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Britannica Concise Encyclopedia:
Manuel da Falla (born Nov. 23, 1876, Cadiz, Spain - died Nov. 14, 1946, Alta Gracia, Arg.) Spanish composer. He studied with Felipe Pedrell and conceived a powerful musical nationalism. His first major work was the opera La vida breve (1905). He lived in Paris (1907 - 14), where he absorbed the music of Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, and others. The intensely Spanish ballet El amor brujo (1915) gained him further acclaim. The Spanish Civil War caused him to leave Spain for Argentina c. 1938, and he never returned. His other works include Nights in the Gardens of Spain (1915), The Three-Cornered Hat (1919), the puppet opera El retablo de maese Pedro (1923; with Federico Garcia Lorca), a harpsichord concerto (1926), and the huge unfinished oratorio L'Atlintida. He is regarded as the greatest Spanish composer of the 20th century.
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