This album is Volume 2 of the first complete recording of Manuel de Falla's piano music, including his early works and piano transcriptions of his orchestral pieces.
Performer Biography
Daniel Ligorio, the pianist on this recording, is considered one of the leading young pianists in Spain and has won several international awards, including the Kendall Taylor Beethoven Piano Prize and the Hopkinson Gold Medal.
Composition History
Canción de los remeros del Volga (1922) was a standalone piece commissioned by Manuel de Falla's friend Ricardo Baeza, a diplomat, as a tribute to refugees from the Russian Revolution.
Interpretation
For this recording, Daniel Ligorio consulted Manuel de Falla's original sketches for his orchestral work transcriptions to achieve an effect closer to the orchestral versions, as existing published versions often drift too far from the originals.
Compositional Technique
The Fantasía bética is considered Manuel de Falla's greatest piano masterpiece, blending virtuosity, rhythmic variety, folk themes, and Andalusian cante jondo in an idiom that is both orchestral and intimate.
Composition History
Manuel de Falla's Fantasía bética was commissioned by pianist Arthur Rubinstein, who was aware of Falla's financial difficulties at the time, and Falla dedicated the work to him.
Composer Biography
Manuel de Falla, the composer, studied at the Madrid Conservatory between 1899 and 1902, where he was taught composition by Felipe Pedrell.
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