Trinidad Huerta


Trinitario Pascual Francisco Agustín Pedro Miguel María Ruberto Bruno Ventura Huerta Caturla, better known as Trinidad Huerta was a Spanish guitarist and composer.
Recognized for his virtuosity on the guitar, he undertook numerous tours throughout the United States and Europe. He played concerts for the queens of Spain and Portugal, the queen of England, the king of Belgium, and the king of France. In some of his concerts, he was accompanied by other notable musicians such as Fernando Sor, Dionisio Aguado, Frédéric Chopin, and Franz Liszt.
His skill with the guitar earned him the nickname "the Paganini of the guitar." He was praised by notable figures such as the writer Victor Hugo and the composer Hector Berlioz, who characterized him as one of the three best musicians of his time.

Life

Trinidad Huerta was born on June 8, 1800, in Orihuela, Alicante, to Pedro Huerta y Morales and Francisca Caturla y Maseres, into a well-to-do family. He was baptized in the parish of San Salvador in that city, with the names Trinitario, Pascual, Francisco, Agustín, Pedro, Miguel, María, Ruberto, Bruno, and Ventura.
His paternal grandfather was Juan Huerta y García, the Chief Magistrate of the town of Sueca. His maternal grandfather was a lawyer of the Royal Councils and a familiar of the Holy Office of the Inquisition of Murcia, as well as the Chief Magistrate of Murcia.
He began his studies at the College of San Pablo in Salamanca, abandoning them at the age of fifteen.
In 1819, it is believed that he participated in the Pronunciamiento de Riego. Some attribute the creation of the Himno de Riego to him, although this fact is improbable.
He began his career as a guitarist in the early 1820s. On April 6, 1823, Huerta's first recorded concert took place at the café La Cruz de Malta. There, he presented himself as a "disciple of the celebrated Sor," in reference to the composer and guitarist Fernando Sor.
He then went to Paris, where he gave at least two concerts under the tutelage of the tenor Manuel García. There, he also came into contact with the composer Gioachino Rossini.

In the United States

On March 31, 1824, Huerta embarked with Manuel García for New York, where they arrived after a 28-day journey. On May 15th, under the auspices of the Philharmonic Society, he gave his first concert at the City Hotel, becoming the first Spanish guitar concert artist to perform in the United States. The National Advocate newspaper characterized the event as "the most extraordinary exhibition of musical talent ever seen or heard".
On May 24, 1824, he married the pianist Sabina Meucci, daughter of Antonio Meucci, a miniature painter. Sabina's exact age at the time of her marriage is unclear, although it is known that she was very young. On June 5th, Huerta gave his second concert in New York, this time at Washington Hall, accompanied by his wife Sabina on the piano.
On June 16, 1824, he gave his first concert in Philadelphia, at Masonic Hall. He then performed concerts in Baltimore, Saratoga, and again in New York. The concert in New York took place on September 9th, and General Lafayette was present. The following day he also attended another concert by Huerta, this time in Philadelphia.
In New York, he also met the English Shakespearean dramatic actor Edmund Kean after playing during the intermission of one of his plays. Huerta and Kean would meet again later in Europe.

Back in Europe

In 1826, he emigrated to Havana, Cuba, and in 1827, he returned to London, where he began to associate with the aristocracy. There, he played with the leading concert artists of the time, such as Johann Baptist Cramer, Ignaz Moscheles, Franz Liszt, Nicolas Mori, and Charles-Auguste de Bériot. He also performed accompanied by the English singer Catherine Stephens.
In November 1828, claiming to be single, he married Angiolina Panormo, daughter of the famous English luthier Louis Panormo.
In January 1831, Huerta arrived in Paris, just six months after the coronation of Louis Philippe I. Initially, things did not go well for him here, as the country was socially agitated. However, thanks to the help of the composer Gioachino Rossini, he gave two concerts.
Between the end of 1831 and the beginning of 1832, he established himself in the circle of Antoine Fontaney, through whom he met and played for Honoré de Balzac and Delphine Gay. Shortly thereafter, Gay would dedicate an improvised poem to him. Huerta remained in Paris giving concerts, in which Franz Liszt and Frédéric Chopin participated.
In 1834, he was back in Spain and resided in Barcelona, Valencia, and Madrid. From June 1838, he was again in England, giving concerts in London, Manchester, Liverpool, and Dublin. In 1840, he was back in Paris. Hector Berlioz published a laudatory review of one of his concerts in Le Journal des débats. He subsequently returned to Spain and gave concerts in Madrid, Tortosa, Barcelona, Seville, and Cádiz.
Between the end of 1843 and the middle of 1844, he gave some concerts in Brussels, with a small audience and his popularity in decline. In 1845, Julián Arcas decided to become a concert artist after attending one of Huerta's concerts in Málaga.
At the end of May 1846, he began a long series of concerts throughout northern Spain. In January 1848, news began to appear claiming that Huerta had died. However, records of new concerts exist. In 1854, he played for the queen of Portugal.

Last years

Towards the end of 1858, Huerta settled in Barcelona, where he offered several concerts. In one of them, held at the Odeón theater, he presented his son as a violinist of great potential.
On January 7, 1865, the writer Philibert Audebrand published an article titled "L’Hymne de Riégo" in the literary magazine Revue de Paris. In it, he recounts his meeting with Huerta at the home of Charles Philipon, states that he was known as "the best musician of modern Spain," and attributes the authorship of the Himno de Riego to him.
In December 1871, he played in Brussels before the queen of Belgium. In the same city, in April 1872, he played the last concert of which there is knowledge. Two years later, a newspaper article published in La España Musical stated that he was in conditions of poverty, forced to play the guitar in the streets of Paris.
Huerta died in Paris on June 19, 1874, almost forgotten. His remains were modestly buried in the Père Lachaise Cemetery.

Legacy

The critic Antonio Fargas y Soler attributed Trinidad Huerta's success in Europe to his strumming technique.
Although he is a little-known figure today, Huerta was in his time one of the most prominent personalities in 19th-century music. In recent decades, some performers and researchers have begun to recover his work and recognize his role in the history of the instrument.

Compositions

Seis Grandes VálsesGran Vals 91 The Hymn of Riego: a much admired Spanish quick step arranged for the piano forte Three WaltzesFour DivertimentosSouvenir of the Fair at Mairena in SpainA Spanish National Cachucha, With VariationsSix WaltzesGrand Waltz, de la SolitudineGrande Wals 114 Five WaltzesBoleroWalsThree DivertimentosThe celebrated Fantasia, founded on Rossini’s Overture to SemiramideGrand March, from La Gazza LadraChi Mai di Questo Coreà la Mémoire d’Adolphe NourritRecitativo & PastorelaRecuerdo TristeSouvenir d’une Soirée a Passy, Symphonie FantastiqueNouvelle Grande Fantaisie sur le thême de la Cachucha NationaleFantaisieFavorite Romance on a Scotch Air with Variations6 Pequeñas Tocatas o Divertimentos Favoritos para los DiscípulosRecuerdo de mi Diva Bianca – Abanera Círculo HarmónicoFavorito Jaleo Vals de la EsperanzaMinué, tempo de ValsSouvenir de París, rondó
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