2026 is the 150th anniversary of the birth of Manuel de Falla, arguably Spain’s greatest composer. He has been described by biographer Burnett James as “the most complete representative of the Spanish mind and spirit in music.” Spain for centuries stood apart from Western classical music and produced relatively few composers of stature until the late 19th century. The great Tomas Luis de Victoria in the 16th century and the tragically short-lived Arriaga in the early 19th are the two exceptions. In the late 1800s, Isaac Albeniz introduced a strong Spanish flavor to his music and with Enrique Granados did much to establish Spain in the mainstream of European classical music. However, de Falla absorbed the modern influences of composers he met whilst living in Paris — Ravel, Debussy, Dukas, Stravinsky, Schmitt, and impresario Diaghilev. To celebrate the milestone anniversary, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra with chief conductor Domingo Hindoyan present The Three-Cornered Hat Suites 1 & 2, the Interlude and Dance from La vida breve, Homenajes (tributes to fellow composers like Debussy and Dukas), and an orchestrated version of Fantasia Baetica, one of de Falla’s great piano works composed for Arthur Rubinstein.