Joaquín Turina: The music for violin and piano

(CD Booklet of the Complete Sonatas for Violin and Piano by Joaquín Turina, performed by David Peralta and Ana Sánchez Donate. Verso label, January 2007)


As it seems inevitable to speak of Joaquín Turina without drawing a parallel to the figure of Manuel de Falla, it is worth recalling that both were born in the early years of the last quarter of the 19th century (the former in 1882, the latter in 1876), and both died in the final years of the first half of the 20th (1949 and 1946, respectively). Their lives were thus almost perfectly parallel in chronological terms, as was much of their musical education. It began in their native Andalusian cities and continued in Madrid, ultimately culminating in further refinement in early 20th-century Paris. The parallelism during this period was so strong that it inevitably led to interference: both artists stayed at the same Parisian hotel, the Hôtel Kléber, until Falla was forced to leave, unable to endure the constant disruption caused by their respective pianos.
However, this parallel quickly gives way to deep divergences, for within that seemingly identical initial trajectory lies the origin of their later aesthetic and stylistic differences. Early 20th-century Paris was not a single, unified destination but rather a hub of clearly distinct artistic attitudes and positions, the result of a creative ferment that remains astonishing to this day. Two of the era's most significant currents converged in Paris, embodied in very different circles: the one we might call conservative, represented by the legacy of César Franck and his link to tradition through cyclical compositional principles -what Adolfo Salazar would later somewhat acerbically label "symphonic cyclisms"- which revolved around the Schola Cantorum; and the avant-garde current, which drew on the impressionist legacy of Debussy and, above all, Ravel, with its spirit of rupture and innovation. The contrast is clearly reflected in the pedagogues each composer chose: while Turina rigorously studied classical-cyclical composition under the strict guidance of Vincent d'Indy, Falla was practically freed from the need to acquire any specific technique by Paul Dukas, who simply told him, "Work on your own, and I will give you a few orchestration tips."
Naturally, such divergent points of departure at the pivotal moment in their musical formation were decisive in the subsequent evolution of their respective careers. While Falla's music seems to veer toward a world less inclined to classical forms, leaning more toward the rhapsodic and therefore closely connected to the theatrical (his music for Diaghilev's Russian ballets is undoubtedly the pinnacle of his output), Turina's music -from his Op. 1, the Piano Quintet, to his final work, Op. 104, Desde mi terraza- displays a preference for constructive procedures that, although harmonically and melodically highly personal, are formally rooted in a wise and imaginative re-creation of the great traditional forms so deeply respected by the Schola Cantorum. Turina's masterful blend of inspired Spanish elements with a rigorously European compositional technique produced the finest results for both components of this unique symbiosis between folk and cultivated traditions: in his music, local color sheds folkloric superficiality and is elevated by contact with noble and austere classical forms, while the academic rigor of the latter is softened by the spontaneity and freshness of popular melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic inflections, breathing new vitality and energy into them.
Thus, the great music of Turina is primarily built upon formal structures that any even moderately informed listener can recognize without much difficulty: Themes with Variations, Fugues, Sonatas, Rondos, multi-section Lieder, and so on. What is truly original in his music -and what has allowed it to endure despite this seemingly traditional burden- is that these forms are never "pure" in the classical sense. Rather, all are imbued with melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic treatments that arise from the composer's unique internalization of Spanish -especially Andalusian- folklore, and its subsequent adaptation into those very forms.
Of the 104 works that, as already noted, comprise Joaquín Turina's catalog, 16 are dedicated to chamber music -that is, composed for ensembles of two or more instruments. However, what stands out is not so much the number of works, which is not particularly large, but rather the deliberate intent seemingly behind the choice of ensembles: Turina appears to prioritize combinations most closely tied to the classical and romantic tradition. This choice is entirely consistent with the traditional training he received at the Schola Cantorum. Thus, among these 16 works, we find three string quartets (including the widely known La oración del torero, which must be considered as such, given the transcription Turina himself made from the original version for a lute quartet), three piano trios, one piano quartet, one piano quintet, and five violin and piano duos: Poema de una sanluqueña, Op. 28; the two Sonatas, Op. 51 and 82; Variaciones clásicas, Op. 72; and Homenaje a Navarra, Op. 102.
To this cataloged corpus for violin and piano, we must undoubtedly add an earlier work: a first Sonata Española (a title which Turina would later reuse for his Second Sonata, Op. 82), written between 1907 and 1908, immediately after the Quintet, Op. 1. This places it squarely within the period of "metamorphosis" that followed Albéniz's advice, after the premiere of the Quintet, to abandon a Central European aesthetic in favor of a "nationalism with a European outlook" . Consequently, the next significant work in Turina's catalog, Op. 2, is none other than the piano suite Sevilla, composed in 1908. From that moment until his final work, Op. 104, Seville, the influence of his native city -and with it, Andalusian and broader Spanish themes- would be a constant, explicitly present throughout his oeuvre. Nevertheless, in Turina's original plans, the Opus 2 designation was not intended for the Sevilla suite but for this Sonata Española for violin and piano.
The extensive correspondence Turina maintained during those Parisian years with his then-girlfriend and future wife, Obdulia Garzón, allows us to reconstruct almost step-by-step both the aesthetic transformation of the composer and the conception and creation of this sonata. Thus, we know that on November 4, 1907 -just one month after the premiere of the Quintet and the subsequent meeting with Albéniz- the Sonata had yet to be started but was already planned, and that "it will be Andalusian". We also know that by November 19, Turina had begun work on the piece, and by January 28, 1908, he had completed it. Turina's doubts about his newly finished work were constant: "I've finished the Sonata Española, for violin and piano. Is it Spanish? Is it worth anything? That's exactly what I don't know", he wrote to Albéniz.
The Sonata Española was premiered in Paris on May 19, 1908, by violinist Armand Parent with the composer at the piano. After a performance in Seville on October 24 of that same year, Turina decided to set the work aside, and it was not performed again until 73 years later, on September 12, 1981, by violinist Víctor Martín and pianist Miguel Zanetti at the Teatro Leal in La Laguna (Tenerife). Later, Turina would write: "...This Sonata turned out to be a complete mistake, for although it includes popular and scholastic elements, it is in fact neither one nor the other". According to this statement, the only reason for shelving the piece was the composer's complete lack of conviction in a work which, while excellent, clearly did not meet the expectations he had placed in it -as a means to find the aesthetic path he intuited but could not yet realize due to the academic rigor instilled by his training at the Schola. From a historical standpoint, this Sonata represents a "missing link" between Op. 1 (markedly influenced by Franck) and Op. 2 (already displaying a personal language). It served as an experimental laboratory for Turina to develop the unique voice that would become unmistakable in all his subsequent works -a sharp synthesis of Spanish folk music and classical Central European forms. This synthesis would lay the groundwork for a strong school of composition in Spain, comparable to those found elsewhere in Europe, yet unmistakably nationalist in character. Its value in this regard is immeasurable.
The Sonata Española is structured in three movements, based on classical models (sonata form, rondo, and rondo-sonata, respectively), which are all closely interconnected through the use of cyclic elements -a legacy of César Franck and the Schola Cantorum in Paris.
Among the cataloged works, we next find with Op. 51 the First Sonata in D major. Neither its overall title nor those of its three movements (Lento–Allegro molto; Aria–Lento; Rondo–Allegretto) contain any literary or poetic allusion beyond pure music, as if to suggest a deliberate retreat from the descriptive tendencies so often present in Turina's work (consider Sinfonía sevillana, La procesión del Rocío, or La oración del torero, to name just a few). This alternation between objectivity and subjectivity is one of the most distinctive characteristics of Turina's overall output. Again, in the composer's own words, the First Sonata in D "...is very simple in its lines, in three movements: Allegro in sonata form, with virtually no development; Aria, with a dramatic, folk-style episode; and Rondo, in the rhythm of a farruca... The Sonata in D follows the characteristic structure of this musical form, and I add, as in other works of mine, the folkloric element in melodic accents and rhythmic formulas…"
Between this first sonata and the second -where Turina reclaimed the subtitle Sonata Española- lies, with Op. 72, a brief work for violin and piano titled Variaciones clásicas. The title alone makes clear both the formal intentions of the composer and his ongoing reverence for musical forms solidified during the Classical period. Of this piece, Turina wrote: "...a theme, almost a lament, of sorrowful expression, takes on different aspects over the course of its development. The first variation represents a languid, lazy swaying, with the sentiment of a guajira, though it does not use the time signature typical of the Cuban song. In the second variation, a seguidilla couplet can be heard in the distance. The third variation is a tango -rhythmic and rigid- that prepares the fourth, a melodic evocation of very delicate sonority, sung by the muted violin. The variations end with a cheerful, quick finale in zapateado rhythm".
As can be seen, Turina offers, within the classical formal framework of theme and variations, a transformation or elaboration of the main theme that travels through rhythms and atmospheres typical of Spanish and Latin American folklore. This is not the first time he uses this approach: one movement of the Trio No. 1, Op. 35, for violin, cello, and piano, follows the same model, and we will find a similar approach in the first movement of the Second Sonata for violin and piano, discussed below. This technique exemplifies Turina's skillful and original method of synthesizing classical formal designs with nationalist aesthetics -a union that displays both technical precision and inspired creativity, allowing us to quickly recognize one of the most distinctive voices in modern Spanish music.
Sonata No. 2, Op. 82, bears the subtitle Sonata Española, which Turina had first used for the 1908 work discussed above. He considered this Second Sonata to be "...far superior to the first, in both material and development". In a brief, descriptive analysis, he also notes that it "...consists of some very free variations based on Spanish rhythms; a gypsy zambra as a scherzo; and a final movement in sonata form that resolves into a fandango" .
Once again, we encounter the recreation of three classical forms, each infused with a distinctive nationalist flavor through the use of rhythms and melodic/harmonic inflections derived directly from Spanish folklore. Notably, Turina does not borrow this folk material wholesale from existing sources; rather, he composes it himself, adhering closely to the formal, melodic, and rhythmic patterns of various Spanish dances and songs.
The final work on this CD is also the last of Turina's compositions for the violin-piano duo: the Homenaje a Navarra. Its subtitle, Fantasy on Designs by Sarasate, reveals both its inspiration and form -as well as the composer's intentions. For the first time, Turina approaches a genre, more than a form, that was widely popular during the 19th century and into the early 20th: the Fantasias on Famous Opera Themes, which became highly popular and, in Spain, often drew on well-known zarzuela melodies. These fantasies are still regularly performed by wind ensembles throughout the country.
Still, it is true that this genre was rarely explored by serious composers, which makes it all the more surprising that Turina, near the end of his creative life -Homenaje a Navarra is Op. 102 in a catalog that ends with Op. 104- chose to write this fantasy on themes by Sarasate. In doing so, he produced a piece in which listeners will undoubtedly recognize the most popular melodies of our great Spanish violinist.

Madrid, June 2006