Isaac Albéniz
Isaac Albéniz is best known for piano music that brilliantly evokes the spirit of Spain. As a composer-virtuoso, Albéniz successfully melded composition and performance to create a bravura style reminiscent of the music of Liszt and seasoned with Spanish folk idioms. The work that most convincingly represents this synthesis of virtuosity and tradition is the enchantingly colorful and atmospheric Iberia, a suite of 12 pieces recalling Spanish (particularly Andalusian) places and dances. Albéniz used folklore as his inspiration, but created a singular melodic style that eventually influenced Debussy and Ravel. Believing that artistic originality and an interest in one's national musical tradition do not exclude each other, Albéniz likewise was largely the creator of the Spanish musical idiom that would be adopted and developed by Granados and de Falla.
Born in 1860, the child prodigy Albéniz was accepted, at the age of seven, as a private pupil by Antoine-François Marmontel, the celebrated piano pedagogue whose students included Bizet and Debussy. Back in Spain within a year, he gave a concert tour and eventually entered the Madrid Conservatory. He soon ran away, concertized around Spain, and in 1872 stowed away on a ship sailing for Latin America. Upon his return to Europe the following year, he entered the Leipzig Conservatory, where he briefly studied with Carl Reinecke. Soon thereafter, a patron enabled him to enter Brussels Conservatory to study piano and composition. Albéniz won the conservatory's first prize in 1879; the following year, he obtained an audience with Franz Liszt in Budapest; he joined the master's entourage for a spell and continued to work on his technique as a pianist. After more wandering through Europe and South America, he settled in Barcelona in 1883, married, and started a family. By that time, he already had a reputation as a composer of brilliant salon music for the piano. Many of these pieces are just as frequently played on guitar by modern performers. Selections from the Suite Española No. 1, Op. 47, written between 1882 and 1889, continue to charm and appear often on classical greatest-hits collections. They also demonstrate his nascent appreciation for Spanish folk music. Around 1890, he met Felipe Pedrell, a prominent musicologist, composer, and collector of folk songs. Following the encounter with Pedrell, Albéniz re-examined his work as a composer, deciding to seek new inspiration in the rich musical traditions of Spain. Not yet satisfied with his craftsmanship, Albéniz moved to Paris to study with Paul Dukas and Vincent d'Indy. The restless Albéniz somehow hung on to a job teaching piano at Paris' Schola Cantorum from 1893 to 1900; then he undertook further peregrinations while working on his masterpiece, Iberia. An immensely popular work, Iberia has also been transcribed for orchestra; successful orchestral versions include Leopold Stokowski's "Fête-Dieu à Seville." Another work which gained wide popularity as an orchestral transcription is the "Tango in D" from the 1890 España for piano, Op. 165. Albéniz also wrote for the stage; his lyric comedy Pepita Jiménez and several other works were produced in the 1890s. He died in 1909.
© TiVo Staff /TiVo
Artistas similares
-
Spanish Music for Piano
Clásica - Editado por Claves Records el 1 ene. 1986
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Suite Española
Clásica - Editado por Piros Comercial Digital el 31 may. 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Grandes Compositores Clásicos Españoles, Vol. 5
José Luis Sanchez, Pedro Solano
Clásica - Editado por Piros - ISdigital el 6 ene. 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
La tradizione chitarristica spagnola
Clásica - Editado por Urania el 1 ene. 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
"España" y otras piezas para piano, Albéniz
Clásica - Editado por ClassicalPirosDigital el 30 nov. 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Classical Guitar
Clásica - Editado por Classic Records el 10 may. 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Isaac Albeniz, Música Clásica Española
Orquesta Lírica de Barcelona, Kena Kyriakou
Clásica - Editado por Piros - Send el 10 nov. 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Concierto de Aranjuez para Guitarra y Orquesta
Clásica - Editado por 2014 Codex el 1 sept. 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Embrujo Clásico
Clásica - Editado por JamadaDigital el 22 feb. 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Grandi Pianisti Alicia de Larrocha
Alicia de Larrocha, Isaac Albéniz, Manuel de Falla
Clásica - Editado por UME - Global Clearing House el 14 may. 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Embrujo Clásico, Grandes Compositores Españoles
Clásica - Editado por JamadaClassics el 15 sept. 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Best Of The Classics Volume 3
Philharmonic Wind Orchestra, Marc Reift
Clásica - Editado por Marcophon el 11 jul. 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Albeniz: The French Connection
Música vocal (profana y sacra) - Editado por Klassic Cat el 10 abr. 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Albéniz, Grandes Compositores Clásicos Españoles
Clásica - Editado por Piros - ISdigital el 10 dic. 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Iberia Suite Triana
Isaac Albéniz, Alexander Scriabin, Sir Eugene Goossens, Philharmonia Orchestra
Clásica - Editado por Vintage Jukebox el 30 jun. 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Clásicos Inolvidables Vol. 44, Música Española
Clásica - Editado por ADAGIO el 12 dic. 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Preludio
Clásica - Editado por L'espai Records - Contraseña S.L. el 6 dic. 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Albéniz: Suite Española, Op.47
Isaac Albéniz, Niagara Falls Piano Classic Philharmonic
Clásica - Editado por Pastel Records Canada el 1 jul. 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Granada
Isaac Albéniz, Andrea González Caballero
World music - Editado por AGECYmusic el 28 jul. 2023
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo