Manuel de Falla and Igor Stravinsky: From National Schools to International Markets

Abstract

During the first half of the twentieth century, musicians from the so-called “National Schools” combined European classical music with rhythms and melodies from the folkloric roots of their countries, giving way to a renewal and revaluation of traditional music. This chapter studies the economic situation of two great composers ascribed to this movement: Manuel de Falla and Igor Stravinsky. They met in Paris, establishing a friendship until the end of their lives, which in both cases, due to the political situation of their times—marked by armed conflicts—ended far from their place of birth: respectively Argentina and the United States. Both followed radically different business models which resulted in no economic output: Falla avoiding personal fame, Stravinsky becoming a “luxury” brand. The chapter closes with an appendix by the late professor Juan Velarde Fuertes in which he reveals the economic reason behind Falla’s decision not to return to Spain after the Civil War.

Igor Stravinsky: “Let me say that I consider it’s a mistake to talk about “creating” art (...) as if it were contrary to selling art” (Stravinsky & Craft, 2013, p. 368).  

Manuel de Falla: “I beg him, as I do to you now, in case it is possible for you to get me some little lesson, and if this is not easy, as I fear at most, some productive occupation, as a desk or store clerk. I am willing to work in anything” (Titos, 2008, p. 59)

The Modern Composer: Monk or Prophet?

Manuel de Falla and Igor Stravinsky were born only six years apart. From the birth of the former to the death of the latter 96 years elapsed. During that period, mostly in the twentieth century, profound transformations took place in the way classical music was managed. Both of them witnessed rapid changes in the production systems of high culture. Each composer faced those changes following different paths, Falla remained in tradition while Stravinsky moved to more radical innovation.

The twentieth century was a turbulent one. Wars and revolutions had devastating consequences for both composers, even the Russian suffered an expropriation. They operated in an international market which was affected by the suspension of economic and legal relations between States. In the currency market there were devaluations and paralysations. The activity of publishing companies stopped, and there were alterations of property and copyright rights as well.

Both, the Spaniard and the Russian, faced these adversities, despite their persistent health problems.¹ Both were good managers and negotiators of their work, the most important fact being their ability to create a network of personal contacts that supported them, replacing the non-existent institutional support in their respective countries.

Our composers experienced the transformation of a cultural system that was based on the economy of the national, bourgeois, and aristocratic elites, to a nascent cultural industry. Integration into a consumer society was the goal. To this end, the media brought high culture closer to spectacle and mass entertainment. The nineteenth-century modes of classical music production, based on the commissions of private patrons, the circuits of the great theatres, and the publishing of scores, still in force, turned towards the means of production of the entertainment industry with its new means of communication and reproduction. Radio was the beginning, the recording industry, television, and cinema came later. In short, a new cultural model with a new type of international artist emerged, which transcended national and even ideological borders (White & Martín Bermúdez 1989, p. 143).

The internationality of Falla and Stravinsky had the same beginning in Paris and the same end in the American continent. Falla settled in Argentina due to the effects of the Civil War in Spain and the Second World War in Europe. He would die in Alta Gracia, a city in the Argentinian province of Cordoba. Stravinsky gradually moved away from his homeland, first because of his brilliant success, then because of the Great War and the Russian Revolution, which would ruin him. First, he adopted the French nationality, later he became an American, favoured by the situation of the Cold War. Once in New York, he devoted himself to a feverish activity to make a profit and sustain his long internal exile, until he died exhausted but rich and famous.

Initially Paris was the centre of the musical market, the city welcomed both musicians because of the attractiveness of the origin of their music, Russia and Spain, countries that were still considered enigmatic by the European high culture. They had the same managers, businessmen, and publishers (Sopeña 1956, p. 21). They presented a relatively common proposal to renew their respective musical traditions with an attempt at the spiritual contribution of classical music to modern culture (White & Martín Bermúdez 1989, p. 233). This common starting point would evolve into two totally divergent artistic proposals after the Parisian experience.

Falla and Stravinsky were friends and mutual admirers, they also had common economic interests. Their friendship is shown by their correspondence and the portraits they even exchanged. In 1929, Falla sent to the Russian composer a reproduction of a portrait with the following dedication: “To Igor Stravinsky, the ‘Chosen One’, with all my old and deep affection”. In reply, Stravinsky also sent him a reproduction of one of his own, thus dedicated: “Here you have, my dear Falla, my portrait in exchange of yours, which has given me immense joy”. Both portraits painted by Pablo Picasso (Nommick 2007). A year later, Stravinsky insisted on sending to Falla a photo from his childhood, and wrote: “To Manuel de Falla, whom this child adores with all his heart”.

Falla always expressed his admiration for the Russian, proof of this is the opinion he reflected in an article written by him in Spain.² He considered him the prophet of the new spiritual music. Stravinsky, on his behalf, declared a condescending, though sincere appraisal of the music of the Cadiz born composer (Stravinsky 1936, p. 84). However, he described him as “intolerant, ultra-shy and humourless, but the most fervent of my musician friends” (Craft 2003, p. 76).

The Spanish musician lived an austere life. He was catholic, chaste, discreet, and hardworking, with a mixture of asceticism and romanticism. Regarding Stravinsky's life, his biographers coincide in their description of his life. His temperament made him provocative and eloquent, with a hypnotic appearance (Boucourechliev, 1987, p. 169). His lifestyle was intense and emotionally tumultuous (Predota 2021). Triumphant avant-gardist, gambler, and heavy drinker are some of the adjectives that describe a magnetic and chameleonic artist, precursor of postmodern art (Boucourechliev 1987, p. 248). According to his official biographer, he led an itinerant life framed by the love of sex, whiskey, and money, a creative life full of extraordinary encounters with musicians, poets, painters, dancers, directors, and businessmen (Craft 2003, p. 191).

The economic management of both artists had coincidences and differences. Meticulousness and concern for business details were common to both. In their approach to business and expenditures they were different. Falla based his management on prudence, saving and tradition. Stravinsky was not austere, and would push the commercial limits of his profession, offering his own celebrity as a worldwide commodity.

It is well known that Manuel de Falla kept strict control of his accounts. It is possible that this was due to the difficult circumstances he had to face in his youth as his family went bankrupt. The Spaniard did not squander although he was generous in almsgiving and charitable works (Sopeña 1988, p. 137).

As a negotiator, he was demanding in the conditions of his agreements. One of his objectives was always to guarantee a minimum of quality for the execution of his works. His beginning had the support of the Spanish caciquismo.³ His triumph in Paris led to interest in his work in Spain. But one of the keys was that he surrounded himself with a small group of trustworthy friends. They collaborated with Falla in his administrative and financial dealings and put him in contact with artists and patrons of the European elite. Thus, the combination of his seriousness with money, his network of personal relationships, and his success in London and Paris provided him with financial stability.

Igor Stravinsky, on the other hand, started from a more favourable artistic and material environment. Nevertheless, he experienced economic ruin and precariousness at some points in his life as well. The Russian understood his work as a modern profession, his professional activity went beyond the simple composition of works, extending to commercial management and the promotion of his celebrity, the symbolic capital.⁴ This was his priority. Far from the austere character of Falla, Stravinsky was cosmopolitan and diverse in his style and interests. A strong personality allowed him to form a dense network of relationships of all kinds: great writers, Hollywood stars, great thinkers, and artists. His collaborators varied according to the needs of the new and diverse projects. Technicians, instrumentalists, dancers, choreographers, conductors, librettists, etc., would be part of this network of relationships. Due to the development of all this he also needed permanent assistants and secretaries. The best known was Robert Craft, biographer and musician, who got to be his personal assistant, almost an adopted son, and who lived with the Stravinsky couple for a time.

As an artist he would reinvent himself several times until he arrived in the USA where he became a naturalized citizen in 1940, going so far as to say that he would like to be known as a “Californian composer” (Cross 2015, p. 178). He became the most famous and profitable composer of the twentieth century, as his friend Picasso had done in the painting world.

His financial work, inspired by his businessman friend Diaghilev, consisted of exploiting this fame in every possible way. Unlike Diaghilev, he had great control over his business.

Many of the letters deal with routine business matters. The composer was constantly preoccupied with the details of a commission, and sometimes changed his mind even after he had already accepted an offer. (Joseph 2001, p. 197)

He lived his last stage obsessed by the profitability of his work and not so much by his expenses because he liked to live well and stay in luxury hotels but at the same time, he deducted any small bill.

Stravinsky's avarice, as well as his extreme and, in some cases, unpredictable generosity, towards those around him, is proverbial, and he is the first to laugh at it. There is not a piece of thread that he does not carefully guard nor an unused stamp that he does not remove, he does not answer a stranger if the letter does not come with postage, and a whole voluminous correspondence can be sent to claim an overdue debt, however small it may be. (Boucourechliev 1987, p. 261)

Regarding the analysis of the economic life of the two authors, we have consulted different sources. For Manuel de Falla, we must highlight the excellent work of Titos Martínez⁵ on the Spanish musician. In the case of Igor Stravinsky, we have documented ourselves through his diaries, memoirs, and by numerous biographers.

The Assault on Paris: Anti-Bohemian or Avant-Garde?

Manuel de Falla (1876–1946) came from a Cádiz family⁶ with Catalan ancestry. At first the family had a comfortable economy. But due to the mismanagement of his father they began to have financial problems until they almost went bankrupt. The losses were 65,000€/2023⁷ in a ten-year period (Titos 2008, p. 23).

The Falla family had to move from Cadiz to Madrid in search for a solution to their difficult economic circumstances. In 1897 they had to regularly visit the Montes de Piedad⁸ in the capital. They had to pawn all their belongings -even pawning their pawned tickets again-. The limit of the situation reached a limit point when in 1910 they had to settle an accumulated a grocery bill with a carpet (ibid., pp. 42–44).

In this difficult environment, Falla continued his training with the classes he received from the influential Spanish musicologist Felipe Pedrell.⁹ A good friend¹⁰ of the family paid for the classes. These difficult circumstances conditioned his attitude towards thrift and his ascetic and charitable spirit. He imitated his father's meticulous habit of meticulously recording all monetary movements, first in his youth in a disorderly manner and then rigorously throughout his career (ibid., p. 45).

Falla, like any musician of his time, had few options for earning a living: giving piano lessons, writing a work that could be popular and profitable (ibid., pp. 42–44), winning a prestigious competition, or succeeding in Paris. In a first attempt between 1899 and 1905, Falla wrote five zarzuelas,¹¹ but without any success. Then he entered the competition organized by the Academia de San Fernando which in 1905 promoted Spanish opera. He obtained the first prize with the work La Vida Breve (Fernández Shaw 1972). The prize included the possibility of performing the work at the Teatro Real in Madrid, but it was not possible due to problems that arose between the public and the theatre managers (Sopeña 1976, pp. 38–39). Due to these obstacles, he was forced to move on to Paris. There he did succeed and acknowledged “if it were not for Paris, I would still be buried in Madrid, my first prize would be in a frame and my opera in a closet” (De Márquez 1968, p. 43).

Unlike Falla, Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (1882–1971) had a brilliant start. His father was a well-known opera singer with a recognized career and a certain economic stability. However, the relationship with his son, according to the artist himself, lacked affection.¹² A key event in the musician's life was that he interrupted his law studies thanks to advice from Rimsky-Korsakov, who was to become his teacher and mentor. He also told Stravinsky to avoid studying at the conservatory. Rimsky-Korsakov guided his first steps towards professionalization by encouraging him to participate in musical evenings in St. Petersburg where he would meet his first publishers: Belajeff, Jurgenson, and Kussewitzky (Boucourechliev 1987, pp. 29–35). But the most important fact that took place in there was that he was heard for the first time by Sergei Diaghilev. This happened in 1909. The music promoter chose the young man to make his debut in Paris, beginning a collaboration that lasted for years and from which Stravinsky would learn how the music business worked (Lindlar 1995, pp. 10–11).

The Parisian experience was for both musicians a positive one. Being in Paris at that time was the only way to get in touch with the international network of managers, publishers, and artists that formed the select group of the music market. It was a place with lavish parties, open to the world with modernity as its identity. The buzzwords were “advanced” and “anti-romantic” (Siohan 1983, p. 27). In Paris their works were seen as novelties from a peripheral Europe (Martínez del Fresno 2016), and at the same time of this, both evolved in style.¹³ Both musicians managed to conquer Paris, and felt it as a second homeland, Falla as an anti-bohemian (Sopeña 1956), Stravinsky as an avant-gardist.

In 1907 Falla arrived in Paris encouraged by the Spanish musician Joaquín Turina.¹⁴ He was a complete stranger, shy and self-conscious about his premature baldness. With the support of relatives and Spanish musicians living there, he stepped aside from the avant-garde eccentricities in vogue. Very different was Stravinsky's landing in Paris in 1910, as enfant terrible of Diaghilev's hand, which guaranteed him an immediate and dazzling success, and which led him, in time, to become a French citizen in 1936.

Falla survived in Paris with a “discreetly precarious” economy (Titos 2008, p. 386) In 1908 his expenses were approximately 1500€/2023 per month. Among his expenses, the amounts for tobacco and hygiene goods and the piano rent stand out. His professional beginnings were very hard, giving poorly paid lessons and also working as a pianist in a puppet show. At times, he had to draw upon food coupons published in newspapers by food brands as a source of nourishment (ibid., p. 50). In 1908 he received financial aid from the Spanish crown, after being recommended by the Spanish pianist and musician Isaac Albéniz.¹⁵ The amount was 5,000 euros/2023 per year, but this amount was not continual. He met great musicians who would endorse his work. In 1909 he was recommended by Debussy and Ravel to release his Cuatro piezas españolas and finally received an amount equivalent to 1,200€/2023 (ibid., pp. 53–54). The following year he released Trois mélodies published by Rouart Lerolle et Cie.

The Junta de Ampliación de Estudios¹⁶ denied him a scholarship. Falla found support in his maternal uncle Pedro Jaime Matheu, who lent him money to travel to his concerts in London in 1911, as well as inviting him to lunch many times (Sopeña, 1988, p. 55). These first successes would allow him to send money to his parents. It would be in Paris where he also met his economic advisor and personal friend Leopoldo Matos.¹⁷ In Paris he reinforced his habit of controlling all his expenses, for this he kept the matrices of the check books (ibid., p. 14).

At this stage Falla began his contacts with European publishers. First, the Italian publisher Ricordi¹⁸ (ibid., p. 57) was interested in his work and offered him a libretto inspired by that of the Álvarez Quintero brothers,¹⁹ but they did not reach an agreement. The publisher would later comment that “it is the first time I offer a contract and they discuss it with me”. A verbal contract was also agreed with the English publisher Max Esching for the rights to the work in exchange for a fixed salary and insurance on the royalties to be collected (Titos, 2008, p. 57). At this time Falla began to be aware of the economic value of his work. This gave him more confidence to negotiate and demand better conditions. Falla became a professional musician in Paris. In those years this would have been impossible in Spain, the composer himself said: “to publish in Spain is worse than not publishing, it is as if throwing music into a well” (De Márquez 1968, p. 43).

Falla and Stravinsky met in Paris in 1910. It was the Russian's first visit to the city for the premiere of The Firebird. They shared a network of contacts. Two people are essential to understand how contracts and commissions were obtained in those years in Paris: the Princess of Polignac, Winnaretta Singer,²⁰ and Sergei Diaghilev.²¹

Winnaretta Singer devoted much of her economic empire to supporting artists, musicians, and writers. She commissioned works from both musicians, although she had a predilection for Stravinsky (Siohan 1983, p. 120). Her parties and artistic evenings in Paris and Venice were famous (Sopeña 1988, p. 124).²² At these events, good contacts were made to access business opportunities.

Sergei Diaghilev was a prestigious promoter of musical performances. Both musicians benefited from working closely with the Russian promoter because of the boost they received from the international exposure this visionary provided. Diaghilev's prominence came in this way, because being an artistic entrepreneur is the only way of life in which an amateur becomes a protagonist of art (ibid., p. 24). His conception of spectacle and music anticipated the new modes of production of high culture. A new vision, aesthetic coherence, and the unity of painters and musicians were his main contributions. He was able to bring together the classical tastes of the elite with the innovations of the modern avant-garde and promoted a new type of audience. Diaghilev activated the commercialization of his works all over the world (Stravinsky & Craft, 1959, p. 47).²³ Arguably, Diaghilev made possible the beginning of two musical careers that would not have had the same outcome if they had remained trapped in their restricted domestic markets of Russia and Spain.

However, not everything was perfect with Diaghilev. Both Falla and Stravinsky suffered from the financial shenanigans, stinginess, and wastefulness of their manager. Regardless this fact, for Stravinsky, Diaghilev was more than a manager since he was his discoverer and at the same time an older brother who offered him “a blank check to make his dreams come true” (Sopeña 1956, p. 25). The collaboration lasted twenty years, during which the artistic, emotional, and economic tensions did not stop (Lindlar 1995, pp. 99–100). According to Vera, Stravinsky's second wife, the only opinion that mattered to the musician was that of Diaghilev. This was because the impresario had an extraordinary intuition for success.

There were quarrels over money and professional jealousy. These situations complicated this intense and creative relationship. An example of those disputes was when in 1909 the Moscow Free Theatre commissioned the opera The Nightingale from Stravinsky. Diaghilev had completely ignored this work as it was the first major work Stravinsky had produced outside his influence. But the impresario realized his mistake when he knew that the theatre had agreed to pay Stravinsky 10,000 rubbles,²⁴ a huge sum of money for the time. Diaghilev was furious because he could have had this opera for free and get the business (Stravinsky & Craft 1959, p. 61). From Diaghilev, Stravinsky would learn the music business. He would learn how to control the production, selecting his collaborators, synthesizing ideas, connecting artists, and ensuring the cohesion of the ensemble. This knowledge would be helpful later in his career in the United States. Stravinsky's great preoccupation with money prompted Diaghilev to say ironically that the last two letters of his friend Igor's name were OR—gold in French (White & Martín Bermúdez, 1989, p. 55).

The Collapse: Nationalist or Stateless?

The Great War caused the dismantling of the cultural world in Europe. Festivals, concerts, operas, ballets, recordings and performances stopped, and royalty income ceased as well. The international component of the sector was severely damaged. Paris was at war, Falla would return to the archaic Spain and Stravinsky would begin his long period of statelessness.

Diaghilev's Ballets Russes dissolved, and the Russian tandem took refuge in Switzerland, in a difficult financial situation. In addition, Stravinsky had spent a lot of money to bring his mother from Russia. The income generated by his property in Russia rarely covered his family's needs (Siohan 1983, p. 73).²⁵

The first time Stravinsky assumed the role of conductor would be in Geneva in a performance of The Firebird. During the Swiss stage, his protector, the Princess de Polignac, visited him and commissioned an opera, Renard. Diaghilev would be in charge of putting it on. The musician accepted the commission for 2,500²⁶ Swiss francs and another 12,000²⁷ went to Diaghilev to make the premiere a reality (Boucourechliev 1987, p. 183). This fact produced a confrontation between the two, since Diaghilev considered the amount charged by the musician disproportionated in relation to the total of the operation (Stravinsky & Craft, 1959, p. 61). The impresario disowned the musician's ambition and autonomy. In his own words:

Our Igor, always money, money, money, and for what? This Renard is nothing more than some old leftovers he found in his dresser drawer. (ibid., p. 108)

The first publisher to come to Stravinsky's rescue was a Geneva concert pianist, Adolphe Henn,²⁸ who in 1917 published Renard even though the work had not yet been released.²⁹ It was in this Swiss stage where the Russian composer began to develop his economic activity outside Diaghilev. He would do so by reinforcing his negotiating power vis-à-vis publishers, something he would repeat years later in the framework of the negotiation with Bessel's Russian firm. The composer himself recalled this negotiation:

I remember fighting over money with Bessel, who said that we demanded too much (...) Moussorgsky³⁰ only received a fraction of what he asked for. I replied that precisely because they had given Moussorgsky nothing, and because they had managed to starve the poor fellow to death, that was reason enough for them to give us more. (Stravinsky & Craft, 1959, p. 66)

Meanwhile, Falla returned to Madrid without resources and with problems generated by the international situation. For example, relations with the publisher Max Esching were interrupted, perhaps because the agreement was verbal. Falla had already received an advance from this publisher in July 1914 to compose an opera and was later informed of the interest in continuing with some of his works such as Amor Brujo or Canciones populares. They had also offered him, while living in Paris, 5,000 euros/2023 for the rights to the Nocturne, something Falla rejected because he considered the amount too low and because he was not in financial difficulties at the time.

Nonetheless, in Madrid the situation was different.³¹ Falla had to ask urgently his friend and counsellor Matos for help to support his family, which consisted of himself, his parents, and his sister. His friend lovingly replied, “my wallet is yours”. Matos, using his contacts, obtained official aid for the musician based on fictitious conferences and reports, which Falla only signed.³² (Titos, 2008, pp. 65–69). The situation changed at the end of 1914. La vida es breve was finally released at Teatro de la Zarzuela. Falla demanded fair royalties and decent performances and a minimum number of performances (ibid., 64).³³ The Spanish aristocracy also mobilized to support him. In 1919 The Duque of Alba³⁴ brought together a group of aristocrats to create a fund³⁵ for the musician.

Spain's neutrality during the Great War activated cultural life and the country received numerous intellectuals and musicians. Stravinsky left for Madrid in search of Diaghilev, who was arriving in Spain from a tour in the United States (Boucourechliev, 1987, p. 126).³⁶ The moment they met, the musician greeted him as a brother (White & Martín Bermúdez, 1989, p. 49). They visited El Escorial and Toledo together Which left Stravinsky impressed by the closeness of Spanish and Russian mysticism (Siohan, 1983, p. 78). It was also in Madrid where Falla resumed contact with Stravinsky and Diaghilev, since in 1916 they performed in the Spanish capital The Firebird and Petrusshka.

The impresario wanted a show with Spanish music and suggested to Falla that it would be based on Noches en los jardines de España. Thus, they undertook a journey through Andalusia (Titos, 2008, p. 67). The aim was to capture ideas and atmospheres for the staging. This work would never be released as a dance performance, but as a work for piano and orchestra. Falla, on his behalf, set out to create a ballet based on his work El corregidor y la Molinera, although it would take him two years to finish it.

Diaghilev first commissioned Falla to compose Pulcinella and gave him Pergolesi's melodies as inspiration (Pahissa 1956). Notwithstanding, Falla, immersed as he was in the composition of the ill-fated Fuego fatuo, had to reject the commission. Diaghilev then passed the job on to Stravinsky, who was apparently unaware that the proposal had initially been offered to Falla (Titos, 2008, p. 82). Falla wanted to consolidate this artistic triangle in 1917 by inviting Stravinsky on a trip through different Spanish cities, with Diaghilev, Massien, and the dancer Félix Fernández. The Russian was unable to attend.

After two years of work, Falla released El sombrero de tres picos in 1919. It was launched in London with great success,³⁷ with the collaboration of Picasso. Surprisingly, Falla would no longer receive royalties in England that Diaghilev should have sent him for this work. Falla chose not to claim those royalties (ibid., pp. 151–152). Perhaps the Spanish musician understood the relevant contribution of his promoter, beyond mere monetary profitability.

In 1919 in London, Falla sold to Chester House for 1,000 English pounds³⁸ the publishing and performance rights of the following works: El sombrero de tres picos, Amor brujo, El retablo de Maese Pedro and Le printemps de Psyché. However, Falla retained the recording and stage rights (ibid., pp. 72–74). His French publisher also paid him at the end of the war, 20,000 euros/2023.

It is in 1920 when economic stability began for Falla. His international image began to consolidate in Paris, and he launched Noches jardines de España and El sombrero de tres picos with Diaghilev. He regularized his relationship with the Escher House³⁹ and began relationships with different European publishers, rigorous monitoring his copyrights. This policy would lead him to harmonize the different interests and conflicts between his publishers and the Spanish Society of Authors. Falla managed to get the publishers Chester and Esching to assign by mutual agreement the representation rights each of them held. For these negotiations he counted on the collaboration and advice of Matos (ibid., p. 74). From 1920 onwards, in order to avoid the devaluation of the francs he received from his French publisher, he exchanged them for pounds, which he sent to Spain in monthly transfers. On the other hand, the money collected from Chester, in pounds, about 53,000€/2023, would be delivered and guarded by his counsellor friend.

In 1924 Matos was very scrupulous with the administration of the money that Falla had put in his hands, and he sent him 5% interest on the amounts he kept, sending him the corresponding interest until 1928. In 1926 Matos recommended some investments in securities. Finally, the advisor sent Falla 55,000 euros/2023, paid back in liquidation of recording rights and the money he administered (ibid., p. 126). From then on, and until 1928, economic relations between the two were infrequent.

Stravinsky's economic and personal situation would be marked until his death by a new shock. The Russian Revolution in March 1917 plunged him into great agitation and an “instinctive revulsion” (Siohan 1983, p. 80). With the rise to power of the Bolsheviks, his properties in St. Petersburg and Ustilug were expropriated. It also affected him that the United States and Russia had not ratified the Berne Convention on copyright,⁴⁰ his scores were not properly protected in the United States (White & Martín Bermúdez 1989, p. 54). Moreover, in this complicated context, the deaths of his younger brother Guri, and his nanny Bertha, the only people in his family whom he loved, added an emotional burden to his already complicated economic situation. Stravinsky travelled to Rome to see Diaghilev again, where he would also meet Picasso, whose conversations and example would inspire him to start, years later, on his path to celebrity.

To cope with his financial situation, Stravinsky decided to create a small travelling musical show to animate Swiss musical life. With the support of Winterthur's patron, Werner Reinhart, and his generous endorsement (Siohan 1983, pp. 87–88). He was able to compose A Soldier's Tale⁴¹ in 1917. This work would later inspire Falla in his composition El retablo de maese Pedro. The connection between the two musicians is reflected in the following anecdote: Falla told his friend Arthur Rubinstein in 1918 that his Russian friend was bankrupt. Therefore, the famous pianist commissioned two piano works, one from Stravinsky who wrote Piano-rag-music (1919) and the other from Falla who composed Fantasia Baetica (1919) (Nommick 2007).

The difficulties led Stravinsky to develop his entrepreneurial and negotiating skills. He negotiated with Blaise Cendrars for the publication of Ragtime (1917–1918) at the Parisian publisher Editions de la Sirène,⁴² but by 1918, Stravinsky was already seeking a safer contract with a more important publisher.

In 1920 he premiered The Rite of Spring in Paris, with the financial support of 300,000 francs⁴³ donated by his lover Coco Chanel (Boucourechliev 1987, p. 152). To diversify and increase his income, he became a conductor and performer in 1921, conducting Petruchka for Alfonso XIII at the Teatro Real in Madrid (Lindlar 1995, p. 14), and from that moment on his tours would multiply (Siohan 1983, p. 118). It would be in 1922 when he decided to be the interpreter of his own works, since the fees received by the great interpreters were equivalent to a commission for the composition of a long work. Interpretation would become his main income source during his long career (Boucourechliev 1987, p. 169). He also signed a six-year contract with Pleyel to record piano versions of his major works on pianola rolls (Siohan 1983, p. 14). This was also the time when he met Vera Sudeikina, who would become his mistress and second wife. His first tours as a conductor would take place in 1924 in Europe, in Belgium, and Spain. As an interpreter he would play in Denmark, Poland, Holland, Germany, Switzerland, and France. The following year he made his first tour of the United States (ibid., 173) and signed his first contract with the Brunswick label.

Consolidation: Friends or Partners?

In this new stage, the two musicians would devote themselves to the management of their financial affairs through a diligent epistolary activity which they found difficult to cope with, given its quantity and complexity. Falla would do it from his affordable home in Granada.⁴⁴ Stravinsky, after living ten years in Switzerland, would do it from France where he settled in 1920, and where he became a naturalized citizen in 1936.

Exceptions aside—such as some trips to Europe—Falla was prudent in the management of his assets (Titos, 2008, p. 18). Falla scrupulously guarded his rights as a creator, causing frequent tensions with his publishers, who believed they were paying too much money and wanted to review their agreements, an attitude that outraged the artist from Cadiz (ibid., p. 116).

The musician would respond to his musical commitments in Europe and Spain, and made an effort to promote Andalusian music, but he was not very successful. He organized a Cante Jondo contest⁴⁵ in Granada. He was also participated in the founding in 1923 of an Andalusian orchestra, La Bética. By then, Falla was a pillar of Spanish culture, creating a centre of musical and literary interest⁴⁶ around him. With his influence, he secured financial backing⁴⁷ for his disciple Ernesto Halffter⁴⁸ (ibid., p. 210).

Thanks to the correspondence with his two best financial advisors, the aforementioned Leopoldo Matos and the banker Rodríguez Acosta, we can see his bank movements and the management of his financial affairs between 1926 and 1935. The former was fully confident that the situation would remain stable for Falla.

The bad times have passed, and you are already in the desired balance of needs and means, precursor of the triumphant ecstasy that I see clearly in you every day. (ibid., p. 116)

With the establishment of the Republic in Spain in 1931, Falla opened an account at the Comptoir National d'Escompte in Paris with 40,000€/2023 (ibid., pp. 164–169) which was cancelled in 1938. In addition, in 1936 he bought French Treasury bonds at 5% with an investment of 30,000€/2023, which he had to sell in 1937 at the request of the Spanish government due to the decree law of that year that limited the holding of foreign currency, losing 3,300€/2023. It does not seem that these operations were aimed at speculation, but rather a search for diversification and profitability of long-term savings (ibid., p. 271).

He transferred what was left to his account in Granada, which had been slowly dwindling since the Civil War. He also opened another account at Banco Rodriguez Acosta with a balance of €14,000/2023 from an advance on his work Atlantida.

He withdrew from the bank fortnightly or weekly the money strictly necessary to meet his controlled expenses. This habit would support him for the rest of his life, even in Argentina (ibid., p. 158). The expenditures from 1929 to 1939 in the Rodriguez Acosta Bank account had the following proportions: 63% in house expenses, rent, food, medicines, donations, clothing, 29% in purchase of securities and maintenance of the accounts, and 8% in miscellaneous transfers.

Stravinsky was characterized by a complex and ambiguous economic management in his relationship with his publishers. Changes in property and copyright jurisdictions in the European context conditioned his exploitation. In addition to a constant compositional activity to satisfy his commissions.

The greatest difficulties arose, as we know, from his earliest and most famous works. The rights to The Firebird and Petrushka were sold to Russian publishers Jurgenson of Moscow and Russian Editions respectively. Problems began when, after the Russian Revolution, Jurgenson was nationalized, but his German office continued to function and, without informing the composer, he sold the rights of The Firebird to Robert Forberg's publishing house in Leipzig. In 1922 the musician sold the publishing rights to the London publisher Chester.⁴⁹ This prompted Folberg to sue Chester. Chester lost. Later in 1933 a Mainz publisher, Schott, who had bought the rights from Forberg, made an agreement with Chester so that he could distribute the work in a restricted territory. It seems that Stravinsky acted in this way out of anxiety to recover the rights to his work, since he could not get anything out of them.⁵⁰

Stravinsky's income came from commissions for new works, especially in the United States. He explained his strategy:

The trick is to choose the commission yourself, compose what you want to compose, and then have it commissioned.

In 1929, the composer received commissions from Boston Symphony Orchestra and in 1931 the publisher Willy Strecker, director of the Schott house, commissioned him to write a violin concerto. In 1933, Ida Rubinstein offered him $7,500⁵¹ for the opera Persephone, the same amount he was paid for The Fairy's Kiss. Stravinsky, interested in how to monetize his concerts, composed Duo concertante in 1935 to perform with his son Sviatolav Soulima-Stravinsky. In 1936, Lincoln Kirstein of the American Ballet and his patron Edward Warburg commissioned Card Game and another work for the anniversary of the founding of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He also had some very eccentric commissions. Rake's progess, which was commissioned by a wealthy heir who was an fond of art, on the condition that he himself would be present during the piano performance and could act as a live critic (Boucourechliev 1987, p. 223).

This rapprochement with the United States was reinforced by the cold reception his works received from the French public. But above all because of personal crisis caused by a series of personal losses and internal conflicts that ended up pushing his career towards America. This crisis had already begun in 1929 with the death of Diaghilev, which left him a great void. In addition, his internal conflict over his double life with his first wife and his mistress Vera Sudeikina. Yet, it was in 1938 when his emotional situation worsened: his wife and his eldest daughter Ludmilla died of tuberculosis, and he was admitted to a sanatorium for five months. His mother died the following year.

Under these difficult circumstances, he received a proposal to give lectures at Harvard University,⁵² and live in the United States for a year in 1939–1940 (ibid., pp. 213–214). The economic offer was tempting, $10,000.⁵³ The offer included all kinds of benefits, teaching in French, time for his concert tours. The Russian accepted and did not return to Europe.

American Exiles

Both musicians lived the last stage of their lives in the American continent. This was common among artists and intellectuals fleeing the war. Argentina was Falla's destination, Stravinsky’s was the United States. In 1939 Falla had no job in post-war Spain. His view of the Argentine opportunity was the following:

My income is very meager and I take advantage of this happy occasion to compensate myself a little for my current economic situation. (Viniegra and Lasso 1989, pp. 64–65)

Falla died in 1946 in an economic situation that could be described as “foreseeing austerity”. Stravinsky, bewitched by the financial opportunities offered by Hollywood and the United States, decided to transform his career and make his name that of a world celebrity. The musician became a tireless promoter of himself and his music, exploring each and every one of the commercial capabilities of his fame. He died rich, twenty-five years after Falla.

The situation in Spain pushed Falla to move to Argentina. The context of violence and terror that the Civil War conflict brought with it affected him. The attacks on the Catholic Church, the loss of personal friends like Leopoldo Matos and artistic friends like Federico García Lorca, are some examples. Economic and health problems did the rest since “he began to feel like a ghost in a world that had died” (Titos, 2008, p. 287). Under these circumstances, in 1939, the Institute of Spanish Culture of Buenos Aires invited Falla to visit Argentina. The outbreak of World War II confirmed his decision to leave Europe. He left for Buenos Aires with little less than €5,500/2023. On the ship he received a telegram from Franco's government offering him a life pension of more than 40,000€/2023 per year. Falla replied that he preferred to postpone it. Although he needed it because as soon as he arrived in Argentina, he asked for an advance on the concerts he had booked, which in total meant an income for the composer of 100,000€/2023 (ibid., pp. 299–301). His income was limited to what he obtained in Argentina because the income that he was supposed to receive from Europe by way of royalties was blocked by the war, and also his health prevented him from properly attending to these matters:

Owing to the lack of help [...] and on account of continual illnesses, I have abandoned many of my own interests of an economic nature, to the great satisfaction of my publishers.⁵⁴

Falla's relationship with European publishers came to a standstill and Spain did not send him money because the Spanish Institute of Foreign Currency did not authorize it, since this implied the use of foreign currency that “the government wants to reserve for the needs of the country”.⁵⁵ The Society of Authors in Argentina proposed to him in 1943 to take charge of the administration of his interests in the world, but he preferred to avoid it by keeping a certain distance (ibid., pp. 349–350).

Falla's situation was complicated, his accounts in Argentina marked 1,300 pesos in one of them⁵⁶ and an overdraft of 175 pesos in the other.⁵⁷ Jaime Pahissa,⁵⁸ using a pseudonym, described this situation in an article in the Madrid newspaper Arriba. It was then when Falla was authorized to send a thousand pesos⁵⁹ on account of his frozen royalties in London, Paris, and Spain (Casanovas, 1976, p. 62) The musician thus received 25,000 euros/2023, but he himself requested that these payments be suspended so as not to spend all his savings in Spain, which were estimated at 250,000 euros/2023. This paradoxical situation could be explained by Falla's intention to return to Spain and also to spare his sister an uncertain future (Titos, 2008, p. 356).

Falla's tight economy motivated the Franco regime to try to attract him and his international prestige. Nonetheless, Falla, regarding the Franco regime, acted with a certain ambiguity, accepting some honours such as the Gran Cruz de Alfonso X el Sabio and rejecting others such as that of Honorary Advisor of the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, as well as the Presidency of the Institute of Spain (see the Appendix). He used his ministerial contacts to help his friends, Miguel Salvador, sentenced to death, and Rivas Cherif,⁶⁰ who was in jail. In 1946 he was once again promised financial comforts, “he is offered everything he desires: travel expenses, a comfortable house in Spain, a pension, and whatever he needs to live in peace and be able to work as he pleases” (ibid., pp. 369–371). Falla resisted, citing health reasons and political instability in Europe.

After Falla's death his sister María del Carmen inherited approximately 350,000€/2023 in liquid assets, but there was no real estate, just some furniture kept in a convent (ibid., pp. 379–380).

In 1947 a debate began about Falla's fortune, arguing that he died rich and insinuating that he was a miser, since it was claimed that he had 1.8 million euros/2023 in his possession. Titos argues, after his exhaustive investigation of the musician's accounts, that this amount does not correspond to reality. It is estimated that during his life in Spain between 1929 and 1939 Falla spent around 2,400€/2023 per month. In Argentina, despite his difficult situations in different years, his average expenditure amounted to €3,300/2023, which indicates that his situation was not opulent but far from poverty (ibid., pp. 380–386).

Perhaps his assets would have been greater if he had not rejected millionaire contracts in North America, such as the refusal of a blank check to Paramount for the film adaptation of Amor brujo, or the Retablo. In that sense, his demonstrated interest in putting the quality of his work before its commercial use made him miss opportunities to earn more money.

As we have seen, it does not seem that Falla had a great fortune and therefore his charitable character must be valued. He had a daily charge for alms which gave him a feeling of satisfaction. Falla wrote to his friend Matos:

What makes me most happy [...] is that I can and will be able to alleviate at least a little bit as many and as urgent other people’s needs as I find.⁶¹

In his will he left a part for the support of the Catholic Church, masses for his soul and his deceased.

Stravinsky's economic reaction to his new American context was radically different from that of Falla. He was especially anxious (Joseph, 2001) to prosper in the years immediately following his immigration to the United States. He felt cheated by Europe and was eager to be compensated by Hollywood:

He chose to play the American game in order to integrate, he chose to continue to make a living from his music instead of asking for government or private subsidies as was the old European style (Boucourechliev, 1987, p. 223).

In 1945 Stravinsky became an American citizen. The Russian musician possessed “a rare gift for seamlessly switching between the worlds of high culture and pop culture” (Joseph, 2001). Stravinsky needed to be a public figure, to be accepted, even to be popular, and he was. Thus, when he arrived in the United States, he underwent a transformation to become a real businessman. One of the Russian's favourite pp. phrases was a quote from Charles Dickens “people should not be shocked that artists want to make money” (ibid., 3–4). When a priest asked him if he considered himself rich after winning the $18,000 Sibelius Prize,⁶² Stravinsky replied: “I may be rich, father, but I am very miserly.“ The musician laughed at his own greed, peeled off obsolete stamps, kept pieces of thread, would not answer a letter to a stranger if it did not contain an envelope with the return postage (Boucourechliev, 1987, pp. 261–262).

In the 1940s Stravinsky began his path to become a celebrity, surrounding himself with occasional friends, especially with movie stars and directors. His name began to sell itself. The musician commented that more than one producer promised him huge amounts of money just for allowing his name to be used in music written by someone else (Joseph, 2001, pp 102–105):

I was even offered a hundred thousand dollars⁶³ for a movie soundtrack, and when I refused, I was told that I would receive the same amount if I allowed someone else to write the music on my behalf. Still, I like to negotiate with movie people, as they rarely try to hide their motives by saying artistic nonsense. They want my name, not my music. (Craft, 2003, p. 179)

Stravinsky wanted to collaborate with the seventh art because his economy needed quick income (Boucourechliev, 1987, pp. 183–222). But also, in the cinema he encountered the well-known problems of copyrights. Disney offered him 5,000 dollars⁶⁴ to use a retouched version of his Consecration of Spring, to which he never agreed. The request was accompanied by polite news informing him that if he did not agree it would be used anyway. The composition had no recognized copyrights in the United States, being registered only in Russia (ibid., p. 99). We know that Falla was also tempted by Hollywood. Moreover, to use La danza del fuego -for a short film- they offered him 300⁶⁵ dollars, an amount that his intermediary Iriberri managed to increase to a thousand⁶⁶ but the maestro refused. After Falla's death, his sister Carmen was informed that Don Manuel had authorized the operation for 2,000⁶⁷ dollars and the film Carnegie Hall was distributed a year after his death.

One strategy of Stravinsky's in America was to take advantage of what he had already composed, reusing it in a kind of creative economy. Examples of this are: a score for a film about Nazis in Norway that became Four Norwegian Impressions, another about Russians became Sherzo a la Russe, and Bernadette de Lourdes became Symphony in Three Movements.

The Dali-esque eccentricity that Americans seemed to expect from such a genius also had its place. He composed a polka for an elephant, the Circus Polka, a commission he would only accept if the elephant was young (ibid., p. 170).

Another income source came with the definitive solution to rescue the author's copyrights to his most famous works. In 1945 Ralph Hawkes visited him in Hollywood representing the international publishing house Boosey and Hawkes Ltd.⁶⁸ The publisher proposed to make a new version of these works with some changes, and then register them under a new Boosey and Hawkes Ltd copyright. Stravinsky accepted and signed an exclusivity contract with this publisher for all his future works, and a lifetime pension contract (Lindlar, 1995, p. 19).

After an agreement that guaranteed a sufficient income, Stravinsky developed a frenetic activity centred on himself in different lines of business (Joseph, 2001, pp. 197–198). From record production to the exclusive sale of his original scores. Among them, the television production of his works. He would take advantage of the American trend that existed in those years in the promotion of television as an audiovisual medium. How to turn us all into intellectuals is the challenge of television, the great art had to be present for the whole nation. Stravinsky's name had an important cultural weight and an unappealable slogan “the world's greatest living composer”, if his music was valued enough to be broadcasted in the living room, better to sit down and listen to it. Stravinsky “was well aware of the potential of this young industry”. He was a fan of television, often watching sitcoms, animal shows, and just about anything that was funny (ibid., pp. 138–139), especially westerns, as well as mediocre films (ibid., p. 106).

As for the recording industry, in 1925 he had signed an exclusive contract with Columbia New York whereby he was to record his compositions as a pianist and as a conductor exclusively every year (Stravinsky, 1936, p. 113). In 1953 this contract was extended for all his works (Lindlar, 1995, p. 15). Stravinsky saw his recorded output as a studying document and not as a substitute for live audience (Boucourechliev, 1987, p. 193).

For Stravinsky, editing texts and books was an important component of the dissemination and promotion of his work, but he rarely wrote them himself, always relying on collaborators, editors, and proofreaders. In the United States he was more aware of the importance of interviews, prepared for any question from the media, and knew how to give intelligent, if not fake, answers on the spot.⁶⁹ In the United States the musician realized that he had to take control of the news and hoaxes that impacted negatively on his reputation. For this reason, Robert Craft became his “official” biographer as a source of proven truthfulness in everything related to his figure. The idea was that instead of wasting time with interviews full of mistakes or inopportune questions, he would record his own conversations during the tours, the first recordings volume was published in 1956 (White & Martín Bermúdez 1989, p. 116). The Stravinsky-Craft tandem was also able to assume a greater productive capacity for the Stravinsky label, as Craft could assume almost the entire management functions of the business.

Stravinsky strove to market his original scores. Coveted for their meticulous execution and graphic quality, they fetched exorbitant prices almost in the manner of the great painters, although he sometimes had difficulty finding buyers willing to face his prices. In an unpublished letter from 1950, the publisher Broude Brothers, who had to return several of the composer's scores, informed him that a buyer could not afford the prices Stravinsky had set for Persephone ($7,000),⁷⁰ Mavra ($4,500)⁷¹ (Joseph, 2001, p. 197). Finally, we will talk about the Stravigor. It was a gadget with a special marker for drawing pentagrams in a single stroke. This made it possible to draw musical notes on any paper, and at the same time create a fetish object, which could also be sold (Siohan, 1983, p. 93).

His fame was demonstrated by several facts. He was on the cover of the Times in 1948 and Newsweek magazine in 1962 (Joseph, 2001, p. 2). Modifying the national anthem got him arrested (Boucourechliev, 1987, p. 224). In 1962 he was received by President Kennedy, and that same year, he was invited to the USSR by Khrushchev. In 1965 two films about him were shot. But his fame went beyond the terrestrial realm, he was elected intergalactic emissary of the planet Earth, with his Sacrificial Dance from Le Sacre du printemps, which is on board the Voyager spacecraft (Joseph, 2001, p. 15).

***

The art world is a network of relationships between people whose cooperative activity produces artistic works (Becker, 2008). Each artist works at the centre of this network of collaborators, whose participation is essential. The works are not the product of individual “artists” with a rare or special gift, but the consequence of the collectives of people who cooperate in that field. Given the historical circumstances that both musicians went through, they were forced to build a network of personal relationships to sustain their economic management, replacing national and international institutional support, which was repeatedly interrupted. They faced very similar backgrounds, world wars, and civil wars in their countries of origin. They faced them differently, but both of them achieved their goals, regarding Falla it was a quiet life, on Stravisnky’s behalf living several lives. From local, fragmented publishing houses, they gradually moved to a market made up of international publishers and major media and record labels. His adaptation to the changes experienced by the music sector was different, the Spaniard chose a country twinned with Spain. Stravinsky, however, ended up working in the leading country of the world economy, witnessing the birth of the new model of consumption that would later spread throughout the so-called Western world.

Falla created a network of close friendships with politicians, bankers, and artists, which allowed him to develop his musical work in an artisanal and quiet way. He faced setbacks in a defensive manner, adapting to them in a constant way that allowed him to maintain sufficient status and comfort. Falla would be buried under the crypt of the Cathedral of Cadiz with tints of sanctity, and under a clear epitaph, Soli Deo Honor et Gloria (Only to God honour and glory).

This type of traditional fame and the network that supported it were very different for Stravinsky, who also had an important network of relationships, but these were mutating according to the needs of each moment, to the point that it was commonly said: “Stravinsky cultivates and exploits his allies” (Hamilton, 1984). The world of music in the United States and culture had changed, thanks to a new mass public, which had access to art through technology and its new forms of publishing -television, cinema, discography-, which boosted the cultural industry. As we have seen, the Russian musician needed to expand his network of influences, from personal friends and secretaries to artists and collaborators of all kinds. As he broadened his styles and media, his collaborators became more specialized, due to new artistic challenges or new media in which his work was distributed or communicated. Thus, he expanded his network of contacts until he entered the world of stars and celebrities.

In the face of setbacks, Stravinsky doubled the bet, to convince a planetary public and then become a popular celebrity, similar to those in cinema or rock. He created a new category linked to self-promotion (Joseph, 2001, p. 2) As a summary of his trajectory during his lifetime, “Stravinsky and his associates traded […] to turn Stravinsky into a celebrity called ‘Stravinsky’” (Cross, 2015, p. 191). A star as a mark does not die. His remains rest—next to those of his wife—in Venice, and close to those of his compatriot, friend, and business-partner Diaghilev.

An Appendix for Spanish Readers: Manuel de Falla and the Exchange Rate of the Peseta

Juan Velarde Fuertes

In 1868 a new currency was created in Spain, the peseta, which would be the base of its monetary system until the country's integration into the Eurozone. In its origins the peseta was linked to the Latin Monetary System. This was formed by France, whose currency was the franc; Italy, with the lira, and a series of neighbouring countries with different currencies, but exactly the same as far as their silver and gold content was concerned. And all these countries applied similar economic policies, as if it were a first European Monetary System. But for trade and investments relations with Great Britain and other countries it was also necessary to take into account the value of the peseta in terms of gold.

After the third, and final, Carlist war⁷² ended in 1876 industrialization accelerated in the country. And with the help of the Spanish territories of America—Cuba and Puerto Rico—and Asia—the Philippine Islands- foreign investment went up in Spain. Growing economic relations with the United States and a certain imitation of Germany's policy forced the question of the exchange rate of the peseta in relation to other currencies to be raised frequently.

Later, the arrival in Spain of capital from Cuba and the Philippines, after Spain lost those territories in 1898, and the advantages that the country obtained from its neutrality in World War I produced an influx of gold and foreign currency, which significantly increased the reserves of the Bank of Spain. Debate then began about the effects of the international value of the peseta in the functioning of the Spanish economy. The measures adopted by minister Cambó on private banking in the early 1920s and the possibility of rediscounting debt securities in the Bank of Spain provided liquidity to the Spanish economy and the country's economy grew at a good pace. If in 1922 the GDP per capita was the equivalent of today's 3,595 euros, the same variable had grown in 1929 to today's 4,436 euros.

But at that time the international economic crisis broke out, which in Spain coincided with a serious political conflict that would lead to the end of the monarchy and the establishment of a republic in 1931. In the international markets there was a sharp fall in the value of the peseta against gold, the pound, and the dollar, one of the causes of which was the high deficit of the public sector. In the economic and political debates of the time, discussions about the economic crisis and the international value of the peseta were mixed, and attempts were made to find a solution to both problems. In 1929 the Minister of Finance, José Calvo Sotelo, commissioned the most prestigious economist of the country, Antonio Flores de Lemus, to chair a committee that would prepare a report on the relevance of the exchange rate of the peseta in the Spanish economy, the result of which was the well-known report on the implementation of the gold standard in Spain.⁷³

A few months later, in 1930, came to Spain J.M. Keynes, accompanied by his wife, the beautiful Russian dancer Lydia Lopokova, who some years earlier had visited the country as a soloist with the famous Russian Ballets. In this trip Keynes talked to another well-known Spanish economist, Luis Olariaga, who was well acquainted with banking and the English financial system from having lived and worked in London for several years; and that had already met Keynes in 1922 at the Genoa Conference, where the situation of the international monetary system after the World War I was discussed. It seems that Olariaga and Keynes discussed the main problems of the Spanish economy. And Olariaga published in the newspaper El Sol an article presenting the views of the British economist on the international crisis and the problem of the exchange rate of the peseta (Baumert & Caro Casana, 2010). Keynes said that, in those initial moments of the crisis, the depreciation of the peseta facilitated Spanish exports and generated a boost to economic growth. For this reason, he believed that it would be a mistake to raise the international value of the peseta. But, if the depreciation of the Spanish currency were so large as to generate inflation, this policy should be changed and the international price of the peseta should be raised, using the gold reserves of the Bank of Spain. Keynes added that selling that gold to raise the international value of the peseta was not like selling some of the magnificent paintings in the Prado Museum, which the country should never part with. An issue, by the way, that arose during the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939 when some politicians on the Republican side came to think about the possibility of selling paintings by Velázquez, Murillo, or Goya to finance the acquisition of war material abroad.

When the article on Keynes’s views was published there were reactions against his ideas. In El Diario Universal, the newspaper of the Count of Romanones,⁷⁴ it was said: “We already have another Drake here who is coming to steal our gold.” The idea that the peseta should not be devalued was widespread. Manuel Argüelles, Minister of Finance and Economy in 1930 stated that his objective was to raise the international value of the peseta. But the economic situation did not help him. In August 1930, when there was a sharp depreciation of the currency, he assured the king that things would improve quickly. But the data showed the opposite. And eventually he had to resign.

The issue was the subject of national debate. And, according to what Pedro Sáinz Rodríguez—who became Minister of Culture in Franco’s first government—told me, Franco himself, a few years before the start of the civil war, was in favour of devaluing the peseta, arguing that this could increase the income of many people. We know that Franco was a reader of El Sol; but we have no evidence that he read Keynes's statements. It is possible that he did. Years later, when he was already Head of State, Franco published, under a pseudonym, several articles with clearly pro-Keynesian arguments in the newspaper Arriba.

After the end of the civil war in 1939, José Larraz was appointed Minister of Finance. During the war Larraz had been in charge of restoring financial order in the nationalist zone; and one of the policies he adopted was to raise as much as possible the value of the “national” peseta, both against other currencies and against the “republican” peseta. This was not only an economic strategy, but also a military strategy, since it made more difficult for the government of the republican zone to buy war material abroad. As Finance minister, Larraz was also in favour of a high international price of the peseta.

Among the Spanish intellectuals and artists there was a deep division because of the war, some favouring one side and others the other. One of the supporters of the national side was the music composer Manuel de Falla. In 1938 the Institute of Spain was created, which brought together the Royal Academies. And it was decided that, due to his great artistic merits, its first president would be Manuel de Falla. But the composer was not in the country at that time. Because of his extensive international activities, he travelled widely abroad, especially to Latin America; and so he never came to take office.

When I was president of the Institute of Spain, I found a letter from Falla to Larraz, written from Buenos Aires. In it, the composer indicated that he was willing to transfer to Spain a significant amount of money, which he had obtained outside the country thanks to his copyrights, concerts, records, and lectures. But he pointed out that, if the official exchange rate of the peseta were applied, this would imply a substantial reduction in his economic well-being; and for this reason, he asked that the exchange rate applied to his remittances were not the official one, but the world market rate. I was able to see a note from Larraz in which he said that no privileges should be granted to Falla, because every good Spaniard should accept Spanish law. The result was that Falla got angry and never returned to Spain. Only in 1946 his corpse was repatriated.

Years passed and Spain completely changed its monetary policy and unified exchange rates. Over time it joined the euro zone. For this reason, the danger that something similar to what happened to Manuel de Falla could happen to any Spanish artist disappeared. If he had been able to see these reforms, Falla would surely have dedicated some of his works to the great Spanish economist Ullastres and the great international economist Per Jacobsson, who in 1959 managed to erase forever the goal of seeking a high international price for the peseta.⁷⁵