Ed Zubrow writes: >On vacation I heard the Shanghai Quartet perform a piece of music >called *La oracion del torero (op.34)* by a composer named Joaquin Turina. > >The music was interesting and tonal. Seemed to be some sort of rondo, or >variations perhaps, with possibly a Spanish flavor. (Hard for me to tell >on only one hearing.) > >Is anyone familiar with this composer and his works? Turina was very highly prized at one time in Spain, and elsewhere - he was even to be mentioned in the same breath as Falla. As Ed hints, his best music is quintessentially Spanish in feeling, intelligent as well as passionate, melodically memorable, beautifully crafted. "The Bullfighter's Prayer" - one of his most played works - exists in a number of versions, for various combinations of instruments, of which perhaps the most piquant and exotic is for the traditional Spanish "rondalla", or band of mandolin players. The Quartet and orchestral Versions are more usually heard. I agree, it's a most haunting piece, not a bar too long. Turina' star went into eclipse after his death, and he is overdue for revival. I had the pleasure to get to know some of his songs recently whilst making some English annotations for a UME double album of Spanish songbooks, and was impressed by their economy and sense of drama as well as potent musical substance. His chamber music is equally worth seeking out. Some of his larger orchestral works (such as the "Seville" Symphony) perhaps make up in energy and colour what they lack in structural cogency, but I'd recommend Turina's music to anyone looking for something a little off the beaten track. Even more so, I urge Ed and other list members to seek out the music of Turina's Basque contemporary Jesus Guridi - another fine, tonal composer only just starting to permeate beyond the Pyrenees. You'll find some reviews of his music, and other worthwhile Spanish orchestral recordings, in the CD section of the "Zarzuela!" site, at http://www.nashwan.demon.co.uk/cd/cdmagfp.htm Christopher Webber, Blackheath, London, UK. http://www.nashwan.demon.co.uk/zarzuela.htm "ZARZUELA!"