Llobet Soles, Miguel
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Llobet Soles, Miguel (b Barcelona, 18 Oct 1878; d Barcelona, 22 Feb 1938). Spanish guitarist, composer and arranger. His uncle brought a guitar home when Llobet was 11; at 14 he was presented by his first teacher, Magín Alegre, to Francisco Tárrega, who accepted him as a pupil. He gave his first series of private concerts in 1898 and his first public appearance was in 1901 at the conservatory in Valencia. He performed in Madrid in 1902 and again in 1903 in front of the royal family. His friend Ricardo Viñes, the noted pianist and Debussy interpreter, presented him in his foreign début, in Paris in 1904. From 1905 to 1910 Llobet gave concerts throughout Europe. He made his South American début in 1910 and set up home temporarily in Buenos Aires, from where he left from time to time on concert tours. Having made his US début in 1912 he continued to tour until the outbreak of World War I, when he returned to America for the duration of the war. After 1930 Llobet settled in Barcelona to teach and give occasional concerts. In 1934 he gave concerts in Vienna, Germany and other parts of western Europe, and a final concert in the USA at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC. He returned to Barcelona at the height of the Spanish Civil War in 1937. Llobet is given credit for bringing the classical guitar into the modern musical world of international concert tours. He also contributed new works and transcriptions to the repertory and introduced the public to works by Falla, Villa-Lobos, Ponce and others. (Falla wrote Homenaje pour le tombeau de Claude Debussy in response to Llobet’s persistent requests for a new work for guitar.) In 1925 he made the first electric recordings on the classical guitar. Llobet’s tally of approximately 75 publications includes 13 known original compositions, among them his guitar arrangement of Catalan folk songs, Diez canciones populares catalanas (1899–1918); of these the best known, El mestre (c1900), is harmonically one of the most advanced guitar works of its time and was much admired by Segovia. BIBLIOGRAPHY G. Krick: ‘Miguel Llobet, 1878–1939’, Etude Music Magazine, lvi (1938), 762 only B. Tonazzi: Miguel Llobet, chitarrista dell’Impressionismo (Milan, 1966) J. Rey de la Torre: ‘Miguel Llobet: el Mestre’, Guitar Review, no.60 (1985), 22–31 R. Purcell: Miguel Llobet: Guitar Works (Heidelberg, 1989) RONALD C. PURCELL
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Llobet Soles, Miguel(b Barcelona, 18 Oct 1878; d Barcelona, 22 Feb 1938). Spanish guitarist, composerand arranger. His uncle brought a guitar home when Llobet was 11; at 14 he waspresented by his first teacher, Magín Alegre, to Francisco Tárrega, who accepted himas a pupil. He gave his first series of private concerts in 1898 and his first publicappearance was in 1901 at the conservatory in Valencia. He performed in Madrid in1902 and again in 1903 in front of the royal family. His friend Ricardo Viñes, the notedpianist and Debussy interpreter, presented him in his foreign début, in Paris in 1904.From 1905 to 1910 Llobet gave concerts throughout Europe. He made his SouthAmerican début in 1910 and set up home temporarily in Buenos Aires, from where heleft from time to time on concert tours. Having made his US début in 1912 hecontinued to tour until the outbreak of World War I, when he returned to America forthe duration of the war. After 1930 Llobet settled in Barcelona to teach and giveoccasional concerts. In 1934 he gave concerts in Vienna, Germany and other parts ofwestern Europe, and a final concert in the USA at the Library of Congress,Washington, DC. He returned to Barcelona at the height of the Spanish Civil War in1937.Llobet is given credit for bringing the classical guitar into the modern musical world ofinternational concert tours. He also contributed new works and transcriptions to therepertory and introduced the public to works by Falla, Villa-Lobos, Ponce and others.(Falla wrote Homenaje pour le tombeau de Claude Debussy in response to Llobet’spersistent requests for a new work for guitar.) In 1925 he made the first electricrecordings on the classical guitar.Llobet’s tally of approximately 75 publications includes 13 known originalcompositions, among them his guitar arrangement of Catalan folk songs, Diezcanciones populares catalanas (1899–1918); of these the best known, El mestre(c1900), is harmonically one of the most advanced guitar works of its time and wasmuch admired by Segovia.BIBLIOGRAPHYG. Krick: ‘Miguel Llobet, 1878–1939’, Etude Music Magazine, lvi (1938), 762 onlyB. Tonazzi: Miguel Llobet, chitarrista dell’Impressionismo (Milan, 1966)J. Rey de la Torre: ‘Miguel Llobet: el Mestre’, Guitar Review, no.60 (1985), 22–31R. Purcell: Miguel Llobet: Guitar Works (Heidelberg, 1989)
RONALD C. PURCELL
