The commemorative program, unveiled in Madrid by the Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun, is an initiative of the Manuel de Falla Archive Foundation, supported by the Ministry of Culture, the Junta de Andalucía, the Granada City Council, and the University of Granada, among other institutions.
Activities commence on April 17 with an inaugural concert by pianist Javier Perianes at Villa Viardot, Bougival (Paris), highlighting the French capital's influence on the composer's career. The musical agenda also includes performances by harpsichordist Benjamín Alard in Granada and Barcelona, and the Orquesta Ciudad de Granada will dedicate several programs to Falla's work.
In addition to music, two major exhibitions have been organized in Granada. The first, titled Manuel de Falla. A Contemporary View, will open on April 28 at the Caja Granada Cultural Center. The second, Essential Manuel de Falla, will open on June 18 at the Manuel de Falla Cultural Center in Granada, before moving to the Palacio de Longoria in Madrid from October 25.
The academic sphere will also be addressed with two international conferences in Granada and Madrid throughout 2026. The first, The Revival of the Harpsichord in the 20th Century. On the Centenary of Manuel de Falla's Concerto (1926–2026), will take place in Madrid on May 28 and 29.
A pioneering project by the Ministry of Culture has enabled the comprehensive description of Manuel de Falla's correspondence in the Spanish Archives Portal (Pares). This initiative, in collaboration with the Manuel de Falla Archive Foundation, has digitized 23,377 correspondence records, including letters with figures such as Debussy, Stravinski, Picasso, and Federico García Lorca.
“"We still have much to delve into the figure and work of Manuel de Falla, and this Falla Year, which we are now beginning, provides us with a magnificent opportunity to do so."
The mayor of Granada, Marifrán Carazo, emphasized that the commemoration reinforces Manuel de Falla's role as a central figure in 20th-century European culture and a benchmark of Spanish musical heritage, highlighting the importance of inter-institutional coordination for an event of this magnitude.
