# Prelude of España - Isaac Albéniz



## rubanetti

Another prelude, but this time of the Suite for piano España, of Isaac Albéniz. I hope you like my performance, enjoy:

http://rubanetti.wordpress.com/2010/05/19/preludio-suite-espana-isaac-albeniz/ (in Spanish)

or in youtube:






Regards


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## TWhite

rubanetti: 

Lovely performance, IMO. I'm a great fan of the piano music of Albeniz, and you certainly have a feel for the contours and rhythms. And having played a lot of Albeniz myself, his music is far from easy--it takes a great deal of concentration for rhythmic and lyric balance. 

I might suggest that you take a look at "Evocacion" from his monumental "Iberia" Suite. You seem to have the 'touch' that would do it justice. It's a gorgeous work and well worth learning. 

Again, VERY nice performance!

Tom


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## rubanetti

TWhite said:


> rubanetti:
> 
> Lovely performance, IMO. I'm a great fan of the piano music of Albeniz, and you certainly have a feel for the contours and rhythms. And having played a lot of Albeniz myself, his music is far from easy--it takes a great deal of concentration for rhythmic and lyric balance.
> 
> I might suggest that you take a look at "Evocacion" from his monumental "Iberia" Suite. You seem to have the 'touch' that would do it justice. It's a gorgeous work and well worth learning.
> 
> Again, VERY nice performance!
> 
> Tom


Thanks you so much for you comment Tom, you have cheer myself up. I dont consider myself a great pianist but feel that i can play Albeniz and that people like my performance of his work its a enough reward.

Thanks you so much and i will take note of your suggestion and i will try to satisfy it. Thanks again


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## chrisg

isaac Albeniz to me is quite simply underplayed by many pianists. His Iberia suite is sublime. Have you heard the same pieces played on the guitar? I'm at a loss whether the piano pieces are better or the guitar performances. 

In addition to Albeniz, Joaquín Rodrigo with his ever popular Concerto de arajuez is certainly another Spanish composer to source.


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## TWhite

chrisg said:


> isaac Albeniz to me is quite simply underplayed by many pianists. His Iberia suite is sublime. Have you heard the same pieces played on the guitar? I'm at a loss whether the piano pieces are better or the guitar performances.
> 
> In addition to Albeniz, Joaquín Rodrigo with his ever popular Concerto de arajuez is certainly another Spanish composer to source.


Chris--you bring up a very interesting point. Much of Albeniz piano music translates very gratefully to the guitar because of the nature of the music itself. Years ago I had a very close friend that was an extremely accomplished classical guitarist and loved Albeniz. In fact, it was his guitar performances of Albeniz' works that got me interested in the piano originals.

I remember falling in love with "Iberia" and deciding to tackle some of the pieces (and believe me, 'tackling' is exactly what I had to do--they're HORRENDOUSLY difficult for the most part). Rob was listening to me working on "El Albaicin" and wondered if it might transcribe for guitar. I showed him the music, he shook his head and said, "Not a chance."

But the earlier Albeniz works take very gratefully to the instrument, IMO. I think that in a lot of them, Albeniz was consciously thinking of the piano imitating a guitar.

He's a wonderful composer, IMO. And I think that "Iberia" is one of the really MONUMENTAL 20th Century piano works. And though I love delaRoccha's performance of the suite (both the earlier and later London recording), I think it's too bad that more pianists aren't attracted to it.

Tom


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## rubanetti

I have the same opinion with all of you, Albeniz is a great composer, and one of the most difficult to play. Im Spanish, and in Spain Albeniz is consider a great composer, maybe the best Spanish composer (of course it depends of who talk about it). 

Its logical that all his music sound like guitars, because most of his music is inspired in popular songs or regional dances inside Spain, for example you can found "Jotas" from Aragon, or sevillanas. Most of this regional dances are played with guitars, and Albeniz has a good taste to bring that "guitar" music to the piano. For example in the Iberia suite the "Corpus in Sevilla" Book 1 has the melody of a popular song called "La tarara". 

I saw a good documental about Albeniz that said that "Albeniz is the only one who could internationalize the Spanish music".


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## TWhite

rubanetti: 

I would definitely put Albeniz as one of the greatest Spanish composers--he, Granados and Falla were pretty much responsible for putting Spanish music 'on' the Musical Map, as it were, in the early 20th Century. 

I've played "El Corpus en Sevilla", though it was some years back when I was working on about five pieces from "Iberia". Horrendously difficult, and it stretches the very limits of the piano, at least in my opinion. But very rewarding once you get it under your fingers. 

I'm curious about that melody "La Tarara" used in the piece. Is it the march tune that begins the work, or the "Saeta" that is stated by the left hand during those two huge climaxes? I'm curious about that. Depending on which critic one reads, Albeniz either only 'approximated' Spanish folk-tunes in his music, or quoted them exactly. Myself, I would think that--considering the wealth of melodic material in the entire suite--that he occasionally quoted actual Spanish folk tunes. 

But 'quoting' or not, "Iberia" to me seems to contain the very soul of Spanish music. It's a fascinating work--I've never heard anything quite like it in piano music before or since. 

I was very interested to hear that Alicia delaRoccha suggested that in order to approach the pianistic style used in "Iberia" that it helped to play a lot of Scarlatti. I did't think about that until I worked on several Scarlatti Sonatas. The music is of course very different, but the pianistic approach was VERY similar--especiallly in some passages where Albeniz requires one hand to be literally 'on top' of the other to delineate the melodic line. 

Tom


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## rubanetti

La Tarara is very popular, my grandma sang to me since i have memory. Here is the Federico Lorca version of this popular song:






Of course Albeniz did not use the melody exactly and make some variations, but is perfectly recognizable.

Alicia Larrocha is the best player for Albeniz music, is impresionant. You have played the Lavapies piece of the Iberia suite? I think that piece is still more difficult than the Corpus. I love Iberia music 

In Scarlatti is more difficult to listen the spanish rythms, but of course that there are. Also is different about the age, in the XVIII century the spanish popular music was not well consider by the kings and his court, and all had to be done in the French way, also the music.

There is another composer from that century, Antonio Soler, who use more "popular" music than Scarlatti, i recommend you to listen the Fandango and some of his more than 200 keyboard sonatas, especially the one in D flat minor.

Rubanetti


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## TWhite

Rubanetti: 

Ah, now I know how Albeniz used "La Tarara" in "El Corpus"--it's part of that quixotic march tune that begins the piece. Thanks for the link (and thanks for letting me hear it by Teresa Berganza--one of my very favorite Mezzo-sopranos). 

Though I worked a little on "Lavapies", it turned out to be extremely difficult to bring out the themes, which are pretty much buried in the cross-hand chords. I love the central section, though. 

Actually, the pieces I learned from "Iberia" up to performing standards were "Evocacion" "El Corpus", "Rondena", "Almeria" and my very favorite: "El Albaicin." All of them are marvelous works--though they're all difficult, I'd say that "Almeria" lies the most gratefully for the hand. "Rondena" is enormously exciting (and witty) with the alternation of 3/4 and 6/8 metres--and again, the difficulty is picking out the melodic line, which is often buried in the middle of the chords. However, the central "Copla" section is absolutely gorgeous, IMO. But for me, "El Albaicin" is the crown jewel of the pieces I learned--I've never played anything quite like it in my life. Just an astonishingly original piano work. Definitely not easy, and the central section requires enormous power, but it's one of those pieces that you can't help but learn, once you get started on it. Even Debussy said of "El Albaicin" that there was nothing like it in piano music. I tend to agree. 

"Iberia" is just incredible. I never get tired of hearing it. Actually, I'm re-learning several of the pieces right now--I don't know why I ever let them get out from under my fingers. 

Oh, and Soler: Yes, I'm very familiar with the "Fandango" and several of his Sonatas. The "Fandango" was a favorite of a female harpsichord player I knew for many years--a very intriguing piece. I tried it on the piano, but I was so used to it on the harpsichord (where it really 'dances'), that I never learned it to performance standard. It's a great piece, though. Very exciting. 

Tom


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