Spanish composer - one of the great pianists of his time - and one of the few composers to die as a direct result of warfare.
The passenger ship he was on - the Sussex - was torpedoed by a German U-boat in the English Channel in 1916 while Granados and his wife, Amparo, were returning from the U.S. - where his opera Goyescas was being premiered in New York, and where he had personally performed on piano for President Wilson. The ship did not sink; however, many passengers were tossed into the ocean from the explosion, including Granados' wife - he attempted to rescue her, and both drowned.
(https://anchaesmicasa.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/enriquegranadosamparo.jpg?w=640)
From The New Grove:
. . . relatively few of his 140-odd works were published or performed regularly in his lifetime. A comprehensive view of his work has been hampered by the prevailing but misconceived tendency to divide his music into three compositional periods – known, misleadingly, as the 'Nationalistic', the 'Romantic' and the 'Goyesque' – with a disproportionate emphasis on his Goyescas. Sadly, the greater part of his diverse and extensive output remains obscure and unpublished and, as yet, no detailed study has been made of his life.
New York Times critic R.D. Darrell stated:
One genuine atrocity of the First World War was the wanton U-boat torpedoing - without warning at 3 p.m., 24 March 1916 - of the French steamship Sussex plying its way cross-channel from Folkstone to Dieppe, with some 350 passengers. The Sussex itself managed to stay afloat although its bow had been blown off, but its passengers and crew were forced to abandon ship. There were at least 80 casualties - a tragic loss even in wartime, but incalcuably costly to the world of music. For among those drowned, in a vain effort to save his wife, and only a few months short of his 49th birthday, was one of Spain's greatest composers, Enrique Granados.
Señor and Señora Granados had been on their way home to Barcelona (and their six children) from an American trip to attend the premiere of his short opera, Goyescas, at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City, 28 January 1916. And their traged was given an Appointment in Samarra poignance by the ironic fact that the couple's original travel plans (which would have brought them across the channel at an earlier date) were changed at the last minute to accept an invitation to a White House reception.
Born Pantelon Enrique Granados y Campina, 27 July 1867, in Lerida, Catalonia, Granados displayed early musical interests and pianistic skills. He studied with several teachers in Barcelona and later with De Beriot in Paris, but the major influence was undoubtedly that exerted by Felip Pedrell, with whom he studied composition for three years. Composer, folklorist, and writer, Pedrell was primarily responsible for the renaissance of Spanish music towards the end of the 19th century - a renaissance to which he not only contributed many of his own varied creations but largely inspired the now widely known creations of an extraordinary triumvirate of pupils. Isaac Albeniz, Enrique Granados (seven years Albeniz's junior), and Manuel de Falla (nine years Granados' junior).
Although Granados wrote several tarzuela-like operas (Goyescas was the last of a series begun with Maria del Carmen in 1898), as well as a number of orchestral and chamber works, he was seldom at his best in the larger forms. What apparently was a spellbinding personality (which won him many close friends even among rival pianists) and patently was a magically imaginative improvisatory genius found their fullest expression in relatively short, lyrical compositions for piano and for solo voice with piano accompaniment. Of the former, the set of 12 Danzas Españolas (1893) is the best known internationally - indeed the popularity of one of these (no. 5 in F minor, subtitled Payera or Andaluza) often has tended to obscure, for the general public, not only its no-less engaging companions but all the rest of Granados' output. His songs (Canciones Amatorias and Tonadillas "in the olden style") have been slower to win world renown but in recent years they too have begun to command widespread admiration, particularly in recorded performance by Montserrat Caballe.
The consensus of critical opinion, outside as well as inside Spain, ranks as preeminent among all Granados' compositions - as quintessentially "Spanish," indeed, as Albinez's masterpiece, Iberia - the piano suite bearing the same name as his last opera, Goyescas. In each case the music is basically the same, too, but unlike the usual sequence in which opera excerpts are later arranged as piano solos, Granados wrote his piano pieces first. It was only later that he arranged them to form a one-act, three-scene stage work for which a text had to be laboriously fitted (by Fernando Periquet.) Probably the awkward nature of this procedure partially accounts for the fact that, whereas the piano suite quickly won critical admiration and that of the public, the opera has never enjoyed such status outside of Spain.
Granados himself has eloquently stated his purpose: to give "a personal note, a mixture of bitterness and grace, to rhythm, color and life that are typically Spanish: and a sentiment suddenly amorous and passionate, dramatic and tragic, such as is seen in the works of Goya."
Chamber Orchestral
=========================== ======================================
Intermezzo (from Goyescas) La nit del mort, desolacío poema after A. Mestres, 1898
Escena religiosa, for violin, organ, piano, and timbales, H.53 Marcha de los vencidos, 1899
Trio for Violin, Cello, and Piano, Op.50, H.140, 1894 Suite sobre cantos gallegos, 1899
Romanza for Violin and Piano, H.115 Boires baixes, sym. poem after Roviralta, c1901
Violin Sonata, H.127 Dante, sym. poem after Dante: La divina commedia, 1908
Quintet for Piano and Strings in G-, Op.49, H.112, 1895 Suite de navidad: Final, piano, chamber orch, 1914–15
Spanish dance (unspecified) Intermezzo, 1916 [from the opera Goyescas]
Danza Espaqola No.6, for guitar
Valses Poeticos (complete), for guitar
Madrigal, for cello and piano
Danza gallega, for cello and piano
Trova, for cello and piano
3 Preludios for Violin and Piano, H.135
Piano
=================================================================
A la antigua; Bourrée, H.1
A la cubana, Op.36, H.2
A la pradera, Op.35, H.3
Album: Paris, 1888 (40 pieces, some incomplete), H.4
Allegro appassionata, H.5
Allegro de concierto in C, Op.46, H.6, DLR 5:8
Andalucía-Petenera, DLR 3:6
Apariciones: Valses románticos, DLR 7:5
Aparición, H.10, DLR 3:18
Arabesca, H.11
Barcarola, Op.45, H.14
Bocetos: Colección de 4 obras fáciles, H.16
Canción morisca, H.22
Canto del pescador, DLR 3:8
Capricho español, Op.39, H.30
Carezza (Waltz), Op.38, H.31
Cartas de amor: 4 Valses íntimos, Op.44, H.32
Clothilde (Mazurka) H.35
Cuentos de la juventud ('Scenes of Childhood'), Op.1
Dans le bois, DLR 3:11
Danza característica, H.41
Danza lenta, Op.37, H.44
Dolora in A-, H.48
El jardí d'Elisenda (arr. from vocal suite 'Elisenda'), H.75
Elvira (Mazurka), H.51
En la aldea ('In the Village'; 7 Pieces in 2 Books), H.52
7 Escenas infantiles ('7 Childhood Scenes'), H.54
Escenas poéticas, Series 1, H.55
Escenas poéticas, Series 2, H.56
6 Escenas románticas, H.57, DLR 5:7
Estudio (Andantino espressivo), H.58
Estudios Expresivos (Expressive Studies), H.124
7 Estudios
Exquise (Gypsy Waltz), H 59, DLR 7:7
Exquise, H.59
Fantasia: Cheherezada
Goyescas (Serenata goyesca; Dusk), H.63
Goyescas, H.64, DLR 2:4
Illusory Serenade
Impromptu, Op.39, H.70
2 Impromptus, H.144
Improvisation on Themes of 12 Spanish Dances
Jácara, Op.14, H.74
Intermezzo, for orchestra (arrangement from Goyescas), H. 71
Galante: Allegro, for piano
Fandango: Energico, for piano
Andaluza: Andantino, quasi allegretto, for piano
Arabesca: Largo a piaacer, for piano
Bolero: Andante, for piano
El Pelele, for piano
L'Himne dels morts, H.67
La Berceuse, DLR 3:9
La góndola: Escena poética, DLR 3:25
La sirena (Waltz) H.123
Libro de horas (Book of Hours), H.77
Los soldados de cartón (March), H.126
Marcha Militares, H.82
Marcha real (arr. of Spanish national anthem), DLR 3:22
María del Carmen, (tran. of a recording by Granados), H.84
Mazurka (alla polacca) in Eb, H.87
Mazurka in A-, H.86
4 Melodías, DLR 3:10
2 Military Marches, H.145
Minuetto, for pedal piano, H.92, DLR 3:17
Moresque y canción árabe, H.95
Oriental: canción variada, intermedio, y final, H.101
Paisaje, H.104
Parranda-Murcia, DLR 1:4
Pastoral, DLR 3:12
Países soñados: palacio encantado en el mar, leyenda, DLR 5:9
Piano Sonata in A (trans. of F. Courcelle), DLR 6:1
Piano Sonata in E (trans. of work attributed to D. Scarlatti), DLR 6:1
24 Piano Sonatas (after D.Scarlatti), H.143
6 Pieces Based on Spanish Folksongs, H.125, DLR 5:2
Preludio in D
Rapsodia aragonesa, H.113
Rêverie-improvisation, H.114
Sardana H.118
Serenata, DLR 3:20
24 Sonatas (transcriptions of D. Scarlatti), H.143, DLR 6:1
12 Spanish Dances, Op.37, H.142
Valse de concert, Op.35, H.146
7 Valses poéticos, H.147, DLR 7:8
Valses sentimentales (Sentimental Waltzes), DLR 8:4.1-10
Villanesca: Allegretto, alla pastorale, for piano
Rondella Aragonesa: Allegretto, poco a poco accelerando, for piano
Valenciana: Allegro arioso, for piano
Romántica: Molto allegro brillante, for piano
Melancólica: Allegretto, for piano
(https://s31.postimg.org/u2n6sbyvf/icult_granados_1458725773562.jpg)
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91GmMzYIv8L._SX522_.jpg)
[asin]B01AH77EB8[/asin]
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81yeiAfxJIL._SX466_.jpg)
[asin]B01EO0YB38[/asin]
Unfortunately, this is a reconstruction from a sketch, only the first nine pages of which are "complete" and that is for the first movement. The other two movements are made from other piano pieces. It's nice to listen to - but authentic it ain't. :-\
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81r0xoWn8hL._SX522_.jpg)
[asin]B00UART3JC[/asin]
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/8172fAVYb2L._SX522_.jpg)
[asin]B0172MIDOS[/asin]
(https://s31.postimg.org/g17zencvv/songs_Granados.jpg)
^ click to enlarge
Quote from: Scion7 on July 03, 2016, 02:48:25 AM
(https://s31.postimg.org/g17zencvv/songs_Granados.jpg)
^ click to enlarge
Margaret Price did also a songs CD on the Orfeo label, with half of it devoted to Granados. It is one of my all time favorite.
(https://s32.postimg.org/yv4edawrp/MHS_piano_Works.jpg)
^ click to enlarge
Turnabout vinyl LP. Anyone have this?
(https://img.discogs.com/fIpxi8BGsBwX5yyfGwVujMEDBJI=/fit-in/600x594/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-5372586-1391768530-8188.jpeg.jpg)
[asin]B00A4SFLBG[/asin]
the piano quintet:
[asin]B00000HZWR[/asin]
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51F2s04qlrL.jpg)
[asin]B00005A8EH[/asin]
This release features expansion on the Violin Sonata - they found the 2nd movement, and fleshed out the short sketches for the 3rd & 4th movements:
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71BfecXreLL._SX522_.jpg)
[asin]B018UPN0GM[/asin]
^ How's that for a pretentious pose? :P
For the Piano Trio and the Piano Quintet there is also this:
[asin]B0037TTQCO[/asin]
[asin]B000MV98DW[/asin]
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81fzfDqHiiL._SX522_.jpg)
(https://s32.postimg.org/mfs0dbvt1/CRD_Granados.jpg)[asin]B0000044EX[/asin]
Other chamber pieces, such as:
Oriental, oboe, string qt, lost
Melodía, violin, piano, c1903, lost
Andante, violin, piano, lost
- we won't be able to enjoy. :-X
This one is, of course, on M.I.'s short-desert-island-discs list!
[asin]B000FOPPYM[/asin]
more stuff:
[asin]B000001K3M[/asin]
The only completed part of the sonata was the first movement, which this release reflects:
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81xTK60eluL._SX522_.jpg)
[asin]B002TMLRRM[/asin]
Another take of the Piano Trio:
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71wvJRyhMEL._SL1600_.jpg) [asin]B0000041KN[/asin]
Quote from: Spineur on July 03, 2016, 02:57:07 AM
Margaret Price did also a songs CD on the Orfeo label, with half of it devoted to Granados. It is one of my all time favorite.
(https://images-eu.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51-p-RBOtTL._SL500_AA300_.jpg)
This? Still at Amazon UK - used.
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51x8UuVygYL.jpg)
[asin]B00005JJ47[/asin]
(http://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_500/MI0003/955/MI0003955511.jpg?partner=allrovi.com)
[asin]B011VX0O4G[/asin]
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51Kt22Ve%2BHL.jpg)
[asin]B00009VGVQ[/asin]
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51a1qAmQoNL.jpg)
[asin]B00000FY9P[/asin]
(http://s33.postimg.org/qsc5dwqwv/Piano_Music2_Back.jpg)
[asin]B000031WH4[/asin]
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71X-gFTnKaL._SX425_.jpg)
[asin]B00004TQOV[/asin]
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71uPBSxbVGL._SX425_.jpg)
[asin]B0000542H3[/asin]
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71q9GhY47ZL._SX425_.jpg)
[asin]B00005QISM[/asin]
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71uZ4aJoYNL._SX425_.jpg)
[asin]B00007FKQF[/asin]
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71SflstsxJL._SX425_.jpg)
[asin]B000260QE2[/asin]
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71im5TYMXyL._SX425_.jpg)
[asin]B0007ORDU4[/asin]
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81ZHFIHx3VL._SX425_.jpg)
[asin]B000SKJQUC[/asin]
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51j+ng6wTvL._SL1600_.jpg)
[asin]B000003F01[/asin]
Anyone else prefer the chamber pieces and the orchestral works over the solo piano music by this composer? :blank:
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51EyZAN5QDL._SX425_.jpg)
[asin]B000003FX1[/asin]
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51tU2G0q3FL._SX425_.jpg)
[asin]B0011YJORO[/asin]
Quote from: Scion7 on July 03, 2016, 05:39:10 PM
Anyone else prefer the chamber pieces and the orchestral works over the solo piano music by this composer? :blank:
I like his chamber pieces and the solo piano best. The orchestral works, Goyescas play on local colors a lot, which I tend to get tired off after a while.
Thanks for this thread. I did not know that he and his wife were WWII victims.
World War I.
1916, ye know. :)
Well, he's a secondary composer and all that - I like to fill in info on people like this for the SSMS - Scion Sunday Morning Seminars - before I do the usual Sunday bit around town with friends and my Hungarian nurse-hottie. :P
(http://s33.postimg.org/45hv0mwqn/LP_Turnabout.jpg)
(https://img.discogs.com/5qDfJRya6AoiWGCl15xWn0J87mA=/fit-in/546x546/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-5135002-1401992549-6632.jpeg.jpg)
' Mechanical piano transcriptions made of turn-of the-Century pianist's using Edwin Welte's 1904 piano music reproduction system. Sony / Superscope sponsored audiophile recordings of these performances "almost 70 years later" resulting in this series of releases on vinyl and consumer reel to reel in the early 1970's '
(http://s32.postimg.org/5wt65fmkl/private_LP_issue_Granados.jpg)
Chopin, and Granados "Valse poeticos."
Great composition by Granados and fine performance by Orchestra Gran Canaria. The sound quality is better than Naxos.
(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/411QIEC0wTL._SY425_.jpg)
I've been waiting to listen to Kun-Woo Paik's recording of Goyescas. I keep hoping it will be available for legitimate download in the US, but so far that has not occurred. I did find a download store out of Montenegro that allows unlimited downloads for thirty days for just over twenty Euros, but I do not feel like providing my credit card info. So I decided to stream the recording.
Apparently, Paik has long wanted to record this piece, and it kind of shows. This is a long, slow take. Using Alicia de Larrocha's Hispavox recording as a benchmark, Paik is slower in every movement, by a minimum of around thirty seconds at the low end, and over two minutes at the high end. The whole thing comes in at about sixty-three minutes. What does one get in such a slow recording? Lavish attention to detail, that's what. That, and a wonderful languidness. Well, those things, and lovely tone and exaggerated dynamics due to the close recording. Everything is on display in Los requiebros, where Paik sort of lets the right hand briefly meander, and he delivers some very guitar like playing, albeit it slowly. El fandango de candil, clocking in at over seven minutes, sounds languid and heavy and sluggish – and feels just right. But it is the thirteen-and-a-half minute El Amor y la Muerte that serves as the centerpiece itself. Paik starts with left hand playing so heavy and thick it almost approximates an organ. The pulse of the music nearly dies, which seems appropriate, as it grimly yet beautifully and at times tenderly proceeds through to the exhausted coda. The dark yet bright, serious yet comical, slow (over eight-and-a-half minutes) yet never sluggish Epilogo sounds just right. To cap things off, Paik ups the energy, rhythmic elan, and tonal brightness in a most satisfactory El pelele.
This recording is so good that I will hunt down a copy to own, in some format, and it may even require a full shoot-out with the heavy hitters to determine the best recording ever. People less susceptible to Paik's magic may be less enthusiastic.
(And I not at all secretly hope that Arcadi Volodos, who has spent many years in Spain, takes up this work because, well, because.)
Quote from: Todd on February 02, 2023, 12:17:36 PM(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/411QIEC0wTL._SY425_.jpg)
I've been waiting to listen to Kun-Woo Paik's recording of Goyescas. I keep hoping it will be available for legitimate download in the US, but so far that has not occurred. I did find a download store out of Montenegro that allows unlimited downloads for thirty days for just over twenty Euros, but I do not feel like providing my credit card info. So I decided to stream the recording.
Apparently, Paik has long wanted to record this piece, and it kind of shows. This is a long, slow take. Using Alicia de Larrocha's Hispavox recording as a benchmark, Paik is slower in every movement, by a minimum of around thirty seconds at the low end, and over two minutes at the high end. The whole thing comes in at about sixty-three minutes. What does one get in such a slow recording? Lavish attention to detail, that's what. That, and a wonderful languidness. Well, those things, and lovely tone and exaggerated dynamics due to the close recording. Everything is on display in Los requiebros, where Paik sort of lets the right hand briefly meander, and he delivers some very guitar like playing, albeit it slowly. El fandango de candil, clocking in at over seven minutes, sounds languid and heavy and sluggish – and feels just right. But it is the thirteen-and-a-half minute El Amor y la Muerte that serves as the centerpiece itself. Paik starts with left hand playing so heavy and thick it almost approximates an organ. The pulse of the music nearly dies, which seems appropriate, as it grimly yet beautifully and at times tenderly proceeds through to the exhausted coda. The dark yet bright, serious yet comical, slow (over eight-and-a-half minutes) yet never sluggish Epilogo sounds just right. To cap things off, Paik ups the energy, rhythmic elan, and tonal brightness in a most satisfactory El pelele.
This recording is so good that I will hunt down a copy to own, in some format, and it may even require a full shoot-out with the heavy hitters to determine the best recording ever. People less susceptible to Paik's magic may be less enthusiastic.
(And I not at all secretly hope that Arcadi Volodos, who has spent many years in Spain, takes up this work because, well, because.)
Nice review, todd!
Any recommendations for Granados piano music?
I see this set here, which seems to be a very good price at Presto right now.
(https://d1iiivw74516uk.cloudfront.net/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJwcmVzdG8tY292ZXItaW1hZ2VzIiwia2V5IjoiNzk2MDk5MC4xLmpwZyIsImVkaXRzIjp7InJlc2l6ZSI6eyJ3aWR0aCI6OTAwfSwianBlZyI6eyJxdWFsaXR5Ijo2NX0sInRvRm9ybWF0IjoianBlZyJ9LCJ0aW1lc3RhbXAiOjE0NDQzMTQwMzh9)
Outside of this, it would be nice if Naxos considers a slim box set of the Douglas Riva piano music. I think there is at least 10 volumes, but I could be slightly off.
Try other recordings. I personally recommend Luis Galve, Emili Brugalla, and the first Larrocha in the 1950s. Thomas Rajna is not bad.
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RXA1f3xwJ8o/UYOS5QhSN6I/AAAAAAAAcOk/1p9ywkpTaxs/s1600/LUIS+GALVE-CD-DANZAS+ESPA%C3%91OLAS+(GRANADOS)+2011_400x400.jpg)
PS. Also 2nd Larrocha from EMI, not Decca.
(https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/irQAAOSw3ShgaP3R/s-l500.jpg)
(https://www.eloquenceclassics.com/files/2017/05/4821546_Larrocha_TheFirstRecordings_master.jpg)
Quote from: Franco_Manitobain on April 23, 2023, 09:48:00 AMAny recommendations for Granados piano music?
I see this set here, which seems to be a very good price at Presto right now.
(https://d1iiivw74516uk.cloudfront.net/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJwcmVzdG8tY292ZXItaW1hZ2VzIiwia2V5IjoiNzk2MDk5MC4xLmpwZyIsImVkaXRzIjp7InJlc2l6ZSI6eyJ3aWR0aCI6OTAwfSwianBlZyI6eyJxdWFsaXR5Ijo2NX0sInRvRm9ybWF0IjoianBlZyJ9LCJ0aW1lc3RhbXAiOjE0NDQzMTQwMzh9)
Outside of this, it would be nice if Naxos considers a slim box set of the Douglas Riva piano music. I think there is at least 10 volumes, but I could be slightly off.
I don't have the Martin Jones set but it should be very good, he's ideally suited to the repertoire (I have his Albeniz and Turina selection sets).
I have the Riva et al. individual discs (seven) and the Thomas Rajna box on Brilliant (six discs) and I love them both.
Anyone familiar with this disc? Recommendable?
(https://d1iiivw74516uk.cloudfront.net/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJwcmVzdG8tY292ZXItaW1hZ2VzIiwia2V5IjoiNzk1MDg4NS4xLmpwZyIsImVkaXRzIjp7InJlc2l6ZSI6eyJ3aWR0aCI6OTAwfSwianBlZyI6eyJxdWFsaXR5Ijo2NX0sInRvRm9ybWF0IjoianBlZyJ9LCJ0aW1lc3RhbXAiOjE0MDE5ODI1NTd9)
Nice guitar arrangement that popped up in my Facebook feed this morning
Quote from: Franco_Manitobain on April 26, 2023, 05:14:01 AMAnyone familiar with this disc? Recommendable?
(https://d1iiivw74516uk.cloudfront.net/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJwcmVzdG8tY292ZXItaW1hZ2VzIiwia2V5IjoiNzk1MDg4NS4xLmpwZyIsImVkaXRzIjp7InJlc2l6ZSI6eyJ3aWR0aCI6OTAwfSwianBlZyI6eyJxdWFsaXR5Ijo2NX0sInRvRm9ybWF0IjoianBlZyJ9LCJ0aW1lc3RhbXAiOjE0MDE5ODI1NTd9)
I recommend it. However an equivalent album (and de Falla album) by Igor Markevitch should be acquired first imo.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nCL_gAmDFL9eu6vxq5j9jMau9ywaQyFSk
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nOl2v449FX-VOJbJ7ay_ozZg56wYMHrS0
The orchestrations by Rafael Ferrer are not really discussed in the booklet (nor is Ferrer, but Google tells me he was a violinist and sometime conductor who conducted some Spanish performances at the Eurovision Song Contest). To me they are charming and effective but not really essential - lots of percussion inserted to try to get the excitement level up. Brotons was not really in a hurry conducting (58:30; three minutes slower than de Larrocha's solo piano version on Decca and 6 minutes slower than Heisser's).
There are orchestrations of three of the dances, arranged and conducted by Igor Markevitch, in the Eloquence Big Box (available for download purchase separately). They're conducted with so much panache and energy I wish he had done the complete set. You can compare samples of him (https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/9248185--de-falla-7-canciones-populares-espanolas-albeniz-catalonia-halffter-fanfare-granados-spanish-dances) and Brotons (https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/7950885--granados-danzas-espanolas-op-37-nos-1-12) in No. 9 and hear a big difference.
(EDIT: DBK beat me to it while I was typing!)
I love this music in many guises - my favorite Granados (call me simple but it's true ;D ). Did you buy the Barrueco box or was that JBS only? Because it looks like that has a two-guitar version. I love Stephen Marchionda's MDG guitar recital with 9 of the 12 dances, and Heisser's piano recording, still available in a $20 bargain box with a bunch of other fantastic performances.
Also this set. It's a mixed bag, but some interesting compositions. The orchestral performance is just fair.
(https://i.scdn.co/image/ab67616d0000b273693a3d38cd0119dcdc1a217c)
Quote from: Brian on April 26, 2023, 05:59:43 AMThe orchestrations by Rafael Ferrer are not really discussed in the booklet (nor is Ferrer, but Google tells me he was a violinist and sometime conductor who conducted some Spanish performances at the Eurovision Song Contest). To me they are charming and effective but not really essential - lots of percussion inserted to try to get the excitement level up. Brotons was not really in a hurry conducting (58:30; three minutes slower than de Larrocha's solo piano version on Decca and 6 minutes slower than Heisser's).
There are orchestrations of three of the dances, arranged and conducted by Igor Markevitch, in the Eloquence Big Box (available for download purchase separately). They're conducted with so much panache and energy I wish he had done the complete set. You can compare samples of him (https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/9248185--de-falla-7-canciones-populares-espanolas-albeniz-catalonia-halffter-fanfare-granados-spanish-dances) and Brotons (https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/7950885--granados-danzas-espanolas-op-37-nos-1-12) in No. 9 and hear a big difference.
(EDIT: DBK beat me to it while I was typing!)
I love this music in many guises - my favorite Granados (call me simple but it's true ;D ). Did you buy the Barrueco box or was that JBS only? Because it looks like that has a two-guitar version. I love Stephen Marchionda's MDG guitar recital with 9 of the 12 dances, and Heisser's piano recording, still available in a $20 bargain box with a bunch of other fantastic performances.
I don't disagree with your opinion. But there is a supply, as well as demand, dimension. There are only few recordings of orchestral music of Granados.
Quote from: Dry Brett Kavanaugh on April 26, 2023, 06:09:27 AMAlso this set. It's a mixed bag, but some interesting compositions. The orchestral performance is just fair.
(https://i.scdn.co/image/ab67616d0000b273693a3d38cd0119dcdc1a217c)
I did have this on the wishlist. ;D
Quote from: Brian on April 26, 2023, 05:59:43 AMThe orchestrations by Rafael Ferrer are not really discussed in the booklet (nor is Ferrer, but Google tells me he was a violinist and sometime conductor who conducted some Spanish performances at the Eurovision Song Contest). To me they are charming and effective but not really essential - lots of percussion inserted to try to get the excitement level up. Brotons was not really in a hurry conducting (58:30; three minutes slower than de Larrocha's solo piano version on Decca and 6 minutes slower than Heisser's).
There are orchestrations of three of the dances, arranged and conducted by Igor Markevitch, in the Eloquence Big Box (available for download purchase separately). They're conducted with so much panache and energy I wish he had done the complete set. You can compare samples of him (https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/9248185--de-falla-7-canciones-populares-espanolas-albeniz-catalonia-halffter-fanfare-granados-spanish-dances) and Brotons (https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/7950885--granados-danzas-espanolas-op-37-nos-1-12) in No. 9 and hear a big difference.
(EDIT: DBK beat me to it while I was typing!)
I love this music in many guises - my favorite Granados (call me simple but it's true ;D ). Did you buy the Barrueco box or was that JBS only? Because it looks like that has a two-guitar version. I love Stephen Marchionda's MDG guitar recital with 9 of the 12 dances, and Heisser's piano recording, still available in a $20 bargain box with a bunch of other fantastic performances.
No, I didn't buy the Barrueco box set.. I was indeed looking at the Stephen Marchionda MDG guitar recital of the 9 dances. It was on the wishlist, then I removed it. Looks like I should add it back then. :P
JBS told me the Barrueco box was a good deal at $30ish, with excellent playing, but has lots of core repertoire. That might suit me just fine. ;D I'll re-listen to the Marchionda this afternoon.
Quote from: Brian on April 26, 2023, 08:10:54 AMJBS told me the Barrueco box was a good deal at $30ish, with excellent playing, but has lots of core repertoire. That might suit me just fine. ;D I'll re-listen to the Marchionda this afternoon.
The thing that kept me from the Barrueco box were The Beatles transcriptions, but I guess that is just a minor irritant that I could just overlook.
Yeah, Brouwer is a "real" and great composer so his might be OK (his "Beatlerianas" for guitar and string quartet aren't bad), but the others...
I knew I was forgetting someone! Just pulled Marchionda off my shelf and right next to it is a Telarc album with Angel and Celedonio Romero playing the 12 dances in a two-guitar duet version. It is lovely. Rather leisurely, and I think Celedonio's technique was waning so they arranged it for his son to do most of the work, but the finished product is lovely. Unfortunately since Telarc is gone, used copies are the way to go.
Not for everybody, but some people will definitely like them.
(https://is4-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music118/v4/75/ef/fb/75effb4f-70c5-4d39-ed93-b320f5be9696/cover.jpg/632x632bb.webp)
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/FzxImiAoXSW3Yee1E2kxVDakEiftCDqaav2xqRZZ26GpLKGldnQlJMJs51wTOG-TcpsnufiQ26ZAm1Li=w544-h544-s-l90-rj)
All this talk of Granados led me to finally pull the trigger on this 2 CD set of his complete songs (and today the price on Amazon.es was half of what it was some weeks ago):
(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71Pkh2Gg-+L._SL1000_.jpg)
I know the Tonadillas (the sublimely melancholic El majo olvidado —which uses material of Los requiebros from Goyescas— is one of my favourite songs by anyone) and the Canciones amatorias, but the rest will be new to me.
Quote from: ritter on April 26, 2023, 12:21:07 PMAll this talk of Granados led me to finally pull the trigger on this 2 CD set of his complete songs (and today the price on Amazon.es was half of what it was some weeks ago):
(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71Pkh2Gg-+L._SL1000_.jpg)
I know the Tonadillas (the sublimely melancholic El majo olvidado —which uses material of Los requiebros from Goyescas— is one of my favourite songs by anyone) and the Canciones amatorias, but the rest will be new to me.
I have some of these songs sung by Montserrat Caballé but with orchestral accompaniment. Your impetuous enthusiasm has prompted me to follow your example; the order should arrive tomorrow.
Enjoying the old style playing of Amparo Iturbi this week.
(https://d1iiivw74516uk.cloudfront.net/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJwcmVzdG8tY292ZXItaW1hZ2VzIiwia2V5IjoiOTQ2NDYyOC4xLmpwZyIsImVkaXRzIjp7InJlc2l6ZSI6eyJ3aWR0aCI6OTAwfSwianBlZyI6eyJxdWFsaXR5Ijo2NX0sInRvRm9ybWF0IjoianBlZyJ9LCJ0aW1lc3RhbXAiOjE2NzgzNzg3ODV9)
(https://cloud10.todocoleccion.online/discos-vinilo/tc/2019/10/06/13/178339936_tcimg_21BEE575.jpg)
Iturbi's good. Try his Mozart sonatas too.
Quote from: Mandryka on May 18, 2023, 07:22:16 AMIturbi's good. Try his Mozart sonatas too.
This
Iturbi is
Amparo, sister of the better known
José (who I believe is the one you meant).
Good evening,
Mandryka.
Quote from: Mandryka on May 18, 2023, 07:22:16 AMIturbi's good. Try his Mozart sonatas too.
What's your (and other members) opinion of Goyescas by Joaquin Achucarro? No diplomatic response please.
Quote from: Dry Brett Kavanaugh on May 18, 2023, 03:53:20 PMWhat's your (and other members) opinion of Goyescas by Joaquin Achucarro? No diplomatic response please.
He makes me yearn for Block
Have you heard Eduardo del Pueyo?
I think that Goyescas is quite « difficult » music, because the textures are complex quite often - simultaneous independent voices. Del Pueyo seems to really get that, and have a feel for polyphony. And at the same time what he does is quite heartfelt and intimate. I think it's a revelation.
It's a shame that Ohlsson's isn't streaming, I don't want to actually part with money to hear it!
Quote from: Mandryka on May 19, 2023, 01:02:23 PMHave you heard Eduardo del Pueyo?
I think that Goyescas is quite « difficult » music, because the textures are complex quite often - simultaneous independent voices. Del Pueyo seems to really get that, and have a feel for polyphony. And at the same time what he does is quite heartfelt and intimate. I think it's a revelation.
It's a shame that Ohlsson's isn't streaming, I don't want to actually part with money to hear it!
To me, the music of Granados is difficult and multifaceted. I never know if its dark or sunny. I tend to like a sharp, fandango-like rhythm, as well as implied rhythm, in Goyescas. I thought that Pueyo was a little round/European but I will re-listen. I like Goyescas by Larrocha in the 1950s, but I'm not sure if you like it. Also I will probably purchase Emili Brugalla after returning to my home next month. Plus I'm looking for Rena Kyriakou from Vox though I don't know if its good or not.
(https://www.eloquenceclassics.com/files/2017/05/4821546_Larrocha_TheFirstRecordings_master.jpg)
Quote from: Mandryka on May 19, 2023, 07:05:10 AMHe makes me yearn for Block
As for the Block, the producer is much younger than the artist. Different nationalities and different generations. Interesting connection/camaraderie. (I like it.)
https://soundcloud.com/teresaescandon/goyescas-los-requiebros/albums
Teresa Escandon,Goyescas. Cuban pianist. Close to Bolet. No vulgarity. Lots of humanity. It's a goodie. Streaming widely - including that soundcloud.
Quote from: Mandryka on May 21, 2023, 12:24:57 AMhttps://soundcloud.com/teresaescandon/goyescas-los-requiebros/albums
Teresa Escandon,Goyescas. Cuban pianist. Close to Bolet. No vulgarity. Lots of humanity. It's a goodie. Streaming widely - including that soundcloud.
Excellent. Nice spacing. You can hear rhythms in the space.
I checked and didn't like the Brugalla much.
Quote from: Mandryka on May 15, 2023, 08:18:19 AM(https://img-shop.mu-mo.net/images/6/AMMZ-20086/AMMZ-20086_t_01_400.jpg)
https://hisakohiseki.es/en/bio/recomendaciones
Hisako Hiseki played the Hatto Granados - so it is excellent, obvs.
Thank you for mentioning Hiseki. Of course I didn't know about her until I read your post. ;D Nice recording. It appears that she's a student of Larrocha. As you can guess, there are several Japanese pianists who studied with Larrocha. Shimoyama is one of them and plays OK. A middle of the road performance without sacrificing the nativeness.
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-3uvm8Ou08SKhdPNZwRCUZ26hEyzup_NFIXc1ZiY-o7Mei5AVYJ8FFfX-uZjyL66ZFm4I-KkFypGt8uX=w544-h544-l90-rj)
Goyescas by Rosa Sabater. A little Frenchified, champagne piano. Also I'm posting her Albeniz as well.
Here is another interesting pianist, she claims to have studied with Alicia de Larrocha:
(https://static.qobuz.com/images/covers/2b/rg/wgjyuah7brg2b_600.jpg)
I am taking a break from Goyescas for a while, I nearly wore it out listening to Kun-Woo Paik.
Shizuka Shimoyama, discussed in the previous post, talks about Larrocha, Luis Galve, Rosa Sabater, etc. Please use Google translate.
https://acueducto.jp/musica/los-mejores-pianistas-en-espana/
So, like, I fancy me dandies in love. Quite a bit. It's an above average work for solo piano. I've decided to subject it to, or already have subjected it to, the same degree of rigor as the New Testament and Faure's Requiem.
I did some web scouring and identified the below seventy-six recorded versions for consideration. Any notable or super-obscure recordings missing?
Pianist
Abdel Rahman El Bacha
Alba Ventura Cruz
Albert Attenelle
Albert Guinovart
Aldo Ciccolini
Alex Alguacil
Alexander Boyd
Alicia de Larrocha I
Alicia de Larrocha II
Alicia de Larrocha III
Alicia de Larrocha IV
Amparo Iturbi
Ana-Maria Vera
Angel Huidobro
Antonio Rosado
Artur Pizarro
Ayako Fujiki
Beatrice Berthold
Benita Meshulam
Cristina Ortiz
Daniel Del Pino
Denis Burstein
Douglas Riva
Edmund Battersby
Eduardas Haim
Eduardo del Pueyo
Emili Brugalla
Eric Parkin
Eulàlia Solé
Francesco Caramiello
Francisco Aybar
Frieda Valenzi
Garrick Ohlsson
Hisako Hiseki
Hugo Monden
Javier Perianes
Jean-François Dichamp
Jean-François Heisser
Jean-Marc Luisada
Jean-Philippe Collard
Joaquín Achúcarro
Joop Celis
Jorge Luis Prats
Jose Echaniz
José Menor
Jose Pedro Garcia
Kun Woo Paik
Lenissei Ramic
Leopoldo Querol
Luis Fernando Pérez
Lydia Jardon
Magda Schneider
Mario Miranda
Marisa Montiel
Marta Zabaleta
Martin Jones
Matthias Rein
Michel Block
Mie Matsumura
Naomi Fujimoto
Nicholas Zumbro
Nikita Magaloff
Norico Ueno
Patrick O'Byrne
Peter Donohoe
Ralph Votapek
Rena Kyriakou
Rosa Sabater
Sebastian Stanley
Shizuka Shimoyama
Sofya Melikyan
Teresa Escandon
Thomas Rajna
Viviana Lasaracina
Waldo Geuns
Xiayin Wang
Yoonie Han
Catalan pianist
Eulàlia Solé's 1972 recording on the Spanish label Edigsa was later reissued by Harmonia Mundi, but never transferred to CD AFAIK. It's the version I got to know the work with, and loved it (but I was very young and had nothing to compare it to at the time).
(https://i.discogs.com/RRnrNccPglefv8kSV07Fh7H3ApsDrm3iacphKQEpzd0/rs:fit/g:sm/q:90/h:600/w:600/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9SLTE4MTAw/NzA4LTE2MTcyNjEw/MDEtOTEwNC5qcGVn.jpeg)
Quote from: Todd on September 21, 2024, 01:25:07 PMAtaulfo Argenta
Wouldn't
Argenta be the conductor in his recording of the operatic version of
Goyescas?
Quote from: ritter on September 21, 2024, 01:34:29 PMWouldn't Argenta be the conductor in his recording of the operatic version of Goyescas?
My bad. Dropped him and added Solé to the list.
Another obscure one, by (Portuguese?) pianist Antonio Rosado (of whom I've never heard, and whose name is barely legible on the CD cover):
(https://cloud10.todocoleccion.online/musica-cds/tc/2023/10/18/03/438730687_tcimg_15F6FB19.jpg)(https://cloud10.todocoleccion.online/musica-cds/tc/2023/10/18/03/438730687_551076847_tcimg_AB242CC4.jpg)
José María Pinzolas on DG won't qualify, I presume, as it's incomplete (just two pieces, plus El pelele).
Quote from: ritter on September 21, 2024, 02:31:44 PMAnother obscure one, by (Portuguese?) pianist Antonio Rosado (of whom I've never heard, and whose name is barely legible on the CD cover):
(https://cloud10.todocoleccion.online/musica-cds/tc/2023/10/18/03/438730687_tcimg_15F6FB19.jpg)(https://cloud10.todocoleccion.online/musica-cds/tc/2023/10/18/03/438730687_551076847_tcimg_AB242CC4.jpg)
Rosado is streamable and will be put on the understudy list. Incomplete takes on Goyescas make me sad, so I will avoid those, with one mammoth, purposeful exception.
And some more...
Javier Negrin (a fine pianist from the Canary Islands) on Odradek:
(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81Zlqb1JCBL._SL1500_.jpg)
Rubén Lorenzo on Delicias Discográficas (?):
(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61BMon2+-JL.jpg)
Marylene Dosse on the cheapo ZYX label (it would seem that these labels deliberately sneak typos onto their covers —Estudios ExprIsivos— ::) :
(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/8196F8tE4hL._SL1068_.jpg)
Quote from: ritter on September 21, 2024, 03:07:16 PMJavier Negrin (a fine pianist from the Canary Islands) on Odradek:
(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81Zlqb1JCBL._SL1500_.jpg)
Ah, crap, I forgot about this one. It's the same pairing as Ms Melikyan's recording. An emergency listening session is in order.
Let's not forget about this wonderful recording of Goyescas.
(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51baS3ZL6CL._UXNaN_FMjpg_QL85_.jpg)
Edit: I see it on the list. Oh well, a cover is worth a thousand words.
Carlo Vidusso
The unattributed Joyce Hatto.
(I've just put Trio Campanella's recording on - it's lovely!)
Quote from: Mandryka on September 22, 2024, 12:11:37 AM(I've just put Trio Campanella's recording on - it's lovely!)
I love both the Trio Campanella arrangement albums.
As for Hisako Hiseki, there is a live (2016) recording as well.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lDbgW3m6EJGf4oKOraRTIcG1RDdjLHLyE&si=RnfNMsVSs_YqC77h
(https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music128/v4/2b/52/4e/2b524e71-c606-e2f8-1cdc-a2a1061b8e91/bigup11885048.jpg/632x632bb.webp)
Outside of the piano music and orchestral, is there any Granados music one should explore?
@ritter
Quote from: ChamberNut on March 01, 2025, 04:35:50 AMOutside of the piano music and orchestral, is there any Granados music one should explore?
@ritter
I must confess I am not that familiar with
Granados' non-pianistic output. I do very much enjoy his songs (
tonadillas), and the opera
Goyescas has its appeal, but haven't explored his orchestral works.
Sorry I can't be of much help...
Quote from: ChamberNut on March 01, 2025, 04:35:50 AMOutside of the piano music and orchestral, is there any Granados music one should explore?
@ritter
I found a lot of joy in his
Piano Trio and
Piano Quintet. If you don't have an aversion to voices,
Song of the Stars is a rather unusual venture.
VS
Quote from: VonStupp on March 01, 2025, 10:11:36 AMI found a lot of joy in his Piano Trio and Piano Quintet. If you don't have an aversion to voices, Song of the Stars is a rather unusual venture.
VS
Indeed, his Piano Trio and Quintet are delightful and succinct works, well worth discovering. His little-known orchestral works, recorded on 3 CDs by Naxos, are generally nothing too remarkable, but IIRC the rather substantial
Suite Sobre Cantos Gallegos contains some fine music.