The Rapsodia española, orchestrated by George Enescu, celebrates the Spanish idiom and structurally resembles Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsodies, featuring a slow introduction followed by quick dance episodes based on popular Spanish tunes.
Performer Biography
Martin Roscoe, the pianist on this recording, is one of Britain's most prolific performers, with a repertoire of over a hundred concertos and more than 500 broadcasts, including seven BBC Proms appearances.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Isaac Albéniz's monumental piano work Iberia, published in 1906, was praised by Debussy, who remarked that Albéniz 'put the best of himself' into it.
Composition History
Albéniz had serious ambitions in opera and his comic opera The Magic Opal premiered in London in 1893, later transferring as The Magic Ring.
Compositional Technique
Albéniz had an uncanny ability to transfer the rhythms, harmonies, and actual sounds of Spanish folk music, such as guitars, castanets, voices, and heel taps, to the piano.
Performer Biography
The BBC Philharmonic, led by Chief Conductor Juanjo Mena, performs over a hundred concerts annually, almost all broadcast on BBC Radio 3, and has won a Gramophone Concerto Award.
Composition History
Albéniz's Piano Concerto No. 1, subtitled 'Concierto fantástico', is his only work in this form, despite his intention to write more.
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