Person
Izquierdo, José Manuel (1890-1951)Alternative forms (other languages) Other forms
Catarroja (Valencia, España) 1890-07-11 - València (España) 1951-05-10
Spanish composer, conductor and teacher.
Born on 11 July 1890 in Catarroja (Valencia, Spain). His first music teacher was his father, who was a musician and director in the municipal Band in their hometown. He studied composition, piano and violin at the Conservatorio de Valencia, continued his education in Madrid, and took lessons in composition from Salvador Giner Vidal. He played the violin with the Orquesta Filarmónica de Madrid, where Bartolomé Pérez Casas gave him his conducting debut. Upon returning to Valencia in 1924, he found work as a teacher and concertmaster of the Teatro Ruzafa orchestra. One year later, he was named conductor of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Valencia, a position he held from 1925 to 1951. Izquierdo took that orchestra to new heights, building up a repertoire that included works by both foreign and Spanish composers, from Anatoly Lyadov, Max Trapp, Sergei Prokofiev, Ludwig van Beethoven, Camille Saint-Saëns and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov to Joaquín Turina, Rodolfo Halffter, Isaac Albéniz and José Romero. He conducted Manuel de Falla's "Noches en los jardines de España" (1909-1916) on two occasions, at the Teatro Principal in Valencia: the first time on 27 February 1926, and the second one on 23 May 1937. He also brought works by Valencian composers that were rarely brought to stage, such as José Serrano's "Golondrina de Madrid" in 1946. During his time at the helm of the orchestra, musicians and conductors of the stature of Arthur Rubinstein, Fritz Kreisler, José Iturbi, Enrique Fernández Arbós and Bartolomé Pérez Casas participated in his concerts. He also conducted other ensembles, including the Orquesta del Conservatorio de Valencia, Banda La Artesana de Catarroja, Orquesta de Radio Valencia and Orquesta Filarmónica de Madrid.
Izquierdo juggled his conducting activity with his duties as an instructor at the Conservatorio de Música y Declamación de Valencia, where he taught solfège, violin, and vocal and instrumental ensemble. As a composer, he wrote several zarzuelas, such as "Fiestas y amores" (1908) and "El signo del zodiaco" (1923); orchestral music like his symphonic poem "Día de Pascua en Catarroja" (1946) or "Serenata nocturna" (1946); the paso dobles "Antañón", "El artesano" and "Josefina" for band; vocal pieces like "Cosas de chicos" (1924) and "La reina del mar" (1921); "Capricho" (1919) and "El caballero del amor" (1940) for instrumental ensemble; and sacred works, such as his "Ave María" motet for tenor and orchestra (1929). He passed away on 10 May 1951 in Valencia (Spain).
La Biblioteca Musical de Compositores Valencianos del Ayuntamiento de Valencia conserva parte de su fondo documental.