Although studies of Modernism have focused largely on European nations,
Spain has been conspicuously neglected. As Carol A. Hess argues in this
compelling book, such neglect is wholly undeserved. Through composer
Manuel de Falla (1876-1946), Hess explores the advent of Modernism in
Spain in relation to political and cultural tensions prior to the
Spanish Civil War. The result is a fresh view of the musical life of
Spain that departs from traditional approaches to the subject and
reveals an open and constantly evolving aesthetic climate.