Granados: Goyescas - El pelele

Chronique

The Goyescas of Enrique Granados are a suite of six pieces plus a seventh of similar inspiration, El pelele, that is often performed with the set (as here by pianist Javier Perianes). These are technically difficult pieces, surely among the heights of the Spanish piano repertory. The Goyescas were inspired by the art of Francisco Goya, but only two works -- the tenebrous "El amor y la muerte" and El pelele -- can be traced to specific Goya works. Both the performance by Javier Perianes and the excellent notes by Claire Fraysse illuminate why this is not the problem it might seem. Goya's paintings captured a whole milieu, forming a picture of what might be called hip Madrid society around 1800; both Goya and Granados, in Fraysse's works, were fin-de-siècle artists. Granados' pieces also have a stream-of-consciousness quality, seeming to tell a story even when the story is not there. It is this quality that is captured in Perianes' playing, which is not only technically confident but also moves forward as if animated by buried thoughts. Sample the second Goyesca, "Coloquio en la reja," which has the flavor of a conversation at the window, even if one does not know what is being talked about. If it wasn't based on an actual Goya painting, it could have been, as it were. Perianes is brilliant when he needs to be, but it is the small subtleties that put this performance across. There are plenty of performances of the Goyescas, many of them Spanish, going back to that of Alicia de Larrocha, but this one has what it takes to stand out.

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