#ThrowbackThursday - Manuel Ponce

This #ThrowbackThursday, we’re honoring Manuel Ponce, a Mexican composer, pianist, and educator who was the first globally-recognized Mexican classical composer. Did you know that Manuel Ponce is one of Mexico's most beloved and influential figures in the world of classical music? 

One of the interesting things about Ponce’s music is that it bridged the gaps between various music genres, such as classical, popular, folk, and orchestral. 

Manuel Ponce’s Personal Life

Manuel María Ponce Cuéllar was born in Mexico. Ponce was the 12th child of his parents, María de Jesus Cuellar and Felipe de Jesus Ponce Leon. It is worth noting that Ponce's dad had participated in the important 1867 revolution that helped restore Mexico's independence. You will be impressed by the fact that Manuel Ponce learned his musical notes before learning all the letters of the alphabet. 

Ponce had an early and innate interest in music composition. He wrote the impressive La Marcha del Sarampion (also known as March of the Measles) at age nine when he unfortunately had contracted the disease.

When he was four, Ponce sat in on his elder sister’s piano lessons. After the lesson was over, he planted himself firmly at the instrument and instantly started playing the piece his sister had been working on. And his parents reacted to this by enrolling Ponce in piano lessons.  

Ponce went to Europe in order to study in Germany. His life changed considerably one night when he heard the influential guitarist Andres Segovia in concert. 

Life as a Composer 

Manuel studied music in Mexico City. He is credited with connecting conventional concert music with genres, like Mexican folklore. Ponce studied at various European music schools in the early twentieth century and came back to Mexico as a prominent and influential teacher. 

A prolific and excellent composer, Ponce wrote many symphonic poems and orchestral suites; three renowned concertos, one each for guitar, piano, and violin, as well as chamber works; more than 400 works for piano, solo as well as in an ensemble. 

While Manuel Ponce wrote many works in traditional classical forms, such as concertos for piano, violin, and guitar, his work was mainly focused on songs, several based on the folk music of his native country.

Ponce formally entered the National Conservatory of Music in 1901, with a certain prestige both as a pianist and a music composer. There Ponce remained until 1903. A brilliant and renowned pianist in his own right, Ponce left behind an incredible wealth of works for his beloved instrument, such as salonesque dances. 

After several years abroad, he returned to Mexico to teach piano as well as music history at the famous National Conservatory of Music from 1909 to 1915 and then from 1917 to 1922. Did you know that Ponce pushed the envelope and contributed toward the development of the classical guitar? 

Orchestral Music

You should know that Ponce’s characteristically Mexican and unique music includes a crucial addition to guitar repertoire: Ponce’s Concierto del Sur (also known as ‘Concerto of the South’). He wrote it for the guitarist Segovia.

Piano Music

Note that Ponce’s piano music, colored by various national elements, reflects his unique interest in the instrument. This is why students taking music lessons and piano lessons at the California Conservatory of Music are inspired by his work. 

To this day, Ponce’s incredible compositions are an integral part of Sunnyvale music lessons. Also, note that teachers organizing Redwood City Music Lessons are influenced by Ponce as well.

Ponce spent his last couple of years composing and teaching music at Escuela Universitaria de Musica, where he was named Chair of folklore in 1943.

Some Notable Facts 

Ponce proved himself so competent and formidable as a professional pianist that he was sent to further his music studies in Berlin and Bologna from 1904 to 1908. 

He was also known as the “creator of the modern Mexican song.”

Ponce was awarded numerous prizes in his later years, such as Mexico's National Prize for Arts & Sciences in 1948.

Manuel Ponce studied in Germany and Italy, returning home eventually to establish himself as a teacher, writer, and composer and one of the leading figures in the musical life of the country.