Pastrana/Blanch - Gerhard, Manen, Montsalvatge: Sonata di concerto

All three composed sonatas for cello and piano - works which depart from Spanish traditional music and look to Europe, assimilating the stylistic influences that most suited their contrasting sensibilities and thus making an authentic and original contribution to 20th century musical composition. At the beginning of the 20th century in Catalunya, several approaches to music lived side by side, some succeeding and overlapping each other: a German-influenced post-romanticism, of Wagnerian tradition; a Spanish nationalism, promoted by Felip Pedrell; and a �novecentist� style which sought to reconnect with the truest traditional roots, crystallizing into a language of great originality. Within this musical context, the artistic lives began of three important Catalan composers of three consecutive generations: Joan Man�n (1883-1971), Robert Gerhard (1896-1970) and Xavier Montsalvatge (1912 -2002).