Miquel Capllonch

Miquel Capllonch i Rotger was born in Pollença in 1861 and died in Palma de Mallorca in 1935. A composer and pianist, he belongs to the transition between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and his significance lies above all in the mark left by his German training on a body of work written from Mallorca.

He began his studies in Palma with Guillem Massot i Beltran and continued in Madrid with Ruperto Chapí, Tebaldo Power, Rafael Hernando and José Tragó. In 1884 a scholarship from the regional government of the Balearic Islands enabled him to settle in Berlin, where he studied piano with Karl-Heinrich Barth and Ernst Rudorff, and composition with Herzogenberg, who introduced him to the circle around Brahms. There he met Anton Rubinstein and Clara Schumann, who advised him to publish his Nocturne. He soon became a sought-after teacher and pianist in Berlin's aristocratic salons. Among his pupils was Artur Rubinstein, who in his autobiography praises his musicality and open-minded character.

He returned to Spain in 1912, living first in Madrid and then in Barcelona, and in 1920 settled permanently in Mallorca. He composed around 94 works across a variety of genres, including two string quartets, a serenade for violin and piano and thirty lieder, although his most substantial contribution lies in his twelve pieces for piano. He transcribed and harmonised traditional Mallorcan music, but his original output shows no traces of island folklore or Spanish nationalism; instead it reveals the clear influence of his German training. The character pieces Op. 17 recall Schumann, and some melodies have a Chopinesque air. His Thema und Variationen Op. 8 stands out for its use of counterpoint.

His legacy is above all that of a musician who brought the Central European piano and compositional tradition to Mallorca. His piano music, little performed, remains a testament to that dialogue between Berlin and the island.