Composer Biography: Manuel Ponce (1882-1948)

Manuel María Ponce Cuéllar was born in Mexico in 1882. Ponce is said to have begun composing music from a young age and was known to have musical talent from the quality of his music at such an age. He went on to study music theory, composition, and guitar in Mexico City, Italy, and Germany. In 1908 he moved back to Mexico to teach piano and music history at the Conservatorio Nacional. He also lived in Havana and Paris throughout his career.

Ponce composed music for many instruments, but mainly piano as he was a pianist himself. For this blog, his guitar compositions take centre stage. Ponce included Mexican popular folk songs in his writing, with many pieces in a late-Romantic or modernist style. His guitar sonatas are a great example of this where each is written in various styles inspired by composers from these periods. The first movement of Sonata No. 3 moves away from this and incorporates a modern approach to Spanish harmony, showing a maturity to composition developed later in his career.

For a non-guitarist, to have written such an expansive repertoire for the guitar is an impressive feat. Andres Segovia was an advocate for Ponce’s music and premiered many of his works in concerts internationally. Miguel Alcazar compiled and edited the letters between Ponce and Segovia in his book, “The Segoiva-Ponce Letters”, which paints a picture of their working relationship that resulted in the composition and performance of Ponce’s works, that otherwise may never have happened.

Notable Compositions:

Concierto del Sur

Sonatina meridional

4 Sonatas for Guitar (Sonata Mexicana, Sonata Clasica, Sonata No. 3, Sonata Romantica)

Variations sur “Folia de Espana” et Fugue

Estrellita (guitar arrangement of his originally composed song for voice)

All the best for now - see you in the next blog!