Jerónimo Giménez

Cádiz heard Jerónimo Giménez in the pit of the Teatro Principal before he was out of his teens; born in Seville in 1852, he had been raised largely in Cádiz and had studied the violin there. A scholarship carried him to the Paris Conservatoire and to Jean-Delphin Alard and Ambroise Thomas, and he came back to make a career in Madrid as conductor and composer, directing at the Teatro Apolo and the Teatro de la Zarzuela and working with the Sociedad de Conciertos de Madrid, through which Spanish audiences met much of the symphonic repertoire. El baile de Luis Alonso, La boda de Luis Alonso and La tempranica are among his best-known works; La tempranica in particular left its mark on the Spanish composers who came after, Falla among them. His name also appeared as Gerónimo on published scores. His last years were financially insecure. The influence of his stage writing reached Rodrigo and Turina as well. Older reference works give his birth year as 1854, while the Spanish National Library now follows 1852, supported by research citing his baptismal record.