La música de cámara española en las sesiones madrileñas del Cuarteto Francésestrenos, estilos y recepción a comienzos del siglo XX

Abstract

Coetaneous to the Sociedad Filarmónica Madrileña, one of the main differences in the activity of the Cuarteto Francés in comparison with the previous quartet projects developed in Madrid, would be undoubtedly the presence of Spanish chamber music. In the series organized in Madrid during its first decade of existence, between 1903 and 1911, the names of Ricardo Villa, Manrique de Lara, Bartolomé Pérez Casas and Emilio Serrano, among others, could be added to those composers, today better known in the quartet sphere, such as Ruperto Chapí, Tomás Bretón or Conrado del Campo, resulting in an amalgam of styles and compositional tendencies that are highlighted in the diverse reviews of its premieres. From Cecilio de Roda to Miguel Salvador, passing through Luis Arnedo or Conrado del Campo, we will notice the first fruits of these receptions in the main newspapers, which show a visible interest in the development of an homogenous, original style, representative and capable, beside the great European nationalism, whose essence, for someone, lives in forms, for others in content. Throughout our article we propose to carry out a presentation, analysis and comparison of the reviews that followed the premieres of Spanish quartets in the Cuarteto Francés' seasons, as well as examining the different readings the critics would propose about a heterogeneous and emergent national style.