Ataúlfo Argenta

Ataúlfo Exuperio Martín de Argenta Maza (November 19, 1913 – January 20, 1958), was a Spanish conductor and pianist.

Biography

Argenta was born in Castro Urdiales, Cantabria, one of the two children, and the only son, of the local station master and a worker with the railways, Juan Martín de Argenta, and Laura Maza. Argenta showed a talent for singing as a youth, and sang in the church of Santa María. He later studied violin and piano. His teachers included Vicente Aznar and Blanco Justo. He went to school at Doctrina Cristiana, playing locally in the cinema and at Círculo Católico concerts. He suffered from tuberculosis as a youth.

In 1927, Argenta's family moved to Madrid, where his father worked in the head-office of the State Railways, and where Argenta began studies at the Real Conservatorio Superior de Música (Madrid Conservatory). His teachers included Fernández Alberdi and Conrado de Campo. He won a Premio Extraordinario for piano in 1930. His fellow pupils included Juana Pallares Guisasola, his future wife, who herself won a Premio Extraordinario in her graduation year. Argenta also won the Kristina Nilsson Prize early in 1931.