Isaac Manuel Francisco Albéniz y Pascual (1860 –
1909) was a Spanish pianist and composer best known for
his piano works based on folk music idioms.
Transcriptions of many of his pieces, such as Asturias
(Leyenda), Granada, Sevilla, Cadiz, Córdoba,
Cataluña, and the Tango in D, are important pieces for
classical guitar, though he never composed for the
guitar. The personal papers of Albéniz are preserved,
among other institutions, in the Biblioteca de
Catalunya.
Isaac Albéniz’s...(+)
Isaac Manuel Francisco Albéniz y Pascual (1860 –
1909) was a Spanish pianist and composer best known for
his piano works based on folk music idioms.
Transcriptions of many of his pieces, such as Asturias
(Leyenda), Granada, Sevilla, Cadiz, Córdoba,
Cataluña, and the Tango in D, are important pieces for
classical guitar, though he never composed for the
guitar. The personal papers of Albéniz are preserved,
among other institutions, in the Biblioteca de
Catalunya.
Isaac Albéniz’s Suite española, Op. 47, is a suite
for solo piano. It is mainly composed of works written
in 1886 which were grouped together in 1887, in honour
of the Queen of Spain. Like many of Albeniz’s works
for the piano, these pieces depict different regions
and musical styles in Spain.
The work originally consisted of four pieces: Granada,
Cataluña, Sevilla and Cuba. The editor Hofmeister
republished the Suite española in 1912, after
Albéniz's death, but added Cádiz, Asturias, Aragón
and Castilla. The other pieces had been published in
other editions and sometimes with different titles
(Asturias was originally the prelude from the suite
Chants d'Espagne).
Each of these works refers to the geographical region
portrayed. From Granada in Andalusia there is a
Serenata, from Catalonia a Curranda or Courante, from
Sevilla a Sevillanas and from Cuba (which was still
part of Spain in the 1880s) a Notturno in the style of
a habanera, from Castile a seguidillas, from Aragon a
Fantasia in the style of a jota, and from Cadiz a
saeta. This last example, like Asturias (Leyenda), is
geographically inaccurate.
Source: Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suite_espa%C3%B1ola):
Although originally created for Piano, I created this
Interpretation of the Cataluña (Courante) for String
Quintet (2 Violins, Viola, Cello & Bass).