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Notes 60.1 (2003) 285-290


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Carmelo A. Bernaola. Piezas caprichosas [para] orquesta. Madrid: Editorial de Música Española Contemporánea (T. Presser), c1999. [Score (in C), 61 p. ISBN 84-88120-19-9. Duration, 22 min. €42.95.]
Carmelo A. Bernaola. ¡Imita! Imita, que algo queda: Preludio para clarinete y orquesta. Madrid: Editorial de Música Española Contemporánea (T. Presser), c1997. [Score (in C), p. 5-46. ISBN 84-88120-89-3. Duration, 15 min. €19.50.]
Carmelo A. Bernaola. Homenaje G. P. para grupo instumental [flauta, clarinete, piano, violín, violoncello]. Madrid: Editorial de Música Española Contemporánea (T. Presser), c1997. [Score (in C), p. 5-22. ISBN 84-88120-90-7. Duration, 9-10 min. €12.78.]
Carmelo A. Bernaola. Complutum [para] orquesta [1998]. Madrid: Editorial de Música Española Contemporánea (T. Presser), c2001. [Score, 23 p. Pub. no. E00410. Duration, ca. 18 min. €15.50.]
Francisco Escudero. IV sinfonía: Concertante [1994]. Madrid: Editorial de Música Española Contemporánea (T. Presser), c1999. [Notes on the composer and work in Sp., Basque, Eng., 2 p.; orchestration, 1 p.; score, 153 p. Duration, ca. 30 min. €44.88.]
Francisco Escudero. Concierto para violín y orquesta [1996]. Madrid: Editorial de Música Española Contemporánea (T. Presser), c1999. [Notes on the composer in Sp., Basque, Eng., 1 p.; orchestration, 1 p.; score, 110 p. Duration, ca. 30 min. €45.50.]
Francisco Escudero. Concierto para piano y orquesta (Homenaje a Manuel de Falla). Madrid: Editorial de Música Española Contemporánea (T. Presser), c1999. [Notes on the composer in Sp., Basque, Eng., 1 p.; orchestration, 1 p.; score, 110 p. Duration, ca. 28 min. €37.84.]

After the resounding and continued success of Joseph Canteloube's Chants d'Auvergne (5 series, 1923-54), demand for more musical works conveying the beauty and sensuality of this area of southern France has remained. And while the province of Auvergne is certainly rich in both natural beauty and folk music, it is by no means isolated in this respect, for from the nearby border region between Spain [End Page 285] and France comes contemporary Basque music of surprisingly high quality. Of particular note are the works by composers Carmelo Alonso Bernaola (1929-2002) and Francisco Escudero (1912-2002), several of which have recently been published by Editorial de Música Española Contemporánea (EMEC). This is not to say that these composers relied solely on folk idioms, nor were they isolated from current trends —far from it. Having studied with world-renowned composers, both men showed themselves to be gifted, imaginative craftsmen of their trade. Of the seven recently published works by Bernaola and Escudero discussed in this review, six are large-scale compositions with full orchestra, and all should prove welcome additions to the repertory of contemporary Spanish music.

Born in Ochandiano, Vizcaya, Bernaola studied composition at the Real Conservatorio in Madrid with Enrique Massó, Francisco Calés Otero, and Julio Gómez, and during summer courses in Santiago de Compostela, with André Jolivet and Alexandre Tansman. Abroad, he studied in Italy with Sergiu Celibidache and Goffredo Petrassi in 1959 as the winner of the Spanish Rome Prize, and in Darmstadt with Bruno Maderna in 1962. He also worked for a time as a professional clarinetist. Considered to be one of the leading composers of Spain's "Generación del 51," Bernaola founded and directed (from 1981 to 1994) the Escuela de Música Jesús Guridi in Vitoria, the Basque regional capital. He was twice awarded the National Prize for Music (1962 and 1992) as well as the Goya Prize for film music from the Academia de la Cinematografía Española (1989), a medal of artistic merit from the Madrid city council (1993), and an honorary...

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