Music Criticism and Music Critics in Early Francoist Spain

Abstract

Music Criticism and Music Critics in Early Francoist Spain is the first comprehensive study of music criticism under the early Franco regime. It proposes to make a contribution to the study of political influence on music during this era by expanding the categories of the political. Indeed, although the book does not shy away from examining the most obvious aspects of government influence on music criticism (through censorship and the press law), it also considers a number of other aspects to explain the multiplicity of points of view, divergences, and even controversies that can be found in music criticism of the period. Such aspects include, first, the rivalries between factions during the early Franco regime, with which critics self-identified to differing extents; second, the political and musical background of music critics, whose opinions and ideas had been shaped by decadelong debates on national identity, nationalism, and modernism; and third, the expectations and restrictions placed on them implicitly or explicitly. The book focuses on four themes through the writings of seven music critics, although these are contextualized through frequent references to other individuals: Joaquin Turina and Regino Sainz de la Maza on music performance; Federico Sopena on new music; Nemesio Otano, Higinio Angles, and Julio Gomez on Spanish early music; and Joaquin Rodrigo on traditional music.