Ernesto Halffter

Ernesto Halffter was the third son of Prussian jeweller Ernest Halffter Hein and his wife Rosario Escriche Erradón. He was the younger brother of composer Rodolfo Halffter and the uncle of composer Cristóbal Halffter. Halffter was born in Madrid and studied at the Colegio Alemán de Madrid. He wrote his earliest composition at the age of six, and in 1922 his piano teacher Fernando Ember performed three pieces from Crepúsculos at the Ritz Hotel in Madrid. After meeting Manuel de Falla in 1923, Halffter sent Falla the score of his "Homenajes" trio for violin, cello and piano, which began a long relationship that included composition lessons from Falla.

Halffter's Sinfonietta is one of his earliest and best works; it shows the influence of Domenico Scarlatti. Later, he became more nationalistic with Rapsodia portuguesa for piano and orchestra, composed in 1938, during the Spanish Civil War. He wrote music for a dozen films. Perhaps the most noteworthy is Don Quixote de la Mancha, the 1947 film version of Miguel de Cervantes's classic novel. He also adapted and conducted the music for El amor brujo (1967), based on the ballet by Falla. It was directed by Francisco Rovira Beleta, was nominated for an Oscar and features guitarist Narciso Yepes. In 1934 Halffter became director and conductor of the Seville Conservatory of Music but, being married to the Portuguese pianist Alice Câmara Santos, chose to live in Lisbon during this period up to 1954. His only pupil was the Finnish composer Ann-Elise Hannikainen, who also became his life companion during his later life. When Falla died in 1946, he left his opera Atlántida incomplete; Ernesto Halffter was asked to complete it. It premiered in 1962, but Halffter later revised it. The second version was completed in 1976. In 1974, the Dalí Theatre and Museum in Figueras, Spain, was opened. Halffter was a personal friend of Salvador Dalí, and was asked to write a piece of music to celebrate the event. In response he composed Homenaje a Salvador Dalí. Halffter was awarded Spain's Premio Nacional de Música for composition in 1984. He died in Madrid.