Following the great interest in the
United States. by the figure and work of Federico Longás and with pleasure, I
include the biography (summarized) of the great pianist and composer:
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Federico Longás Torres (ca. 1930)
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Federico Longás Torres
*Barcelona, 18-07-1894 †Santiago de Chile, 17-06-1968.
One of the most outstanding
pianists that Catalonia has had in the first half of the 20th century has
undoubtedly been Federico Longás, who performed in the most important
auditoriums in Europe and America. Throughout his career he had outstanding
performances with important formations such as the Orquestra Música de Cambra
de Barcelona, the Orquestra Pau Casals, the Orquesta Filharmónica de Madrid,
the Symphonies of Paris, Monte Carlo, Melbourne and Sidney; the Philharmonic of
New York or the Philharmonic of Chicago. He also acted as conductor at the
Monte-Carlo Opera House, the Grand Opera House of the Casino of Vichy or the
Royal Monnaie Theatre in Brussels, among others. I accompany the piano
alongside great performers of international prestige such as the violinists
Jacques Thibaud, Eugène Ysaye, Antonio Brosa, Joan Manén and Yvonne Curti, and
the cellists Pau Casals, Gaspar Cassadó and Antoni Sala. He accompanied great
singers such as Tito Schipa, Conxita Badia, Mercedes Farry, Lily Pons, Lucrecia
Bori, Tomaz Alcaide, Mercedes Plantada, Lawrence Tibbet, Giacomo Lauri Volpi,
Jan Kiepura, Amelita Galli-Curci, Margarita Salvi, Rayén Quitral, Feodor
Chaliapin, Titta Ruffo, Bidu Sayão and Ninon Vallin. But it is in his
compositions that his great personality and character stand out; There are
songs like El Piropo, Cielo Azul, Gitana, Muñequita, Luna Castellana,
Lavandera and many others that have been part of the personal repertoire of
many singers.
The couple formed by Faustino
Miguel Longás, a native of Jaca (Huesca) Protestant pastor and Secundina
Torres, born in Barcelona, left their home in the town of Jaca to settle in
Barcelona. When it was nine o'clock on the evening of Wednesday, August 18,1894, his firstborn son came into the world and was named Federico. At
the age of four, Federico began his first contact with music at his father’s
hand, and the following year he began music studies with the pianist and
composer Robert Goberna.
In 1903, at the age of nine,
he made his public debut at the Palau de Belles Arts in Barcelona. In that same
year his family moved to the city of Mahón on the island of Menorca, where the
young Federico received classes from Domenico Bellíssimo and would make some
public presentations until 1907 when they would return to Barcelona. Once in
Barcelona, maestro Joaquim Cassadó would take charge of his musical training.
The following year he entered the Academia Granados, receiving lessons from the
great pianist Joaquim Malats. On April 12, 1908, aged only 13, he participated
in a concert at the german Club Germania in Barcelona’s Plaza Real, where he
was presented as a student of the Academy. In that same year he also
participated in a concert offered by the English ambassador to Spain to his
wife Lady Bunsen; the press praised the execution of the young Longás,
describing it as brilliant.
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Federico Longás & Enrique Granados
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In May 1911, when he was only
16 years old, he won the second prize (the first was deserted) in the
competition instituted by the Granados Academy -consisting of a grand piano
-Cussó S.F.H.A.-- the pianist Edouard Risler acted as president of the
Competition. In the corresponding distribution of prizes of this Contest that
took place the day February 1, 1912, Longás offered a recital in which he
interpreted the Sonata in B flat major of Mozart, "El Puerto" of Albéniz and "Etincelles"
of Moszkowski. In the month of October 1912, his teacher Joaquim Malats died,
becoming a piano student of the master Enrique Granados, with whom he also
studied harmonia and composition. On December 29 he performed in the Granados
Hall with the violinist Marià Perelló and the cellist Pere Marés, playing the Trio
op. 49 of Mendelssohn. At that time he was considered one of the most
outstanding students of Granados. In 1913, from his performance in the Sala
Granados, the newspaper "Las Noticias" said: (...) With his
temperament as an exceptional artist (...), he prints everything he interprets
exquisite personality and an interest and a musicality as very few. His energy
is vehement, without vulgar rudeness; its clean mechanism, surprising for its
exquisite precision and its personal simplicity is at the height of its glass
art" (17-12-1913, La Voz de Menorca). In February 1914, at the age of
19, he performed alongside the violinist Antonio Brosa in the city of Zaragoza,
achieving considerable success.
In 1915 he gave several
recitals in Barcelona, with the Quartet Renaixement, cellist Gaspar Cassadó and
soprano Mercedes Plantada, with whom he would maintain an endearing friendship
and perform numerous recitals throughout the Catalan region. From the recital
with Cassadó held on October 10 at the Palau de la Música Catalana, the Revista
Musical Catalana of November 1915 wrote: "Federico Longás is a very well endowed pianist. It is
perceived very avid of subtleties, and fine sonorities... We applaud it with
pleasure". Also on October 31 he performed a recital to two pianos in the
Sala Granados with Julián M. Huarte and during the first half of December, he
intervened as a pianist in two recitals that the violinist Joan Manén offered
in the Palau de la Música Catalana.
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F. Longás ca.1912
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Federico, just 21 years old,
was becoming one of the most outstanding pianists in Barcelona. In early 1916,
he achieved great success with the violinist Mario Mateo, filling the Palau de
la Música Catalana completely in the first two concerts, having to perform a
third at the request of the public. In the month of February, the composer and
musicologist Felipe Pedrell, offered one of his lectures, choosing Conchita
Badia and Federico Longás for the interpretation of works of ancient music.
On March 24, 1916, the tragic
death of his professor Enrique Granados took place, and a series of concerts
were given throughout Spain in his memory. Some of them were played by soprano
Conchita Badia along with Longás. Three of them took place in Madrid at the Sociedad
Nacional de Música, in Barcelona at the Palau de la Música Catalana and in
Figueres (Girona) at the Sala Edison; Longás, apart from accompanying various
songs, performed "El Pelele" and a selection of "Goyescas"
("Requiebros", "Coloquios en la reja" and "La Maja
y el ruiseñor"). On June 25, 1916 the eleventh concert was held in the
Palau de la Música Catalana, organized by the Associació de Música da Càmera de
Barcelona, in which the pianist Longás has an outstanding intervention next to
a double string quintet formed by teachers and students of the Academy
Granados. In the timely restructuring of the Board of Directors of the Granados
Academy, Longás went from being a student to being an assistant professor to
teacher Frank Marshall, who became the director of the center. Also during
1916, Longás performed as a soloist in Mahón and Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
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Joan Manén & F. Longás (1918.FEB.04)
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During the following years,
Federico Longás would be one of the main pianists of the Barcelona music scene.
It is worth mentioning his participation in recitals accompanied by great
performers such as sopranos Aga Lahovska, Conchita Badia, Rosina Tasso, tenors
Luis Canalda and Tito Schipa, violinists Joan Manén, Mariano Perelló and Mario
Mateo. On February 26, 1918, he performed at the Palau de la Música Catalana,
Joan Manén’s Suite for violin, piano and orchestra, with the composer himself
acting as soloist. In the recital with the singer Adrienne Meynart that took
place in the Sala Aeolian in Barcelona on April 12 , where they are known for
the first time, various works composed by Federico Longás: "Zapateado",
"Cobla" and the "Tres Melodias". That same year he was
appointed assistant director of the
Granados Academy. His fame is more and more notorious, not only in Barcelona
but throughout Catalonia.
In parallel to his activity
as a piano player, Longás was increasingly recognized as a composer,
highlighting especially in the genre of lied or song. We recall an article
signed by the master Felipe Pedrell in the newspaper La Vanguardia of August
23, 1919: "Today I must point out the advent of another liederist, the
author of the newly published collection, "Once lieder". The
well-deserved title of great pianist that Federico Longás possesses, this young
artist has used it giving adequate emphasis to the characteristic of this genre
of music, which is the accompaniment (...) to merge into the expressive verb of
the song and create an aesthetic whole (...) that with a certain touch the
features of the inner drama, the impressionism of the soul may be delineated.
(...) Just look at the sentimental background of each of the "Once
lieder" of the Longás collection, which has been fortunate to find an
exceptional performer such as Mercedes Farry, egregious and brilliant singer
(...)."
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Tito Schipa (tenor)
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In 1920, at the age of 25,
Longás was asked to accompany the singers Andreua Fornells and Magda Greslé,
the violinist Francisco Costa and the cellist Gaspar Cassadó. He began the year
with a performance with the famous tenor Tito Schipa in the United States. He
was appointed artistic director of the Sala Aeolian in Barcelona, where he has
the opportunity to accompany important performers of the moment such as the
cellist Aurelia Sancristófol, the pianist Julio Pons or the singers Conchita
Badia, Maria Josefa Regnard, Alice Chesselet and Carmen Manero, who on January
27, 1922 played the fifteen lieder that Longás had composed until that time. At
the same time Longás does not cease to neglect his piano lessons and continues
to perform recitals in other rooms in Barcelona. On April 28, 1922 he performed
again with the cellist Aurelia Sancristófol at the Palau de la Música Catalana,
performing the Sonata de Rachmáninov and the Sonata op.69 of
Beethoven among other works. In the middle of 1923, he left the direction of
the Sala Aeolian and went to accompany the tenor Tito Schipa on his artistic
tour of the United States, Mexico and Cuba; performing in total more than 75
concerts in which both achieved great successes.
In June 1924 Longás returned
to Barcelona and on October 1st he founded the Academia Albéniz together with
José Caminals and José Maria Roma. On November 13 he accompanies cellist
Antonio Sala in a recital at the Palau de la Música Catalana, performing the Sonata
of Richard Strauss and the absolute premiere of the Sonatas of two young catalan
composers, Antonio Marqués and Climent Lozano. In early 1925 he was appointed
artistic director of the Sala Werner in Barcelona. In this room he starred in
various recitals with singers such as Mercedes Plantada (with a series of
concerts broadcast by Radio Barcelona), the soprano María Josefa Regnard and
the tenors Antonio Díaz-Calleja and Ricardo C. Lara, who premiered songs by
Longás, among which was "El Piropo", dedicated to the same
Lara and that five years later would obtain an extraordinary popularity outside
of Spain. Also noteworthy is the success that Longás achieved alongside tenor
Emili Vendrell Ibars in a memorable performance at the Sala Olympia in Barcelona.
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Federico Longás (ca. 1921)
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On March 12 and 15, 1925 the
Gran Teatre del Liceu, received the famous composer Richard Strauss, who
conducted the Orquestra Pau Casals on three occasions. As a soloist on the
piano, Federico Longás, who performed "Le Bourgeois gentilhomme"
op. 60 and the Suite on Dances of Couperin for piano and small
orchestra. In the summer of 1925, surrounded by the acquired prestige, Longás
founded his own academy, the Academia Longás, located in the central Paseo de
Gracia, 86 in Barcelona. Between 1925 and 1927 his work as a pianist was very
intense, acting as a soloist, also in chamber recitals or accompanying singers.
Among these concerts, the more than twenty concerts with the soprano Mercedes
Plantada, the recitals with the baritone Maxim Rysikov, sopranos Suzette Issòr,
Andreua Fornells, Conchita Badia, Elvin Isas and the contralto Concepción
Callao; concerts with violinists Josep Maria Viñas, Bernardino Gálvez and
Gaspar Cassadó; performances with violinists Joan Manén, Fernando Guerín,
Yvonne Canale, Enric Casals and Martín Cabús, not forgetting the great success
he had in the two recitals with violinist Francesc Costa at the Palau de la
Música Catalana, on December 8 and 11, 1926. Also on October 30, 1925 at the
Palau de la Música Catalana, he performed the Concerto in C Major for two Bach
pianos, with the pianist Blai Net and the Orquestra Pau Casals conducted by Pau
Casals himself.
At the beginning of May 1927
Longás travels to Paris to meet with Tito Schipa and start a new tour of
various European capitals, ending in Madrid and Barcelona, where the famous
tenor acts with the Russian soprano Mariana de Gonitch. In September 1927, Longás
married young Clotilde Huberti Sargatal at the Bonanova Church in Barcelona.
Clotilde was an excellent pianist trained at the Escuela Vidiella, with which
Federico complemented himself very well, both personally and musically.
Virtually unable to enjoy the honeymoon, Longás travels to the United States at
the end of the month where he would meet Tito Schipa and both would begin a new
concert tour scheduled for three months. However this tour was much longer than
expected. Meanwhile his compositions became increasingly popular, forming part
of the repertoire of many singers. During the tour with Schipa, on Saturday
February 2, 1929, his wife Clotilde died from a fulminating
meningoencephalitis, and Longás could not attend the funeral or his burial.
Upon his arrival in Barcelona, the pianist suffered a great shock and major
depression upon learning of the sad loss. In the last fortnight of August he
would resume his classes and also the concerts with the soprano Mercedes
Plantada.
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Mercedes Plantada (1930)
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In mid-September 1929 he traveled
to Italy in the company of Tito Schipa, starting a new series of concerts in
Europe, ending the tour at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona. In early
December both artists again visited the United States where they had contracts
to perform throughout the year 1930. In this same year, Longás was awarded the
title of "Knight of the Crown of
Italy". At the same time Editions Salabert edits his piano composition
"Aragon" which he had dedicated to the great pianist Vladimir
Horowitz.
In 1931, as a result of the
performances of Tito Schipa and Federico Longás with the Madrid soprano
Margarita Salvi at the Cívic Ópera in Chicago, a romantic relationship was born
between the pianist and the singer, which led Longás to settle in Paris. From
that moment on, Margarita Salvi’s recital performances with Federico Longás
began to be frequent, especially in the French capital. In the spring of 1933
the marriage between Federico Longás and Margarita Salvi was celebrated in
Paris. However, the
pianist maintains his artistic activity alongside Tito Schipa throughout Europe
and also continues to perform concerts with his wife. From the concert that the
pianist performed with Tito Schipa in Paris on May 27, 1933, the critic Roger
Crosti of "Le Ménestrel" comments: "The interpretation of
Longás reveals an exquisite sonority, a sure and delicate pulsation at the same
time, with a precise rhythm and at the same time velvety” (2-06-1933, Le
Ménestrel).
On January 4, 1934, Longás directed "Doña Francisquita" by
Amadeu Vives, at the Teatro de Monte Carlo, where Margarita Salvi performed,
who sang the zarzuela in french. On April 3, 1934, he was born in Paris, his
only son, Fernando. Meanwhile Longás performs several concerts in Paris with
the soprano Ninón Valli and with the pianist and composer Germaine Tailleferre.
The following year the couple participated in a reception of the Spanish
ambassador in Paris, performing with their cellist friend Gaspar Cassadó. In
the french capital he accompanies baritone Celestino Sarobe (Sala Gaveau),
Conchita Badia in various concerts and Lily Pons at the Theatre Nationale de l'Ópera
Comique. From a piano recital with works by Enrique Granados that he performed
in the "Poste Parisienne" of the french capital in early June 1935,
the critic M.A. de Miollios commented: "we know his admirable works for
piano and his charming songs (...) Longás as a pianist is no less remarkable,
we must listen to his nervous and fine hands creating the first chords to the
piano, to be subjugated to the charm of a particularly seductive
interpretation. His "pianos" are of an indefinable sweetness that
thrill and the power of their sonority reveals an passionate understanding that
never excels from the limits of a perfect mastery and a very secure possession
of his talent." (8-06-1935, Journal de Fourmies). In July 1936 they
were surprised by the beginning of the Spanish Civil War living in Paris.
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Margarita Salvi & Federico Longás
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Between 1937 and 1940 Longás and his wife took
up residence in the United States, where they developed their artistic
activity; they lived in Chicago and later in New York. During this time, they
continued to tour extensively with Tito Schipa throughout the United States and
Australia. Longás also performed with cellist Víctor Granados (son of composer
Enrique Granados), pianist Julián Huarte and accompanied tenors Enrique Ruíz
and Carlyle W. Bennet, among others.
In the mid-1940s they settled in Buenos Aires and from there Longás maintained
his activity with Schipa, acting in South American cities such as Montevideo,
Rio de Janeiro and Salvador de Bahia. The musical relationship between Schipa
and Longás was very intense and continued for more than 20 years, so the tenor
always went to the pianist both to accompany him on his extensive tours and to
prepare new repertoire. Schipa often performed songs by Longás and some of them
such as "Luna Castellana", "En effeuillant la
marguerite" or "Gitana" were recorded on disc by the tenor.
Longás also had the opportunity to perform works for piano of his own and other
authors, in the many recitals he performed next to the great tenor.
In 1940 Longás finished the composition of the "Concierto Español"
for two pianos. In Buenos Aires, the pianist presents the work to the catalan
composer Jaume Pahissa, who suggests turning it into a work for piano and
orchestra. Pahissa himself, at the express request of the composer,
orchestrated the second piano. In the Argentine capital the pianist signed a
contract with "Radio El Mundo" where he would perform twice a week in
a radio space entitled "La media hora de Federico Longás".
Finally on April 6, 1941, Longás premiered as a soloist in Buenos Aires his "Gran
Concierto Español" with the Orquesta de Radio Mundo, directed by Jaume Pahissa
himself. The work, formed by three movements titled "Andalucia",
"Catalonia" and "Aragón", achieved an important success
both from the critics and the public.
Until mid-February
1942 the pianist and his wife Margarita Salvi, were performing numerous
concerts in Argentina, some of them charitable. Longás also performed as a
soloist with the Santa Cecilia Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Kurt Pahlen. The art of accompanying singers
continued to be part of his main artistic activity so he participated in
numerous recitals accompanying singers such as Cristina Maristany, Amanda
Cetera, Hina Spani, Armida Teniolo, Tomaz Alcaide, Alberto Arrieta, Domingo
Mastronardi, Gino Frossini and Horacio González Alisedo. Many of the concerts performed
his songs. Also during this time he collaborated with the famous dancers Clotilde
and Alejandro Sakharoff.
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Federico Longás (1941)
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In April 1942, Longás was appointed artistic director
of the Radio Sociedad Nacional de Agricultura (SNA) of Santiago de Chile, so
that the marriage moved to the chilean capital where they would reside until
the end of their lives. In Chile he made numerous performances with his wife
Margarita Salvi and the poet Carmen Moreno, chaining the contracts with various
radio stations in Chile. Highlights include the concerts in which the pianist
accompanied violinists Jascha Fridman and Jaime Chernik and sopranos Rayén
Quitral, Judith Fonts and Matilde Broders.
At the same time in New York, Philadelphia and Chicago, he achieved
great success with his "Gran Concierto Español", performed by
pianist George Copeland under the direction of Leopold Stokowsky. In mid-1942
Longás and his wife decided to found a singing school in Santiago. In April
1943, the first audition in Chile of his "Gran Concierto Español"
at the Teatro Central de Santiago was held with great success, with Longás as
soloist and an orchestra formed for the occasion conducted by Juan Casanova
Vicuña. The pianist was also part of a trio called "Trio Clásico",
with violinist Víctor Tevah and cellist Hans Loewe.
His concert activity together
with his pedagogical activity at the School was maintained with performances in
which he accompanied the violinist Stephen Tertz and singers such as Rosita
Cortés, Laura de Vianna, Enzo Cavalli, Raúl Hernández and Susana Lys. In 1945
took place in the Municipal Theater of Santiago the premiere of his operetta "La
Reina del Ariel" with libretto by Gabriel de Lara. The work enjoyed
great success, being translated into english and published by "Edward B.
Marks Music Corporation" of New York. In mid-December 1945, the concert by
the students of the Academia de Canto Salvi-Longás was presented at the
Municipal Theatre of Santiago, with an outstanding performance by Margarita
Salvi accompanied by the maestro Federico Longás as conductor of an orchestra.
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Federico Longás (1945)
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Until the end of 1954. Longás
and his wife Margarita continued to make concert tours in different cities of
Chile and Argentina, without ceasing to perform in radio presentations and
broadcast the compositions of the maestro.
In 1964 in the Municipal
Theatre of Santiago a tribute was made to the pianist with the participation of
many artists, with students and alumni of its Academy. Four years later
Federico Longás died in Santiago de Chile on June 17, 1968, after a long
illness, his remains were buried in the General Cemetery of Santiago de Chile.
Federico Longás Torres was a
modest and simple man, endowed with a great musical talent, who always won the
friendship of all those who knew him. His absolute dedication and love for
music allowed him to develop as an eclectic musician acting as a soloist, as a
chamber musician, accompanying singers, conducting orchestras or composing. He
composed more than two hundred songs, many of which were performed and recorded
by important singers such as Emili Vendrell, Graziela Pareto, Tito Schipa,
Conxita Supervía, Bidu Sayâo, Conxita Badia, Tomàs Alcaide, Mercè Plantada,
Rayén Quitral and Hipólito Lázaro. Among the most famous songs are: "Cançó
de bressol", "Muñequita", "Pensant amb tu", "El
Piropo", "La Guinda", "Cançó de traginers", “La piel
de mi amada", "Luna Castellana", "Cielo Azul",
"Sevillana", "Andalouse", "Plors", "Flor
tardana" or "La noia bonica". The piano compositions created
by Longàs have also been part of the repertoire of important performers. Among
the most outstanding works for piano are: "Zapateado",
"Cádiz", Aragón", "Vals grotesco",
"Preludio", "Granada", "Nocturno",
"Ronda", "Madrigal", "Catalana", "Bolero
rítmico", "Sevillana", "Mi jota", "Aragón”
and the "Gran Concierto Español" for piano and orchestra.
This profile is also published in Catalan and
Spanish on the website:
www.interpretscatalanshistorics.com
