RODOLFO HALFFTER (1900-1987): Sonata No. 1, Op. 16, 11 Bagatelas, Op. 19, Secuencia, Op. 39, Danza de Avila, Op. 9, Preludio y Fuga, Op. 4, 3 Hojas de Album, Op. 22, 6 Apuntes, 2 Sonatas del Escorial, Op. 2, Homenaje a Arturo Rubinstein (Nocturno), Op. 36, Sonata No. 2, Op. 20, Homenaje a Antonio Machado, Op. 13, 2 ensayos, Minuet de la Traviesa Molinera, Sonata No. 3, Op. 30.

Description: Spain's loss (thanks to Franco) and Mexico's gain, Halffter had a long and successful career after 1939 in his adopted country and most of the works here date from his Mexican period. The main threads tieing together Halffter's piano opus are brevity of form (often cycles of very short pieces, but even the longest of the sonatas is only 14 minutes), a taste for polytonality, rich harmonies, a Spanish rhythmic sense allied to an attraction to Mexican folklore and, in his works beginning in the 1950s, a personal use of dodecaphonic technique alongside Debussian and Stravinskian harmonies. As the composer himself put it, all his works are characterized by a joyful Spanish spirit. 2 CDs. Silvana Santinelli (piano).