THE RISE OF THE MUSICAL AVANTGARDE IN SPAIN AND THE PECULIARITIES OF THE 1951 GENERATION(I)

Abstract

Between 1940 and 1950, Spain went through a period of cultural reconnection with Europe, after the stagnation caused by the Civil War and the isolation imposed by the Franco regime. During this period, Spanish musicians began to catch up with the European musical avant-garde. In 1951, the Generation of 51 appeared, a group of composers who promoted a new musical language, influenced by serialism, electronic music and aleatorism. They rejected tradition, aspiring to originality and integration into European currents, but without losing their national identity. Groups such as the Cenacle Manuel de Falla or the Musical Youth facilitated interdisciplinary collaborations between musicians, painters, architects and writers. Cristóbal Halffter, leader of the generation, paved the way with the work "Five Microforms for Orchestra".