Lita Spena (October 4, 1904-1989) was an Argentine composer, performer, and teacher who used Argentine folk tunes in her compositions.
Spena was born into a musical family in Buenos Aires. Her father, composer Lorenzo Spena, emigrated from Naples, Italy, to Buenos Aires in 1901. He founded the Clementi Conservatory and composed at least two operas.
Spena studied music with her parents as a child, then attended the Conservatorio Nacional Superior de Música Argentina, where she later taught. Her students included Ruben Ferrero and Waldo de los Rios. In 1929, she founded and began performing with the Argentine Trio.
Spena used themes from Argentine folksongs in her compositions. She composed songs based on texts by German Berdiales, Alfredo R. Bufano, Julia Crespo, Andre Gide, Horacio Guillén, Jorge Jantus, Carlos Mingo,and Juan Vignale. Her compositions included:
Piano
- Preludios
- Sonata
Theater
Pinocchio (story by Carlo Collodi)
Vocal
References
- Schiuma, Oreste (1956). Cien años de música argentina: precursores, fundadores, contemporáneos, directores, concertistas, escritores (in Spanish). Asociación Cristiana de Jóvenes.
- Ficher, Miguel; Schleifer, Martha Furman; Furman, John M. (2002-10-16). Latin American Classical Composers: A Biographical Dictionary. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-1-4616-6911-1.
- Hixon, Donald L. (1993). Women in music : an encyclopedic biobibliography. Don A. Hennessee (2nd ed.). Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0-8108-2769-7. OCLC 28889156.
- Stewart-Green, Miriam (1980). Women composers : a checklist of works for the solo voice. Boston, Mass.: G.K. Hall. ISBN 0-8161-8498-4. OCLC 6815939.
- ^ Frega, Ana Lucía (1994). Mujeres de la música (in Spanish). Planeta. ISBN 978-950-742-422-9.
- ^ "CVC. Rinconete. Música y escena. Lita Spena, por Blas Matamoro". cvc.cervantes.es. Retrieved 2022-01-15.
- "Biography of Waldo de los Ríos". www.grandorchestras.com. Retrieved 2022-01-15.
- ^ Cohen, Aaron I. (1987). International Encyclopedia of Women Composers. Books & Music (USA). ISBN 978-0-9617485-1-7.
- "Lita Spena (1904 - 1989) - Vocal Texts and Translations at the LiederNet Archive". www.lieder.net. Retrieved 2022-01-15.
- Office, Library of Congress Copyright (1956). Catalog of Copyright Entries: Third series.