Antonio Jesus Molina: of Contemporary Music

FILIPINO COMPOSER Of Contemporary Music
ANTONIO Jesus
MOLINA
(26 December 1894 – 29 January 1980)
was a Filipino composer, conductor and
music administrator. He was named a
National Artist of the Philippines for his
services to music. He was also known as
the Claude Debussy of the Philippines due
to his use of impressionist themes in his
music.
ANTONIO MOLINA’s background
– Antonio Jesus Naguiat Molina was born on the 26th of
December, 1894, in Quiapo, Manila. He is the son of Juan
Molina, a customs inspector during the final years of the
Spanish regime, and Simeona Naguiat. Antonio Molina
was married to Pilar Siauingco with whom he had six
children - among them are: Rostia, a pianist; Exequiel
(Lito), a jazz artist and journalist; and, Antonio Maria,
Jr., a US-based conductor and composer.
– Antonio Sr.'s father founded the 22-piece Orquestra Molina, whose
members lived and rehearsed in the family residence. At 12, Antonio
Sr. could play the violin. The bandurria, mandolin, guitar, laud, bajo
de unas and octavina, and the cello all followed later.
– He received his Bachelor's degree in 1909 at the Colegio de San Juan
de Letran. Prior to that, he also went to the Escuela de Catolica de
Quiapo, where he began his first formal schooling. In 1919, he
enrolled at the University of the Philippines (UP) Conservatory of
Music. His teachers included Nicanor Abelardo and the
Conservatory Director, Robert Schofield. He obtained his teacher's
diploma in 1923. From 1922 to 1924, he concertised extensively in
Hanoi and other parts of Indo-China.
– He also taught at the UP Conservatory of Music and
then at the Centro Escolar University. He functioned
both as organizer and conductor of Philippine choral
and rondalla music groups wherein he was also actively
involved. He conducted the premiere of the Bach's
Christmas Oratorio on the 14th of December, 1947, the
first performance of Mozart's opera, Don Giovanni,
and the first television choral concert to be presented
in the Philippines.
COMPOSITIONS:
– Molina's first composition, "Matinal" (1912), is preserved in an

unpublished volume called Miniaturas, Vol. I. According to the
composer, they are called Miniaturas because they do not seem
to have arrived at a category of serious musical works. They are
merely combinations of melody and harmony conceived during a
moment of enthusiasm, passion, or humour, and later written
down. They are products of inspiration and instinct, and not of
technical studies in music. He then wrote a set of waltzes,
Lamentos de mi Patria (Laments of my Fatherland) in 1913, and
"Hatinggabi", his most famous violin piece (1915).
– His hundreds of compositions include a sarswela entitled "Ana
Maria", done while he was still in school. His most important
orchestral works are Misa Antoniana Grand Festival Mass (1964)
and Ang Batingaw (1972). Among his chamber music
compositions are Prelude and Romanz for cello and piano (1928)
and Bontok Rhapsody. Some of his piano works
are Malikmata (1939) and We Were Moonlight (1941). His major
works are composed of chamber music, choral, piano, violin,
theatre, voice and violoncello music. Many of his works still have
not been published.
FACTS about ANTONIO MOLINA:
– He was a concert soloist, composer and conductor in Hanoi, Vietnam.

– He taught harmony, composition, music history, and violoncello at
the UP Conservatory of Music.
– He was the first Filipino composer who was invited to perform at the
Malacanang Palace.
– He led the first Philippine performance of Bach’s Christmas
Oratorio. This was presented by both knoxx and Central Church
Choirs in 1947 as the first performance of Mozart’s opera, Don
Giovanni.
– He was remembered as the conductor of the first televised choral concert
which featured the Centro Escolar University Conservatory Chorus.
– One of the musical triumvirate, two of whom were Nicanor Abelardo and
Francisco Santiago, who elevated music beyond the realm of the folk
music.
– Molina is credited for introducing such innovations as the whole tone
scale, pentatonic scale, exuberance of dominant ninths and eleventh
cords, and linearcounterpoints.
– As a member of the faculty of the UP Conservatory, he had taught many
of the country’s leading musical personalities and educators like Lucresia
Kasilag and Felipe De Leon.
AWARDS:
– Antonio Molina received numerous awards such as the

Conductor of the Year Award (1953) from the Music Lovers'
Society, the UP Conservatory Alumni Award and the Phi Kappa
Beta Award (1972), among others. He was the first musician to
be conferred the National Artist Award (12th June, 1972).
– Antonio Molina, Sr. died on the
29th of January, 1980.

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FILIPINO COMPOSER Of Contemporary Music

– Molina's first composition, "Matinal" (1912), is preserved in an

– He was a concert soloist, composer and conductor in Hanoi, Vietnam.

– Antonio Molina received numerous awards such as the

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