Generación del 51

Designation for one of a series of "generations" of Spanish composers

Generación del 51 is a designation for one of a series of "generations" of Spanish composers, identifying a group born between 1924 and 1938.

Members of this group of composers from the Basque and Castilian-speaking regions of Spain include:^[1]

Carmelo Alonso Bernaola (1929–2002)
Miguel Alonso [es] (1925–2002)
Ángel Arteaga (1928–1984)
Cristóbal Halffter (1930–2021)
Ramón Barce [es] (1928–2008)
Agustín Bertomeu (born 1929)
Amando Blanquer [es] (1935–2005)
Francisco Calés [es] (1925–1985)
Manuel Castillo [es] (1930–2005)
Juan José Falcón Sanabria (born 1936)
Antón García Abril (1933–2021)
Agustín González Acilu [es] (born 1929)
Juan Hidalgo (1927–2018)
Ángel Oliver [es] (1937–2005)
Luis de Pablo (1930–2021)
Claudio Prieto (1934–2015)

In their earlier works, members of this generation tended toward the avant-garde, with post-Webernian serialism evident in the work of Halffter and Luis de Pablo in particular. By the end of the 1970s a mellowing of their language becomes apparent, and during the 1980s many of them began to turn to tonality of one sort or another.^[1]

The Catalan members of this generation are associated with the reforming and renewing tendencies that emerged after the post-Civil War isolation:^[2]^[1]

Xavier Benguerel i Godó [ca] (1931–2017)
Joan Guinjoan (1931–2019)
Josep Mestres Quadreny (1929–2021)
Josep Soler i Sardà (1935-2022)

Soler's compositional palette involves serial techniques, and he is particularly noted for his dramatic music.^[1]

References

Sadie, Stanley; Tyrrell, John, eds. (2001). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (2nd ed.). London: Macmillan. ISBN 9780195170672.</ref>

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d New Grove Dict. M&M 2001, "Spain" (§I: Art music: 6. 20th century) by Belen Perez Castillo.
^ New Grove Dict. M&M 2001, "Barcelona" by Maricarmen Gómez.