Hyperion Records

Eduardo Toldrá was born, like Mompou, in Catalonia, but unlike his compatriot played a leading role in the musical life of his country, composing a great deal of chamber, orchestral and vocal music, and a number of extremely popular sardanas (a type of Catalan folk dance). For many years he was the first violinist of the Quartet Renaixement, and was appointed the first conductor of the Barcelona Municipal Orchestra in 1944. His style is essentially melodic and lyrical, as we hear in his popular comic opera El giravolt de Maig (1928). Little known on the international scene—his conservative music was written at the time when Stravinsky and Schoenberg were breaking new ground—there has been renewed interest in his work, especially the songs, since the late twentieth century.

from notes by Richard Stokes © 2013