the eighteenth century Iberian music. Sonata theory is displayed here in the light of the latest and essential contributions of W. Caplin and Hepokoski & Darcy, who naturally assume the knowledge of earlier texts by Schönberg, Ratz, Newman, Kerman, Ratner, Rosen, Wolf, etc. The sonata as a form and as a genre, its basic principles, the essential generic markers, the sections and thematic groups shall be examined in order to lay the foundations that will enable further analysis of the sonata. It will be also worth taking a look at the opinions from experts about the transformation of the genre in the eighteenth century sonata, supplemented by the writings on music theory of that century (Koch, Riepel, Galeazzi). Now it will be possible to establish, with the help of Hepokoski & Darcy, an initial typology of the sonata, to focus then on the two formal types that will concern us, the Type 2 (binary sonata) and Type 3 (sonata form). However, while the latter formal type is not specially problematic, the binary sonata type lacks from a theoretical firm foundation, due to the patent disregard of much of the repertoire, and this is the reason of the revision and expansion of types proposed in this paper in the light of my research on Soler.
To close this chapter, we will take a survey of the scene before Soler in the Iberian Peninsula, along with the technical, historical and formal background of Iberian sonata and its main forerunners: D. Scarlatti, C. Seixas, S. Albero, V. Rodriguez Monllor and J. de Nebra, gathering their most remarkable thematic, harmonic and formal traits affecting the configuration of the Iberian sonata in the 18th century. The extensive sampling collected from their works will allow a comprehensive description of the usual behavior of the genre since its introduction as such in Spain and Portugal. Another important aspect concerns the use of the sonata in one movement, the possible grouping of sonatas and the sonatas in several movements, all of them fully implemented practices in the Iberian Peninsula in the mid-eighteenth century, which will have its counterpart when we address this issue in Soler’s sonatas, at the end of Chapter 3.
The central aim of this research is to manifest in full in Chapter 3, centered precisely on the question of form in the sonatas of Antonio Soler. As an introduction I have reviewed the research on this subject –very unequal, indeed– from preceding researchers who have written dissertations or master papers focused on this repertoire, and the most interesting contributions have been taken into account, duly verified with mine from here on (especially in this chapter and in Appendix 2). Thus arrives the moment to establish the criteria governing the types, subtypes, variants, models, etc., used as categories for characterizing the sonatas, a theoretical work complemented by the constant reference to examples from the sonatas, many of them reproduced as musical illustrations throughout the text. We study here the three resulting types of sonata (binary sonata, mixed sonata and sonata form), with its models –the basic pattern of each formal type and the models derived from the changes that occur in the exposition, development and recapitulation– and submodels.
Another criteria used to analyse are: the formal-functional pattern, a creation of William Caplin which refers to cadential goals in the intra- and interthematic context; the derivations between thematic groups (to check unity or differentiation); the melting between thematic groups; variations and modifications as a consequence of several alterations found in the exposition and recapitulation of the sonata; the vamps (a concept that Sutcliffe applied to Scarlatti), peculiar ostinato-like passages; the proportions, to study the balance between the two parts of the sonata, and between the inner sections of each part; and finally the crux, a concept already introduced by Kirkpatrick in his book about Scarlatti, expanded by Hepokoski & Darcy and reviewed by me (with the idea of double crux), which refers to the measure or measures of the recapitulation in which the exposition material comes again in its original pitch (the first thematic group) or transposed to the home key (the second one).
The chapter continues with a dip in the sections and parts of the sonata, studying the different alternatives which lie in the combination of thematic groups, tonal areas and formal configurations. Apart from the generic form of sonata allegro, Soler has written some movements following genres as rondo, minuet and intento (which, like the tiento, is a fugue-like piece), always included in the sonatas in several movements composed in his final years for the Infante Don Gabriel. The chapter closes with a reflection on the types of grouping showing Soler sonatas: sonata in one movement, ‘grouped sonata’ and multimovement sonata.
Chapter 4 closes this research with conclusions that are merely a proposed new interpretation of this repertoire in the light of recent sonata theories and of the methodology emanating from it, sifting through the revisions, extensions and new design concepts, types and models that I have established as a result of the same problem of Soler sonatas. The data obtained in the typological categories and the pointed developments in our author’s biography, have led to a tentative chronology essay of the sonatas in the knowledge of the precariousness of manuscript sources and the almost total absence of dating of the works contained therein. But we know something else than about 30 years ago, when Rubio wrote a first draft of chronology in his Catalogue, followed by the contribution of Ife & Truby in his edition of the 12 sonatas of the Manuscript of the Madrid Conservatory, and it is worth trying.

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From the first contact with the available editions of Soler’s sonatas it could be seen that an updating of this other question was needed, a process that runned in parallel with the critical study I prepared for my edition of 20 Sonatas by Soler which were already to be published. This updating of sources and editions is the central issue in Appendix 1. Appendix 2, no doubt, is the documentary basis of this thesis, since it includes the analysis of each of the sonatas and sonata movements presented through a Scheme-summary, typology tables and a commentary. Of course, the previous chapters regularly refer to the pages of this appendix. Appendix 3 provides a series of numerical data embodied in the form of statistical tables and graphs that provide an undeniable support to the claims of objectivity in particular of Chapter 3. Appendix 4 contains a comment about the scores of the sonatas that are attached on a CD-ROM at the end of the paper. The thesis includes a bibliography divided into four sections: general music bibliography, specific literature on the eighteenth century music, specific literature about Antonio Soler and writings of Antonio Soler and his contemporaries.

Content/Contenido: Sonatas nº 121, 124 to 132, 134 to 138 (sonatas in several movements) and 154 ... more Content/Contenido: Sonatas nº 121, 124 to 132, 134 to 138 (sonatas in several movements) and 154 to 159.

The publication in Spain of these 20 Sonatas of Antonio Soler 1729-1783) is the last stage of a long way that has allowed to edit not only the sonatas that Samuel Rubio –responsible for the extant 120 sonatas known until now– did not reach to publish in his projected Volume VIII and just available in sparse editions, all foreign or out-of-print, but also a set of sonatas considered as missing and other new findings that Father Rubio did not reach to know. Finally, in this way, are all the sonatas of Antonio Soler, the most important spanish composer of 18th century, available for keyboard players (harpsichord, organ, piano), musicologists, historians and music lovers, in an accurate and practical edition, preceded by an extensive critical study both in Spanish and English.
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La publicación en España de estas 20 Sonatas de Antonio Soler (1729-1783) constituye el punto final de un largo recorrido que ha permitido sacar a la luz no sólo las sonatas que Samuel Rubio –editor de las 120 sonatas conocidas hasta ahora– no llegó a publicar en su proyectado Volumen VIII, y que hasta ahora sólo era posible encontrar en ediciones dispersas, casi todas ellas extranjeras o ya descatalogadas, sino también un grupo de sonatas que se daban por desaparecidas, así como otros nuevos hallazgos que el padre Rubio ni siquiera llegó a conocer. Entre ellas están otras cinco sonatas de las que Soler dedicó al Infante don Gabriel en los últimos años de su vida. De esta forma se ponen finalmente a disposición de los intérpretes de tecla (tanto clave como órgano o piano), musicólogos, historiadores y aficionados, todas las sonatas de Antonio Soler, el más importante compositor español del siglo XVIII, en una edición rigurosa y práctica, precedida por un extenso estudio crítico en español y en inglés.

The book is devoted to the instrumental music of the best and most known composer of the northwes... more The book is devoted to the instrumental music of the best and most known composer of the northwest province of León (Castilla y León - Spain), Ángel Barja. His early death has deprived us of one of the most original productions in 20th century Spanish music. Written as a research paper, the book was published in 2006 by Instituto Leones de Cultura, and contains the musical analysis of all his instrumental music: works for solo piano, chamber music and symphonic music.

Papers by Enrique Igoa

Revista Excelentia nos. 38-39, 2024

Like the Bach family in Germany, the Mozart or the Strauss families in Austria, the Gabrieli or t... more Like the Bach family in Germany, the Mozart or the Strauss families in Austria, the Gabrieli or the Scarlatti families in Italy, or the Couperin famlily in France, the history of Spanish music can also boast of musical families with two or more illustrious members: Antonio de Cabezón and his son Hernando, the Aragonese Nebra dynasty, the tenor Manuel García and his daughters María Malibrán and Pauline Viardot, Joaquín Turina and his grandson José Luis Turina, etc. And very recently, in 2021, a unique chapter in recent history was closed – with the death of Cristóbal Halffter – that had begun in 1900 with the birth of Rodolfo Halffter, followed five years later by that of his brother Ernesto. It has been a hundred years of musical creation – from the first works of Rodolfo and Ernesto back in 1920 to the latest by Cristóbal in 2020 – which are among the best Spanish music of the last century and the current one.

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Al igual que los Bach en Alemania, los Mozart o los Strauss en Austria, los Gabrieli o los Scarlatti en Italia, o los Couperin en Francia, la historia de la música española puede presumir también de familias musicales con dos o más miembros ilustres: Antonio de Cabezón y su hijo Hernando, la saga aragonesa de los Nebra, el tenor Manuel García y sus hijas María Malibrán y Pauline Viardot, Joaquín Turina y su nieto José Luis Turina, etc. Y hace bien poco, en 2021, se cerraba –con la muerte de Cristóbal Halffter– un capítulo único en la historia reciente que se había iniciado en 1900 con el nacimiento de Rodolfo Halffter, al que siguió cinco años después el de su hermano Ernesto. Han sido cien años de creación musical –desde las primeras obras de Rodolfo y Ernesto allá por 1920 hasta las últimas de Cristóbal en 2020– que se encuentran entre la mejor música española del pasado siglo y del actual.

Revista Excelentia no. 37, 2024

Gabriel Fauré was a composer who was already associated with vocal music with piano during his li... more Gabriel Fauré was a composer who was already associated with vocal music with piano during his lifetime. Around one hundred songs were created by the composer over sixty years of creative activity, which makes this corpus one of the most important in the repertoire of songs with piano, not only in France, but in the history of music in general, comparable – if not in quantity, then in quality – to those of Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Wolff or Strauss in the Germanic world, and in parallel to those of his compatriots Gounod, Saint-Säens, Hahn, Duparc, Chausson, Debussy, Ravel or Poulenc. But part of his energies were also devoted to choral music, leaving us some unforgettable titles that are a permanent presence on the stands of choirs and orchestras. For this reason it seems appropriate to dedicate these pages to the joint study of the music for voice of someone who was undoubtedly one of the masters in this field.

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Gabriel Fauré fue un compositor que ya en vida estuvo asociado a la música vocal con piano. En torno a cien canciones nacieron de la pluma del compositor a lo largo de sesenta años de actividad creadora, lo que hace de ese corpus uno de los más importantes en el repertorio de la canción con piano, no sólo en Francia, sino en la historia de la música en general, equiparable –si no en cantidad, sí en calidad– a los de Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Wolff o Strauss en el mundo germánico, y en paralelo a los de sus compatriotas Gounod, Saint-Säens, Hahn, Duparc, Chausson, Debussy, Ravel o Poulenc. Pero también parte de sus energías se volcaron en la música coral, dejándonos algunos títulos inolvidables cuya presencia es permanente en los atriles de coros y orquestas. Por ello parece oportuno dedicar estas páginas al estudio conjunto de la música para voz de quien fue sin duda uno de los maestros en este terreno.

Música contemporánea en España - Perspectivas en el siglo XXI, 2024

A reflection on contemporary music, on its own essence, its place in the current world and in the... more A reflection on contemporary music, on its own essence, its place in the current world and in the framework of modern culture, initially focused on musical activity in Madrid, but open to many other considerations of an institutional, social, educational nature, etc. .
This is the final touch of the FAIC (Federation of Iberian Associations of Composers), before its dissolution in 2024, which has resulted in a publication with other similar contributions from the four cardinal points of Spain, coordinated by Domènec González de la Rubia, president of this Federation.

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Una reflexión sobre la música contemporánea, sobre su propia esencia, su lugar en el mundo actual y en el marco de la cultura moderna, centrada inicialmente en la actividad musical madrileña, pero abierta a otras muchas consideraciones de orden institucional, social, educativo, etc.
Se trata del broche final de la FAIC (Federación de asociaciones Ibéricas de Compositores), antes de su disolución en 2024, que se ha concretado en una publicación con otras contribuciones semejantes llegadas desde los cuatro puntos cardinales de España, coordinada por Domènec González de la Rubia, presidente de esta Federación.

Revista Excelentia no. 33, 2023

A look back at my own work as a composer, to share with readers my aesthetic proposal and explain... more A look back at my own work as a composer, to share with readers my aesthetic proposal and explain, to the extent possible, my own creations.

Revista Excelentia no. 31-32, 2023

Even today there is no agreement on the significance and scope of Gershwin's work. Perhaps the pr... more Even today there is no agreement on the significance and scope of Gershwin's work. Perhaps the problem arises from an error in approach, which consists of evaluating their creations in the light of the established symphonic genres or the repertoire accepted within the canons of European music, or in seeking their location within the world of jazz and musicals. It would be easier to approach his music without prejudices or expectations generated by classical forms or Broadway productions, and understand that his contribution was unique and unrepeatable, born from a spirit that was both naive and demanding, intuitive and serious, which contributed a production of maximum height in the field of musicals, at the same time that he knew how to integrate the aroma of that music, of jazz and blues, with concert music and even with opera, in a legacy formed by a few but decisive and original timeless masterpieces.

Revista Excelentia no. 28, 2023

Rarely in the history of music – always very aseptic when it comes to the affective relationships... more Rarely in the history of music – always very aseptic when it comes to the affective relationships of its protagonists – has had such an affair on its hands as the autumnal – although platonic – relationship that the Czech composer Leoš Janáček maintained with the much younger Kamila Stösslová, an affair which – in the opinion of many musicologists – was the cause of a rejuvenation in the style of the composer unparalleled in other creators. Indeed, the last ten years in the composer's life witnessed the birth of a series of works that were not only masterpieces, but also unique in the panorama of creation of his time due to the profound originality that characterizes them, which turned his author a composer recognized throughout Europe, despite being outside the main artistic currents of the moment.

Revista Excelentia no. 26, 2022

Sebastián de Albero is one of the most original composers of keyboard music of the 18th century i... more Sebastián de Albero is one of the most original composers of keyboard music of the 18th century in Spain. Although his oeuvre is not extensive, his two collections of keyboard music provide a very personal vision on mid-century style, as well as including the second mention of the pianoforte in the title of a work.

The harmonic-functional system is based on a conception of harmony and the chords of the tonality... more The harmonic-functional system is based on a conception of harmony and the chords of the tonality derived from the notion of differential hierarchy, fifth relationships and functional affinity, whose consequence is the recognition of three basic functions – tonic, dominant and subdominant– and of three other secondary or derivative functions, each with two variants, which complete the rest of useful chords as secondary tonic within a given tonality. A revision of the harmonic-functional system must begin with the very introduction of the concept of " function " in musical theory and, more specifically, in musical analysis. Secondly, it is necessary to recall and discuss succinctly the same foundation of harmony, according to several authors (Rameau, Riemann, Schönberg), although focusing only on those aspects of its theoretical tradition that concern the origin of the chord, its position within the system, its typology and relationships between chords. Finally, the paper develops a complete view of the harmonic-functional system which provides an overview of all types of chords that are studied in any academic harmony treatise, but grouped according to their function in harmonic discourse, that is, summarized under the cover of the three basic functions and their derived functions, in an organic unit that immediately gives each chord its role in speech and thus its harmonic function. In this section we will review the definition of basic functions and secondary functions, the numbering of chord sounds, movement of voices, cadential functions (dominant, dominant of the dominant and subdominant), tonicization and modulation, to end with extensions of the system that allow to use it even in the limits of the tonal system.

A revision of the harmonic-functional system must begin with the very introduction of the concept of ‘function’ in musical theory and, more specifically, in musical analysis. Secondly, it is necessary to recall and discuss succinctly the same foundation of harmony, according to several authors (Rameau, Riemann, Schönberg), although focusing only on those aspects of its theoretical tradition that concern the origin of the chord, its position within the system, its typology and relationships between chords.

Finally, the paper develops a complete view of the harmonic-functional system which provides an overview of all types of chords that are studied in any academic harmony treatise, but grouped according to their function in harmonic discourse, that is, summarized under the cover of the three basic functions and their derived functions, in an organic unit that immediately gives each chord its role in speech and thus its harmonic function. In this section we will review the definition of basic functions and secondary functions, the numbering of chord sounds, movement of voices, cadential functions (dominant, dominant of the dominant and subdominant), tonicization and modulation, to end with extensions of the system that allow to use it even in the limits of the tonal system.

"La cathédrale engloutie" de Debussy is, no doubt, one work with many atractions for the musical ... more "La cathédrale engloutie" de Debussy is, no doubt, one work with many atractions for the musical analysis. There is the question about the tonal (or, best, modal) background, which raise also questions about modal scales, polarity and structural scheme. There is also the question about set-theory applied to a still-tonal work. And besides all this, it offers a very rich model of motivic and thematic analysis, including allusions to "entwicklende variation", all this completed with the background of the legend of the sunken city and the musical topics it deserves.

Link to full Journal "Música" nº 22: http://www.rcsmm.eu/general/files/revista/22.pdf

The paper proposes a survey through the essential theoretical contribution of J.P. Rameau, beginn... more The paper proposes a survey through the essential theoretical contribution of J.P. Rameau, beginning with the famous "Traité de l'Harmonie", and enlarged with several other books devoted to the harmonic theoretical thinking, in which he evolves according to the scientific discoveries of the century.

The Ms. Cary 703, purchased by the Morgan Library of New York, has brought about the discovery of... more The Ms. Cary 703, purchased by the Morgan Library of New York, has brought about the discovery of a few unknown sonatas attributed to Domenico Scarlatti as well as 29 unknown sonatas by Antonio Soler composed in his earlier years in Madrid and El Escorial, since the manuscript – although perhaps copied around the last third of the 18th century or a little earlier – includes works dated 1756, at least for a group of sonatas. The style of the works of Soler is here very close to Scarlatti’s, and the fact that the sonatas of both authors were copied together is proof of the high esteem that their music had at the time. This paper analyses all these new sonatas and presents several tables with the numbering and the possible pairing of the sonatas.

Academia.edu, 2020

The Ms. Cary 703, purchased by the Morgan Library of New York, has revealed a few of unknown sona... more The Ms. Cary 703, purchased by the Morgan Library of New York, has revealed a few of unknown sonatas attributed to Domenico Scarlatti, as well as 29 unknown sonatas by Antonio Soler. The edition of these sonatas prepared by Takanao Todoroki was uploaded in 2014 to Academia, and there has been ample time since then for three players to make recordings of these sonatas, either on compact disk or on video, making available the first complete world recordings of all 29 sonatas in October 2020.

Five people from four countries on three continents (Asia, Europe, America) have been involved in this totally unplanned but exciting project: the editor of the sonatas Takanao Todoroki (Fukuoka, Kyushu Island, Japan); the Spanish harpsichordist Diego Ares, who recorded the first CD (Basel, Switzerland); the writer of this paper, Enrique Igoa (Madrid, Spain); and the two US harpsichordists who recorded the videos, Rebecca Pechefsky (Brooklyn, New York) and Ryan Layne Whitney (Seattle, Washington). In this way, Soler’s music has traveled a long way from the western Pacific, through central and southern Europe, to the other side of the Atlantic, jumping in turn from the east to the west coast of the United States.

Revista Excelentia no. 18, 2021

In the 18th century, the introduction of new musical genres such as the sonata, the quartet or th... more In the 18th century, the introduction of new musical genres such as the sonata, the quartet or the quintet - largely linked to the nascent Classicism -, will be the origin of a repertoire that will have famous and internationally renowned representatives in the Iberian Peninsula, including authors from Italy. And one of the composers who practiced both styles (religious and instrumental) is Antonio Soler (1729-1783), known as 'Padre Soler', due to his status as a Jerome monk. However, the biography of this musician has been - and continues to be in many texts - full of errors and inaccuracies that must be corrected as soon as possible, so that the image of the musician comes as close as possible to reality (incorporating for this the data of the most recent research on the musician and his time).

Ritmo. El pulso del arte y de la vida.

Real time, inner time, outer time, lineal time, cyclic time? The complex relation between time an... more Real time, inner time, outer time, lineal time, cyclic time? The complex relation between time and rhythm in music is explored here taking into account the contributions of Werner Jaeger ("Paideia", the rhythm in Ancient Greece), Anthony Storr ("Music and Mind"), Enrique Gavilán ("Otra historia del tiempo"), Igor Stravinsky ("Poética musical"), André Boucourechliev ("Igor Stravinsky"), Karlheinz Stockhausen ("Moment-Form") and Gyorgy Ligeti.

A brief insight in one of the most famous operas not only by Mozart, but from all the repertoire,... more A brief insight in one of the most famous operas not only by Mozart, but from all the repertoire, written for the Mozart Festival, held in Madrid in 1992.

Análisis musical I, 2020

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Revista Excelentia nos. 38-39, 2024

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Revista Excelentia no. 37, 2024

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Música contemporánea en España - Perspectivas en el siglo XXI, 2024

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Revista Excelentia no. 33, 2023

Revista Excelentia no. 31-32, 2023

Revista Excelentia no. 28, 2023

Revista Excelentia no. 26, 2022

Link to full Journal "Música" nº 22: http://www.rcsmm.eu/general/files/revista/22.pdf

Academia.edu, 2020

Revista Excelentia no. 18, 2021

Ritmo. El pulso del arte y de la vida.

Two of most important aspects behind the musical style of Olivier Messiaen are religion and the s... more Two of most important aspects behind the musical style of Olivier Messiaen are religion and the singing of birds. This paper explores the technical and symbolic influence of concepts taken from the religious belief of Messiaen, as well as the translation of the song of birds into musical motives with its own rhythm and timbre, an evidence of his formidable knowledge of ornithology.

The achievements of Beethoven in his middle and late works are always worthy to be put in evidenc... more The achievements of Beethoven in his middle and late works are always worthy to be put in evidence. In this paper there is a survey of melodic, harmonic, phraseological, rhythmical and formal aspects which still today are astonishing, and which influence went much more furhter than his following generation to reach well into the 20th century.

As a consequence of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Danish composer Carl Nielsen, Revista S... more As a consequence of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Danish composer Carl Nielsen, Revista Scherzo proposed in 2015 a dossier about him. In this paper there is a survey of the most important of his instrumental output: his 6 symphonies, his quartets, his quintet and his 3 concertos (violin, flute and clarinet).

As one of the most important author of symphonies (along with Mahler and Nielsen), the works of J... more As one of the most important author of symphonies (along with Mahler and Nielsen), the works of Jan Sibelius in this genre have been a topic of study since long ago. This paper focuses in the las foru symphonies, from no. 4 th no. 7, which emerge after the significative change of style of Symphony no. 3.

Propuestas pedagógicas e interdisciplinares sobre el análisis y la teoría musical, 2024

The aim of this chapter is to update the theories on sonata form, especially for teachers of Anal... more The aim of this chapter is to update the theories on sonata form, especially for teachers of Analysis, Fundamentals of Composition or related topics at the intermediate or higher level, as well as theorists, researchers or those interested in this subject. As a summary of the thematic, harmonic, cadential and formal analysis of a sonata, three schemes are presented at the end that include all these aspects, together with examples from the table of typologies. This presentation can only be an outline of some theoretical questions that can be read in their entirety in the chapter devoted to the theory of the sonata in my doctoral thesis, dedicated to the analysis of the sonatas of Antonio Soler (Igoa, 2014).
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La intención de este capítulo es actualizar las teorías sobre la forma sonata, pensando en los profesores que imparten las materias de Análisis, Fundamentos de Composición o disciplinas afines en el nivel medio o superior, así como en los teóricos, investigadores o interesados en esta materia. Como resumen del análisis temático, armónico, cadencial y formal de una sonata se presentan al final tres esquemas que recogen todos estos aspectos, junto con ejemplos de la tabla de tipologías. Esta ponencia solo puede ser un esbozo de algunas cuestiones teóricas que se pueden leer en toda su extensión en el capítulo dedicado a la teoría de la sonata en mi tesis doctoral, dedicada al análisis de las sonatas de Antonio Soler (Igoa, 2014).

Giuseppe Verdi - Jornadas interdisciplinares, 2002

The formal, melodic, dramatic richness, etc. of an opera like Falstaff cannot be summed up in a f... more The formal, melodic, dramatic richness, etc. of an opera like Falstaff cannot be summed up in a few lines, or even a few pages. It must be remembered that the few negative reviews that the opera received focused, for the most part, on the alleged absence of melodies, a hasty analysis that is due, as is well known, to the exact opposite: such is the profusion of melodies that pass before our ears that it is difficult at first to appreciate the enormous concentration of the musical material, put here at the service of a vertiginous and constantly changing dramatic action. For this reason, I have considered it better to highlight in this paper (presented within the framework of an interdisciplinary conference held in 2001 on the occasion of the centenary of the composer's death) only some of the many aspects that can help to deepen the brilliant construction and the very successful balance that emerges in each of its pages.