Comunitad de Madrid

The Cancionero Musical de Palacio gives evidence of the rich musical life during the Renaissance; it contains 466 songs: Romances and sacred and secular Villancicos.

The actual building is 18^th century. Great architecture and decorations.

Franz Liszt appeared in November 1844 before the royal family.

Fine collection of instruments (a Stradivari quartet, keyboards, harps etc.); in the chapel an organ by Jorge Bosch from 1778.

Giacomo Puccini lived here in 1892, conducting a performance of Edgar.

Domenico Scarlatti lived in Madrid from 1728 until his death in 1757 in the service of queen Maria Barbara and scarcely appearing in public. His house was demolished in 1967; the plaque is from 1990.

House of Luigi Boccherini from 1797 until 1803. Here he composed a Zarzuela, titled La Clementina.

Last house of the composer Tomás Bretón,†1923. He lived in Madrid from 1866 onwards, working as conservatory teacher and -director, conductor and composer of Zarzuelas and more serious pieces.

The Royal Opera was built in 1850, but was closed in 1925 because of poor construction. From 1966 the building was used for concerts and in 1986 a complete restoration was decided upon. After many conflicts and incidents the theatre was reopened in 1997, with excellent result. www.teatro-real.com

Many musicians who appeared at the Opera stayed in this Casa Castaldi, among them Giuseppe Verdi in January 1863 for a performance of La Forza del Destino.

Specialized shop, containing all kinds of Flamenco material: books, CDs, costumes, instruments, etc.

The greatest Renaissance composer of Spain, Tomás Luis de Victoria, worked in this convent as maestro de capilla and organist from 1587 until his death in 1611, after having lived in Italy for a long time. Victoria was buried at the convent but his grave is not known.

Victoria lived from 1596 at the Casa de capellanas, formerly at this location.

A plaque for Victoria is at his parish church, where his funeral service took place.

Grave of Juan Hidalgo, died in 1685; he was a court musician and the composer of the first Spanish opera, in collaboration with the famous poet Calderón.

House of Ruperto Chapí y Lorente (1851-1909), composer of over a hundred Zarzuelas and - peculiarly - four string quartets. His great popularity shows itself in various monuments (> 0125 and 2500).

The Proustian composer Ronaldo Hahn, born in Venezuela in 1875, lived here in 1895 before leaving for Paris.

The Russian Michail Glinka loved Spain, judging by his orchestral works Jota Aragonesa, Recuerdos de Castilla and Souvenir d’une nuit d’été à Madrid. He lived in this house in 1845.

Béla Bartók stayed here during his first visit to Madrid in 1906.

Parental house of the composers Rodolfo (°1900) and Ernesto (°1905) Halffter. They lived here until the 1930s.

The composer and cello virtuoso Luigi Boccherini lived in Spain since 1768; this is his last house, 1803-1805.

Boccherini, 1805, was buried in the S. Justo - now San Miguel - but on instigation of Mussolini his remains were transferred to his Italian birthplace Lucca in 1927. Perhaps the original funeral monument is still in this church.

The large monument, honoring Luigi Boccherini as the Spanish Haydn, was erected in 1966.

Grave of the blind musician Antonio de Cabezón, 1566, the favorite organ- and harpsichord player of Philips II. His compositions were collected and set into tablatures by his son Hernando and published in 1578 as Obras de musica para tecla y arpa y vihuela (musical works for keyboard instruments, harp and lute). With the court he travelled to various European countries; he is seen as a forerunner of the English virginalists.

Pompous monument for Ruperto Chapí; (> 0113).

Concert hall of the Orquesta Sinfónica y Coro de RTVE (Spanish broadcasting company). The first performance in 1935 of the second violin concerto by Sergey Prokofiev is commemorated by a plaque.

On invitation by the cultural society Liceo artistico y literario, Franz Liszt stayed and played in this beautiful palace in November 1844; he also performed before the court and in other theatres.

Since 1992 Museum Thyssen-Bornemisza.

The largest library of Spain has a music department since 1875, containing musical items from the 9^th century until now: manuscripts, including mozarabic chant and autographs of Spanish composers, as well as printed music, books and recordings.

The predecessor of the present conservatory - among its pupils were Falla and Turina - was established in 1830. Very rich library and archive. ww.rcsmm.eu

Special theatre, built in 1857 and dedicated to the Zarzuela, a typical Spanish genre of musical comedy, with spoken dialogues and ample folk music. Its roots date from the 17^th century, but it flourished particularly after 1850, becoming the Spanish counterpart to Gilbert Sullivan‘s Savoy opera and the operetta. www.teatrodelazarzuela.mcu.es

The exact address of the house of the composer Joaquin Turina could not be verified.

Gioacchino Rossini lived in the winter of 1831/32 in the Fondo de Genieys, working at his Stabat Mater. The building was demolished; plaque.

House of Francisco Asenjo Barbieri (1823-94), the founder of the zarzuela grande tradition in the 1850s.

Parental home of Isaac Albeniz, who - as the plaque mentions - lived here during the years 1873-82, studying at the Conservatorio Real. In fact he lived in Madrid from 1869 on, sometimes studying at the conservatory but mostly on tour all over Europe and the Americas, playing the piano and here and there picking up lessons from different teachers, including Liszt.

Birthplace of the singer Carolina Cadina, °1897. First wife of Sergey Prokofiev, whom she met in New York in 1918. They married in 1923, lived in Ettal (Bavaria)and Paris and moved in 1936 to the Soviet Union. In 1938 the composer met Mira Mendelson, who became his mistress and later his second wife. In 1948 Lina was arrested for alleged espionage and landed for several years in the Gulag. She died in 1989 in London.

It is remarkable to encounter the Catalonian nationalist Clavé (1824-74) in Madrid. He collected folk songs and founded choirs and societies to propagate Catalonian language and culture as a counterpart to Spanish ones.

Grave of Francisco Asenjo Barbieri, 1894 (> 0134).

House of the greatest composer of Spain, Manuel de Falla. Here he lived from 1899 until 1907; his opera La Vida Breve was written here. Other addresses - Ponzano, 24 (1914-18) and Lagasca, 119 (1918-21)  haven‘t been verified.

The rhombic plaque from 1990 is one of the first in a series Memoria de Madrid, placed all over the town and gratefully used for this website.

House of the famous guitarist Andres Segovia, living here from 1962 until his death in 1987 (> 3100).

Joaquin Rodrigo, the composer of the famous Concierto de Aranjuez , lived here from 1975 until his death in 1999. He was buried in& Aranjuez (> 0302). The plaque was placed in 1991, during his lifetime.

The modern concert hall was opened in 1988 and is the platform for the Orquesta Nacional and the Coro Nacional. A second hall is used for chamber music. www.auditorionacional.mcu.es

The gigantic and severe complex was built between 1563 and 1584 by order of king Philips II as monastery and royal palace. Cabezon visited it frequently in the retinue of the king. Antonio Solér entered the convent in 1752 and died here in 1783 (grave?).

Musical treasures in the library: Byzantine manuscripts, Renaissance choir books and above all the 13^th century Cantigas de Santa Maria, with over 400 hymns and ballad-like songs, collected by king Alfonso X ‘el Sabio’.

Summer residence of the court. Domenico Scarlatti worked here frequently in the service of queen Maria Barbara from 1729 until his death in 1757. Also the famous castrato Farinelli worked here (before 1737). Fine concert hall. Yearly festival of ancient music.

Joaquin Rodrigo ( 1999) was buried in a corner of the gardens; king Juan Carlos had made the creator of the Concierto de Aranjuez‘ marquis of the Aranjuez Gardens.’