Â鶹Éç

Falla's Nights in the Gardens of Spain played by the Â鶹Éç Concert Orchestra under Barry Wordsworth at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on London's South Bank.

Falla was born as Manuel Mar�a de los Dolores Falla y Matheu in C�diz. He was the son of Jos� Mar�a Falla y Franco and Mar�a Jes�s Matheu y Zabal. His early teachers in music were his mother and grandfather; at the age of nine he was introduced to his first piano professor, Elo�sa Galluzo. Little is known of that period of his life, but his relationship with his teacher was soon ended after she decided to then enter in a convent, Sisters of Charity, to become a nun. In 1889 he continued his piano lessons with Alejandro Odero and learned the techniques of harmony and counterpoint from Enrique Broca. At age 15 he became interested in literature and journalism and founded the literary magazines El Burl�n and El Cascabel. In 1893 he was inspired by a concert of Edvard Grieg's works, later saying that at the time he felt that "my definitive vocation is music".