José Luis Turina: «Hay grandes obras que se olvidan después del estreno» / José Luis Turina: "There are great works that are forgotten after their premiere"

por Luis G. Iberni

(Interview published in the newspaper La Razón. Madrid, January 13, 1999)


This evening, his grandfather will be honored as part of the Symphony cycle

The fiftieth anniversary of Joaquín Turina's death will be commemorated tomorrow with a performance of his opera El jardín de Oriente in concert form, along with Música fugitiva, composed by his grandson, José Luis Turina, which will premiere in Madrid.

José Luis Turina is one of the leading figures in the current creative scene, to the point of being one of the most commissioned artists at the moment. The Canary Islands Festival has chosen him to premiere a piano concerto in its upcoming edition, and Barcelona's Liceu has planned to stage an opera composed in the year 2000, which will be performed by none other than La Fura dels Baus. He is also responsible for the critical edition of Chapí's opera Margarita la Tornera, which will be presented in a new production at the Teatro Real in November.


Against Oblivion

- Your work Música fugitiva is a complete novelty in Madrid.
- It was commissioned by the Caja Madrid Foundation in 1992, premiered by the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Gilbert Varga, and has never been performed again. Since it coincided with the centenary of Rossini, I aimed for a free recreation of the overture to The Barber of Seville, although the Italian composer's music is entirely unrecognizable.

- This is the great tragedy of modern composers. A work is commissioned, and then it's never performed again.
- I find it very frustrating that the only thing that really matters is the premiere, and there’s no thought of reviving it. It takes me a long time to write a piece because I work very carefully. I believe that institutions should aim for works to become part of the repertoire. It's true that it's very difficult to compete with several centuries of history -it's a herculean task. But it shouldn't be allowed that, after the effort to premiere a work, it gets forgotten.

- The concert will also commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of your grandfather's death with an opera that is little known and to which you are very connected.
- The story of El jardín de Oriente is quite sad. It premiered at the Teatro Real in the early 20th century and, like many other Spanish works, it was forgotten afterward. When they tried to revive it, it was impossible because the score had been lost. The score had to be reconstructed from the materials available at the SGAE. At the request of the Teatro de la Zarzuela, I undertook a painstaking job because we didn't have the computer tools we have now. But I am now very pleased with the effort, as we were able to recover this composition.

- How would you evaluate it?
- I have the impression that it will work better in the concert version we will hear today than in a staged production. The libretto, by Gregorio Martínez Sierra, is rather weak, but the work has moments of great interest. It's the result of Turina who had just returned from Paris, steeped in the Schola Cantorum. Musically, it has splendid fragments, identifiable with his signature style.

- Having the same illustrious last name, has it been an advantage or a disadvantage?
- It’s both a key and a burden. It always makes you walk a fine line, especially when you pursue the same profession as him -composition. I admit it was very helpful during my training, as it opened the arms of one of my grandfather's disciples, José Olmedo, who was an excellent teacher and taught me a great deal. But it also generates the corresponding suspicions from those who think I am only trying to benefit from a name. In any case, I carry it with great pride.


About Chapí

- You are preparing the critical edition of Margarita la Tornera by Chapí for the Instituto Complutense de Ciencias Musicales, which is set to be re-premiered at the Teatro Real and has generated great anticipation.
- I have to say that I think it's a superb work. It has better and worse moments, but overall it offers great quality. The third scene of the first act is fantastic. Just for this fragment alone, it would be worth reviving. It has Wagnerian ambitions. And Chapí was a fabulous musician. Among composers, no one doubts it, but for the public, his association with a certain type of zarzuela may have hurt him considerably. But in Margarita la Tornera, he demonstrates a mastery of the orchestra that very few composers had in their time.