Music and the Reconstruction of Spanish Modernism

This book provides new critical insights into Spanish musical, artistic, and literary works produced between the concluding years of the nineteenth century and the initial decades of the twentieth century. Fernández-Escárzaga creates a conceptual map to assist in comprehending the multifarious aesthetic particularities of Spain at the turn of the century. The argument proceeds from two main musical works which share concepts based in art and literature: the opera Els Pirineus by Felipe Pedrell (1841–1922) and the Goyescas piano suite by Enrique Granados (1867–1916). Utilising the philosophy of José Ortega y Gasset (1883–1955) allows an understanding of how multiple cultural and compositional threads tie these works together. This methodological process challenges several long-held notions concerning the idea of Spain in music and the relationship between music and philosophy, and therefore broadens existing debates on Spanish modernist music. This book will be of interest not only to music scholars but also to those involved in art, literature, and philosophy.