GERMÁN Á. BEIGBEDER

(1882-1968)

Germán Álvarez-Beigbeder was born in Jerez de la Frontera, in the province of Cadiz, on 15 December 1882, and died in Madrid on 11 September 1968. He came from a wealthy family of French origin that had settled in Jerez in the 18th century. The family worked in the wine trade, and had founded an internationally renowned sherry bodega. Álvarez-Beigbeder belongs to what became known as the Generation of the Maestros, which also included figures such as Conrado del Campo, Julio Gómez, Joaquín Turina and so many other celebrated musicians. His mother introduced him to music, and he continued to study the piano under Ángel Fernández Pacheco, a graduate of the Madrid Conservatory, where he had been a pupil of Emilio Arrieta. He later studied harmony with Evaristo Pérez Monllor, conductor of the military band.

He was a musical prodigy, and despite his parents' opposition, by the age of fifteen he had already composed waltzes, pasacalles (lively popular pieces) and religious marches. He 1' had also premiered a prayer to Our Lady of Succour, of whom his family were great devotees. He studied music alongside his formal education, but had to leave music aside temporarily to attend to the family business. However, his journeys in the north of Spain not only kept him in contact with music, but even increased his desire to devote himself to it full-time, something he achieved when he moved permanently to Madrid in 1910, where he was able to study counterpoint, fugue and composition under Pérez Casas.

His practical musical career began when he conducted the orchestra of the Gran Teatro in Madrid and later when he competed for and won, the post of Head Musician of the marine infantry. In 1913, he was posted to Africa, where he met Manrique de Lara, who helped him to complete his studies in composition in 1929, he left the navy and was appointed director of the Odero Conservatory in Cadiz. The Mayor of Jerez asked him to form the Municipal Music School and Band and a chamber orchestra, which he did, and he made an enormous contribution to the promotion of music throughout the province of Cadiz. He was made an honorary citizen of Jerez in 1948, and a street was named after him. In 1963, the Minister of the Navy awarded him the Cross of Naval Merit.

His musical legacy has continued through his sons Manuel, better known as Manuel Alejandro, and José María.

A multi-faceted composer, with a catalogue that includes works for ballet, zarzuela light opera, bands, piano, hymns and religious music, he was faithful to the ideas of his generation, and his symphonic music is one of the highlights among his works. Sevillanas y soleares, a work from 1913; Symphony no 1 in G minor, 1922; Impresiones españolas, 1923; Campos andaluces, 1928; Rincón malillo (Symphony N° 2 in E minor), 1946; and Escenas orientales are his main symphonic compositions.

On the occasion of the tribute paid to him by the city of Jerez in February 1984, the concert programme included biographical notes on the composer, the final paragraph of which was a perfect description of the maestro of Cadiz: "His creative work was truly comprehensive, and all of it was marked by its originality, quality and mastery. This is a composer who elevates popular, folkloric airs to the level of high culture…”