PARES | Spanish Archives

Identification

Type:

Person

Preferred form:

Marshall, Frank (1883-1959)Alternative forms (other languages) Other forms

Fechas de existencia:

Mataró (Barcelona, España) 1893-11-28 - Barcelona (España) 1959-05-29

History:

Anglo-Spanish pianist, educator and composer.

Born on 28 November 1883 in Mataró, Spain, and died on 29 May 1959 in Barcelona. His father was an English textile engineer, and he was married to Teresa Cabarrús i de Abaria.

Marshall's first music instructor was Teodor Solà Vendrell in Mataró. He moved to Barcelona and enrolled at the Conservatori de Música del Liceu, where he studied under Francisco de Paula Sánchez Gavagnach and Antoni Puyé. He later rounded out his education at Enrique Granados's academy. In 1900 Granados made him an assistant piano instructor; he was appointed deputy director of the academy in 1903, and director in 1916. In 1920 he changed the academy's name to Marshall and became a full-time teacher. His pupils included Paquita Madriguera, Rosa María Kuccharski, Alicia de Larrocha, Rosa Sabater, Carlos and Giocasta Corma, and Albert Attenelle. Thanks his good friend Manuel de Falla, Marshall was able to resume his career as a concert pianist in 1926 after they gave several recitals together in Seville, Cádiz, Granada and Madrid. In 1927 he was involved in the Falla Festival and performed "Noches en los jardines de España" in Barcelona with the Orquestra Pau Casals, conducted by the Andalusian composer. He performed at many festivals and concerts throughout his career and earned the highest praise from contemporary composers and musicians like Joaquín Turina and Federico Mompou. In 1931, he co-founded the Asociación de Cultura Musical with Alfonso Sanz and was the association's delegate in Barcelona. He sat on international prize juries in Vienna, Warsaw and Paris and on the committee of the International Society for Contemporary Music. Marshall was named a favourite son of Mataró and received the Grand Cross in the Order of Isabella the Catholic. He composed the piano suite "Catalònia" (1907), among other works. In his facet as an educator, he published the didactic volumes "Estudio práctico sobre los pedales del piano" (1919) and "La sonoridad del piano" (1940).