Ernesto Halffter; Spanish Composer

Ernesto Halffter, 84, a Spanish composer who numbered among his works the popular ballet “Sonatina y Sinfonetta,” which premiered in Buenos Aires in 1929. At age 19, Halffter began his musical studies in Granada with Spanish composer Manuel de Falla. De Falla died in 1946 and Halffter completed his unfinished symphony “La Atlantidad,” which won critical acclaim at its premiere in Barcelona in 1961. In Madrid on Thursday of heart failure.