Falla, Manuel de << FAH yuh or FAH lyah, mah NWEHL deh >> (1876-1946), was a Spanish composer who gained international recognition for his success in developing a modern Spanish style of music. He based many of his compositions on Spanish folklore, folk music, and literary traditions. His best-known work, the music for the ballet The Three-Cornered Hat (1919), is based on popular folk music.
Falla’s opera La Vida Breve won a contest for the best opera by a Spanish composer in 1905, but it was not performed until 1913. His other important works include the music for the ballet El Amor Brujo (1915), with its famous “Ritual Fire Dance,” and Nights in the Gardens of Spain (1916), a composition for piano and orchestra. Falla’s puppet opera Master Peter’s Puppet Show (1923) was based on an episode from the famous Spanish novel Don Quixote. Fantasia Betica (1920) is Falla’s major work for solo piano. Falla was born on Nov. 23, 1876, in Cadiz. He lived in Argentina from 1939 until his death on Nov. 14, 1946.
