Manuel Ponce

Manuel María Ponce Cuéllar (b. Fresnillo, Zacatecas, 8 December 1882–d. Mexico City, 24 April 1948) is one of Mexico’s foremost composers and has been widely acknowledged as a pioneer of musical nationalism in his country. His prolific catalogue contains more than 300 compositions. A cultured man, he wrote over 200 essays on musical topics and was the founding editor of three influential music journals: Revista Musical de México (Mexico City, 1919–1920), Gaceta Musical (Paris, 1928–1929), and Cultura Musical (Mexico City, 1936–1937). On occasion, he used the anagrammed pen names Noé Mac Púlmen or Noé Mac Ulpmen. Polyglot and multifaceted, he undertook an array of activities: teacher, lecturer, researcher, editor, music critic, administrator, conductor, pianist, and composer. Ponce studied music in Mexico City, Bologna, Berlin, and in Paris at the École Normale de Musique with Paul Dukas. His eclectic style ranges from baroque, classical, and romantic to impressionistic, neoclassic, and neoromantic. Influences from the music of Spain, Cuba, and especially from Mexico are also found. Ponce first gained transnational exposure as the composer of the song Estrellita (1912). Subsequently, the quality and quantity of his guitar works, including the celebrated Concierto del sur (1940), became one of the single most important contributions to the literature of that instrument. Recent decades have witnessed an increase in scholarly texts on Ponce. Internationally known for his guitar works, that specific output has received widespread attention in editions, articles, and recordings. Fewer texts are to be found concerning the rest of his musical catalogue as well as on his writings. During his lifetime, abundant newspapers closely followed his career. Later, Ponce’s birth and death anniversaries have prompted bursts of publications. The present and future are promising as more performers and scholars around the world are getting drawn to the Mexican composer. Ponce married contralto Clema Maurel in 1917. They had no children. In 1936, Carlos Vázquez became Ponce’s piano student and, with time, one of his closest disciples and ultimately his heir. After Ponce’s demise, Clema, with the assistance of Carlos, worked tirelessly to preserve, edit, and disseminate the composer’s work. Following her passing, Carlos carried on with these endeavors for the rest of his life.