Fred Elizalde
Encyclopedia
Federico "Fred" Elizalde (December 12, 1907January 16, 1979) was a Philippines
-born Spanish
classical and jazz pianist, composer, conductor, and bandleader
.
, Philippines
. His wealthy family owned several plantations in the Philippines. At the age of only seven he entered the Madrid Royal Conservatory, winning the first prize in piano at age 14. He then studied at St. Joseph's College, London
and went to study law at Stanford University
in the 1920s. His musical interests prevailed and he left the university. He took composition lessons under Ernst Bloch
at Stanford, and gave up law temporarily for music, leaving the school in 1926. He then embarked on a career as a jazz
bandleader, leading the Stanford University Band at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles
while he studied composition. He recorded with the Cinderella Roof Orchestra in 1926, then returned to England, where he entered Cambridge University
in the autumn as a law student. This lasted only a year; soon after reaching England, Elizalde formed a new band, the Quinquaginta Band, which became highly successful and influential on the development of British jazz
music in the late 1920s.
Elizalde criticized British dance music for its Viennese
qualities, and sought to bring more American principles of rhythm
to the British scene. He recorded with his band in 1927 under several ensemble names for Brunswick
and Decca
. In his run at the Savoy Hotel
in London, his band featured many of the best players in early British jazz, including Norman Payne, Jack Jackson
, and Harry Hayes
, as well as Americans such as Chelsea Quealey
, Bobby Davis, Fud Livingston
, Adrian Rollini
, and Arthur Rollini. The band was voted best popular dance orchestra in Melody Maker
in 1928, but "older guests at the [Savoy] hotel were offended by his music, and controversial broadcasts over the BBC didn't help his case. In July 1929 his contract expired and was not renewed." Concomitantly, Elizalde also composed works which melded jazz and European concert music elements, including The Heart of a Nigger (1927; produced in 1928 by Sergei Diaghilev
) and Bataclan (1929).
In 1928 he visited Germany and became closely associated with Siegfried Wagner
. He also conducted orchestras in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. In 1928 he wrote the music for Pola Negri
's final silent film, The Way of Lost Souls (1929; aka The Woman He Scorned).
Elizalde broke up his band in 1929 just after a poorly received tour in Scotland
and the onset of the Great Depression
, which necessitated the return home of many of his American sidemen. He led a new group at the Duchess Theater in London in 1930, but later that year returned to Manila
to accept a position as conductor of the Manila Symphony Orchestra
. By now he had received his parents' permission to devote himself entirely to music (he was still only 23). He conducted in the 1930s in Biarritz
, Paris
, and Madrid
, and recorded for the last time in 1933 on a brief return trip to Britain. His symphonic poems Jota, Spiritual and Moods were written in these years. In 1931-33 he was in Paris, where he was closely associated with Maurice Ravel
and Darius Milhaud
, and conducted the first performances of some of Milhaud's works. In 1932 he composed some songs for Conchita Supervía
and incidental music for La pajara puita by Rafael Allreti.
While in Spain, Elizalde studied under and spent much time with Manuel de Falla
, who always regarded him as one of his best interpreters. On one occasion he conducted Falla's Harpsichord Concerto with the composer at the keyboard. He also set to music Titeres de Cachiporra and Don Perlimplin by Federico García Lorca
, with whom he was also closely associated. In 1935 he was named as Spanish delegate to the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
. In 1936 he conducted his Sinfonia Concertante for piano and orchestra, with Leopoldo Querol
as soloist.
In 1936 he returned from France to enrol in the Requeti troops of Navarre, a Basque
regiment, and fought under Francisco Franco
during the Spanish Civil War
until 1939. He was wounded and decorated during the war. He first emigrated to Manila then moved to France, where he lived under confinement in a house near Bayonne
under the German occupation.
During this time he composed extensively, his works including:
In 1948 he returned once again to Manila, where he conducted the Manila Symphony Orchestra again, founded the Manila Little Symphony Orchestra, and became president of the national radio broadcasting company. He did some conducting in Japan
, and led the LSO at the Royal Festival Hall during the Festival of Britain in 1951, but otherwise did little work outside of the Philippines through his 1974 retirement.
Outside of music, he was an excellent sharpshooter and won gold medals as captain of the Philippines shooting team in the 1954 Asiad.
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
-born Spanish
Spanish people
The Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....
classical and jazz pianist, composer, conductor, and bandleader
Bandleader
A bandleader is the leader of a band of musicians. The term is most commonly, though not exclusively, used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or rock and roll music....
.
Biography
Elizalde was born in ManilaManila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
, Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. His wealthy family owned several plantations in the Philippines. At the age of only seven he entered the Madrid Royal Conservatory, winning the first prize in piano at age 14. He then studied at St. Joseph's College, London
St. Joseph's College, London
St Joseph's College is a Secondary School for Boys in Upper Norwood in the London Borough of Croydon. It is a Mathematics and Computing Specialist School and a Cisco Academy. It is a voluntary aided Roman Catholic comprehensive school for students aged 11 to 18 years...
and went to study law at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
in the 1920s. His musical interests prevailed and he left the university. He took composition lessons under Ernst Bloch
Ernst Bloch
Ernst Bloch was a German Marxist philosopher.Bloch was influenced by both Hegel and Marx and, as he always confessed, by novelist Karl May. He was also interested in music and art . He established friendships with Georg Lukács, Bertolt Brecht, Kurt Weill and Theodor W. Adorno...
at Stanford, and gave up law temporarily for music, leaving the school in 1926. He then embarked on a career as a jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
bandleader, leading the Stanford University Band at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
while he studied composition. He recorded with the Cinderella Roof Orchestra in 1926, then returned to England, where he entered Cambridge University
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
in the autumn as a law student. This lasted only a year; soon after reaching England, Elizalde formed a new band, the Quinquaginta Band, which became highly successful and influential on the development of British jazz
British jazz
British jazz is a form of music derived from American jazz. It reached Britain through recordings and performers who visited the country while it was a relatively new genre, soon after the end of World War I. Jazz began to be played by British musicians from the 1930s and on a widespread basis in...
music in the late 1920s.
Elizalde criticized British dance music for its Viennese
Music of Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of Austria, and has long been one of the major centers for cultural development in central Europe.Music organizations in Vienna include the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, which has been promoting musical development in the city since 1812...
qualities, and sought to bring more American principles of rhythm
Rhythm
Rhythm may be generally defined as a "movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions." This general meaning of regular recurrence or pattern in time may be applied to a wide variety of cyclical natural phenomena having a periodicity or...
to the British scene. He recorded with his band in 1927 under several ensemble names for Brunswick
Brunswick Records
Brunswick Records is a United States based record label. The label is currently distributed by E1 Entertainment.-From 1916:Records under the "Brunswick" label were first produced by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company...
and Decca
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
. In his run at the Savoy Hotel
Savoy Hotel
The Savoy Hotel is a hotel located on the Strand, in the City of Westminster in central London. Built by impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte with profits from his Gilbert and Sullivan operas, the hotel opened on 6 August 1889. It was the first in the Savoy group of hotels and restaurants owned by...
in London, his band featured many of the best players in early British jazz, including Norman Payne, Jack Jackson
Jack Jackson (British radio)
Jack Jackson was a British trumpeter and bandleader who became a highly influential radio disc jockey....
, and Harry Hayes
Harry Hayes
Harry Hayes may refer to:*Juán Enrique Hayes , Argentine footballer*Enrique Ricardo Hayes, Argentine footballer and son of Juán Enrique Hayes*Harry Hays , Canadian politician*Harry T. Hays , American army officer...
, as well as Americans such as Chelsea Quealey
Chelsea Quealey
Chelsea Quealey was an American jazz trumpeter.Quealey began as a reedist but eventually settled on trumpet, playing with Jan Garber in 1925 and the California Ramblers in 1926-27. Between 1927 and 1929 he played in England, on recordings with Fred Elizalde and also in Bert Firman's band. Upon his...
, Bobby Davis, Fud Livingston
Fud Livingston
Fud Livingston was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, arranger, and composer. He co-wrote the jazz and pop standard "I'm Through With Love".-Career:...
, Adrian Rollini
Adrian Rollini
Adrian Francis Rollini was a multi-instrumentalist best known for his jazz music. He played the bass saxophone, piano, xylophone, and many other instruments. Rollini is also known for introducing the goofus in jazz music...
, and Arthur Rollini. The band was voted best popular dance orchestra in Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
in 1928, but "older guests at the [Savoy] hotel were offended by his music, and controversial broadcasts over the BBC didn't help his case. In July 1929 his contract expired and was not renewed." Concomitantly, Elizalde also composed works which melded jazz and European concert music elements, including The Heart of a Nigger (1927; produced in 1928 by Sergei Diaghilev
Sergei Diaghilev
Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev , usually referred to outside of Russia as Serge, was a Russian art critic, patron, ballet impresario and founder of the Ballets Russes, from which many famous dancers and choreographers would arise.-Early life and career:...
) and Bataclan (1929).
In 1928 he visited Germany and became closely associated with Siegfried Wagner
Siegfried Wagner
Siegfried Wagner was a German composer and conductor, the son of Richard Wagner. He was an opera composer and the artistic director of the Bayreuth Festival from 1908 to 1930.-Life:...
. He also conducted orchestras in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. In 1928 he wrote the music for Pola Negri
Pola Negri
Pola Negri was a Polish stage and film actress who achieved worldwide fame for her tragedienne and femme fatale roles from the 1910s through the 1940s during the Golden Era of Hollywood film. She was the first European film star to be invited to Hollywood, and became a great American star. She...
's final silent film, The Way of Lost Souls (1929; aka The Woman He Scorned).
Elizalde broke up his band in 1929 just after a poorly received tour in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and the onset of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, which necessitated the return home of many of his American sidemen. He led a new group at the Duchess Theater in London in 1930, but later that year returned to Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
to accept a position as conductor of the Manila Symphony Orchestra
Manila Symphony Orchestra
The Manila Symphony Orchestra is one of the oldest orchestras in Asia. Founded by Dr. Alexander Lippay in 1926, the orchestra has played a major role in Philippine history...
. By now he had received his parents' permission to devote himself entirely to music (he was still only 23). He conducted in the 1930s in Biarritz
Biarritz
Biarritz is a city which lies on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast, in south-western France. It is a luxurious seaside town and is popular with tourists and surfers....
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, and Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, and recorded for the last time in 1933 on a brief return trip to Britain. His symphonic poems Jota, Spiritual and Moods were written in these years. In 1931-33 he was in Paris, where he was closely associated with Maurice Ravel
Maurice Ravel
Joseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...
and Darius Milhaud
Darius Milhaud
Darius Milhaud was a French composer and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as The Group of Six—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions are influenced by jazz and make use of polytonality...
, and conducted the first performances of some of Milhaud's works. In 1932 he composed some songs for Conchita Supervía
Conchita Supervia
Conchita Supervía was a highly popular Spanish mezzo-soprano singer who appeared in opera in Europe and America and also gave recitals....
and incidental music for La pajara puita by Rafael Allreti.
While in Spain, Elizalde studied under and spent much time with Manuel de Falla
Manuel de Falla
Manuel de Falla y Matheu was a Spanish Andalusian composer of classical music. With Isaac Albéniz, Enrique Granados and Joaquín Turina he is one of Spain's most important musicians of the first half of the 20th century....
, who always regarded him as one of his best interpreters. On one occasion he conducted Falla's Harpsichord Concerto with the composer at the keyboard. He also set to music Titeres de Cachiporra and Don Perlimplin by Federico García Lorca
Federico García Lorca
Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca was a Spanish poet, dramatist and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27. He is believed to be one of thousands who were summarily shot by anti-communist death squads...
, with whom he was also closely associated. In 1935 he was named as Spanish delegate to the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
Maggio Musicale Fiorentino is an annual opera festival which was founded in April 1933 by conductor Vittorio Gui with the aim of presenting contemporary and forgotten operas in visually dramatic productions. It was the first music festival in Italy. The first opera presented was Verdi's early...
. In 1936 he conducted his Sinfonia Concertante for piano and orchestra, with Leopoldo Querol
Leopoldo Querol
Leopoldo Querol was a Spanish classical pianist.Querol was born in Vinaròs, Castellón in 1899. He was a graduate of the Valencia Conservatory....
as soloist.
In 1936 he returned from France to enrol in the Requeti troops of Navarre, a Basque
Basque people
The Basques as an ethnic group, primarily inhabit an area traditionally known as the Basque Country , a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France.The Basques are known in the...
regiment, and fought under Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
during the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
until 1939. He was wounded and decorated during the war. He first emigrated to Manila then moved to France, where he lived under confinement in a house near Bayonne
Bayonne
Bayonne is a city and commune in south-western France at the confluence of the Nive and Adour rivers, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, of which it is a sub-prefecture...
under the German occupation.
During this time he composed extensively, his works including:
- an operaOperaOpera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
on the life of Paul GauguinPaul GauguinEugène Henri Paul Gauguin was a leading French Post-Impressionist artist. He was an important figure in the Symbolist movement as a painter, sculptor, print-maker, ceramist, and writer...
, to a libretto by Théophile Briant; it was broadcast in 1948 by Radiodiffusion Française to celebrate the centenary of Gauguin's birth - a violin concertoViolin concertoA violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin and instrumental ensemble, customarily orchestra. Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up through the present day...
; Ginette NeveuGinette NeveuGinette Neveu was a French violinist.-Biography:Born in Paris into a musical family, Ginette Neveu became a violinist and her brother Jean-Paul Neveu a classical pianist. She was also the grandniece of composer Charles-Marie Widor...
gave its premiere in Paris in 1944, and Christian FerrasChristian FerrasChristian Ferras was a French violinist.Ferras was born at Le Touquet in 1933. He began studying the violin with his father, who was a pupil of Marcel Chailley. He entered the Conservatoire de Nice as a student of Charles Bistesi in 1941, and in 1943 obtained the First Prize. In 1944 he went to...
gave its London premiere under the direction of Gaston Poulet, in the presence of the composer, and made the world premiere recording on November 7, 1947, when he was aged only 14 - a string quartetString quartetA string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group...
, and - a piano concertoPiano concertoA piano concerto is a concerto written for piano and orchestra.See also harpsichord concerto; some of these works are occasionally played on piano...
, premiered by Leopoldo Querol in 1947 in Paris; Elizalde himself played the piano concerto at Besançon with the Colonne Orchestra under Gaston Poulet, and again with the London Symphony OrchestraLondon Symphony OrchestraThe London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...
(LSO) in the Albert Hall.
In 1948 he returned once again to Manila, where he conducted the Manila Symphony Orchestra again, founded the Manila Little Symphony Orchestra, and became president of the national radio broadcasting company. He did some conducting in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, and led the LSO at the Royal Festival Hall during the Festival of Britain in 1951, but otherwise did little work outside of the Philippines through his 1974 retirement.
Outside of music, he was an excellent sharpshooter and won gold medals as captain of the Philippines shooting team in the 1954 Asiad.