Italian musicians in Francoist Spain, 1939-1945: the perspective of music critics

Moreda Rodriguez, E. (2008) Italian musicians in Francoist Spain, 1939-1945: the perspective of music critics. Music and Politics, 2(1),

Abstract

The Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) put an end to the Second Republic and replaced it with an authoritarian, militarist, para-fascist regime commanded by General Francisco Franco. The musical life suffered the consequences of the struggle and, during the Second World War, exchanges with the Axis powers were used to revitalize it. This paper focuses on the exchanges with Italy and, specifically, how they were shaped by the musical press to fit the new ideological requirements of the Franco regime, which, on one hand, welcomed elements of racial theory (typical of fascism) to justify an essential unity between Italy and Spain based on the concept of Latinitas, but which was also extremely nationalistic and overzealous of foreign influences in Spanish music. The discourse of the Spanish musical press in regard to Italian music and musicians will be presented according to two pairs of contrasting concepts which were attributed different meanings and implications at different times: modern-traditional and national-foreign. This article seeks to make a contribution to the study of the interface between music and ideology in 1940s Spain from the point of view of the musical press, a critical source which has not been, so far, the central object of any study of this period.

• Item Type: Articles
• Keywords: Spanish music, Francoism, Spanish-Italian cultural relations, Fascism, Alfredo Casella
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Moreda Rodriguez, Dr Eva
• Authors: Moreda Rodriguez, E.
• Subjects: M Music and Books on Music > ML Literature of music
• College/School: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Culture and Creative Arts > Music
• Journal Name: Music and Politics
• ISSN: 1938-7687