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Spanish Music Collection For many, the Spanish classical canon begins with the music of Isaac Albeniz, composer and pianist of the titanic set of Spanish...

Spanish Music Collection

For many, the Spanish classical canon begins with the music of Isaac Albeniz, composer and pianist of the titanic set of Spanish impressions he titled Iberia. Though Spain produced many significant composers during the Renaissance and a handful in the Classical era, most found work in other countries, notably Italy. Spain imported many of its finest composers – such as Domenico Scarlatti – from Italy as well. However, the late 19th-century nationalist trends gave rise to Albeniz and Enrique Granados. Like Albeniz, Granados was a brilliant pianist. His ten Danzas Espanolas, published in Barcelona, became instantly successful. Inspired by the work of the great painter Francisco Goya, Granados produced the ambitious Goyescas, a mammoth piano suite that is regarded as the instrumental embodiment of the Spanish spirit. One of the important Spanish piano works was later made into an opera.

The Andalusian Joaquin Turina was one of the vanguard figures in the second generation of Spanish nationalism. His Sinfonia Sevilliana is a loving evocation of his native city, marked by buoyant rhythms and bright colors. Like Turina, fellow Andalusian Manuel de Falla spent several years studying in Paris, where he could count among his friends Debussy, Ravel and Dukas. The one-act El Amor Brujo was an early ballet success. His El Sombrero de Tres Picos (The Three-Cornered Hat) was a commission from the ballet impresario Serge Diaghilev and his Ballets Russe, with set design by Picasso. His innovative Harpsichord Concerto trades Spanish idioms for a more objective neo-classicism likely learned from his friend Stravinsky. Falla left Spain for good after Franco’s victory in the Spanish Civil War and died in Argentina.

Jesus Guridi was one of the principal musical exponents of Basque nationalism as evidenced in his songs, principally the Ten Basque Melodies. His large-scale Sinfonia Pirenaica captures the soul of the Pyrenees and combines symphonic logic with the descriptive nature of a tone poem. Fellow Basque Jesus Arrambarri was better known as a conductor though he composed a fine quantity of orchestral music. Padre Jose Antonio Donostia was one of the principal folksong collectors of the Basque region and composed a body of music as well, with some lovely piano miniatures. Though born in Spain, Julian Orbon is more associated with Cuba, where he made his home for a time. Joaquin Rodrigo has enriched Spanish music in particular through his concertos for guitar, compositions for which he is best known abroad. He spent the years of the Spanish civil war in Paris, where he studied, though his subsequent career principally centered on Madrid. Rodrigo’s fame rests with the beautiful Concierto de Aranjuez, for guitar and orchestra, from 1939, followed in popularity by his Fantasia para un gentilhombre, written for Andres Segovia. He composed several guitar concertos, concertos for other solo instruments and numerous works, all in an accessible style that has remained consistent throughout his career. A great variety of works by Lorenzo Palomo, Joaquin Serra, Andres Isasi and Rodolfo Hallfter round out this celebration of Spanish music.

- Sean Hickey

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