| Manuel M. Ponce |
Article Index for Manuel M |
Shopping Ponce |
Website Links For Manuel |
Information AboutManuel M. Ponce |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT MANUEL MARIA PONCE | |
| 1882 births | |
| ponce, manuel | |
| 1948 deaths | |
| mexican composers | |
| 20th century classical composers | |
| composers for guitar | |
| people from zacatecas | |
| SHOPPER'S DELIGHT | |
|
LIFE Originally born in Fresnillo, Zacatecas, only a few weeks afterwards Manuel Ponce was born his family moved to the City Of Aguascalientes and lived there until he was 15 years old. He was famous for being a "musical phenomenon"; according to his biographers, he was barely four years of age when, after having listened to the piano classes received by his sister Josefina, he sat in front of the instrument and without further ado he interpreted one of the pieces that he had heard. Immediately their parents had him receive classes in piano and musical notation. In 1901 Ponce entered the National Conservatory of Music, already with a certain prestige as a pianist and composer. There he remained until 1903, the year in which he returned to the city of Aguascalientes. This was only the beginning of his peregrination. In 1904 he travelled to Italy for a superior study of music in the School of Bologna. He studied in Germany between 1906 and 1908 and returned to Mexico to become a teacher for piano and history of music. In 1912 he composed his work "Estrellita" (little star), which is not a normal love song, as is usually thought, but "Nostalgia Viva" (live nostalgia). That same year, Ponce gave in the "Arbeau Theater" the memorable concert of Mexican Popular music that, although he scandalized by the ardent defenders of the European, came to constitute a fundamental landmark in the history of the national song. With this valuable activity of promotion of the music of the country and with melodías like "Estrellita", "A la orilla de un palmar", "Alevántate", "La Pajarera", "Marchita el Alma" and "Una Multitud Más", Ponce gained the honorable title of "Creator of the Modern Mexican Song . He was also the first Mexican composer of popular music that projected its music to the foreigner: "Estrellita", for example, has been part of the repertoire of the main orchestras of the world and countless singers, although quite often the interpreter ignores the origin of the song as well as the name of the author. He died in Mexico City , Mexico . Before he died he received the "National Arts and Science Prize". His body was buried in the Roundhouse of the Illustrious Men in the Pantheon of Dolores in Mexico City. In his honor there is a board of recognition by the State Of Aguascalientes in the base of the column of The Exedra , next to the fountain from a spring dedicated to this musical poet, in his childhood and young adult City of Aguascalientes, where he first was introduced to the music studies. MUSIC Ponce's guitar music is a core part of the instrument's repertory, the best-known works being ''Variations and Fugue on 'La Folia' ''( 1929 ) and ''Sonatina meridional'' ( 1939 ). He also wrote a guitar concerto ''Concierto del sur'' dedicated to his long time friend and guitar virtuoso Andrés Segovia .
Other works include:
One of Ponce's melodies still heard today in various arrangements is "Estrellita" (1912). |