STEREO/BC 1310 C EIIPIO J

STEIREO

LC 3910

Stereo BC 1310

Library of Congress catalog card number

R65-2843 applies to this record.

C epic 5 STEREO

THIS RECORD IS DESIGNED FOR USE ON 33% RPM STEREOPHONIC REPRODUCERS

Alicia de Larrocha Piano Music of Granados

ALLEGRO DE CONCIERTO DANZA LENTA VALSES POETICOS Introduccion ) No. 1—Melodico ) .

No. 2—Tempo de vals noble.

No. 3—Tempo de vals lento.

No. 4—Allegro humoristico )

No. 5—Allegretto (elegante) ) .

No. 6—Quasi ad libitum (sentimental)

No. 7—Vivo.

Coda.

7:52

3:49

2:36

1:14

1:53

1:50

1:22

0:44

2:07

23:55

SEIS PIEZAS SOBRE CANTOS POPULARES ESPANOLES (SIX PIECES ON SPANISH POPULAR SONGS)

Preludio.2:0?

I— Anoranza.2:45

II— Ecos de la Parranda.3:47

III— Vascongada.3:27

IV— Marcha Oriental.3:32

V— Zambra.5:23

VI— Zapateado.4:34

26:00

Spain and Romanticism were the two major influences on the music of Enrique Granados, the great Catalan pianist and composer. Born in Lerida, Spain, in 1867, Granados saw both the end of the Romantic era and the beginning of the 20th century, though his music belongs stylistically to the earlier period. For Granados, Romanticism was not merely a spring¬ board from the 19th century to the 20th: it was his total means of expression and the ultimate purpose of his work. As a towering piano virtuoso, he naturally wrote the majority of his compositions for the keyboard, incorporating the melo¬ dies, accents, rhythms and cadential formulas of his native land.

Although Granados' formal training in both performance and composition took place in Barcelona, a tenancy in Paris from 1887-89 brought him in closer contact with the main¬ stream of Romantic music, particularly with the works of Chopin, Grieg and Liszt, all of whom influenced his early compositions. After returning to Barcelona, he began a suc¬ cessful career as a concert pianist. He gave recitals in Spain and France, sometimes with such great artists as Casals and Saint-Saens, and was much appreciated for his inordinate skill. He also taught piano to a host of distinguished pupils (though he did not enjoy giving lessons), and founded the Academia Granados in Barcelona.

Granados' success as a composer was established in 1898 with the production of his first opera, Maria del Carmen, in Madrid. Later works show a growing individuality, and his masterpiece, Coyescas, for which he is chiefly known today,

is acknowledged as the starting point of modern Spanish piano music. The work, written a few years before his death, is a series of piano pieces inspired by the paintings and etchings of the famous Spanish painter Francisco Goya. The individual numbers, with distinctlySpanish forms and rhythms, are highly imaginative and effective, and the work as a whole is conceived in an intricate keyboard style. Shortly after the completion of the composition, Fernando Periquet wrote a libretto based on scenes in Goya's works. Granados coordi¬ nated this libretto with the music of his piano pieces to create an opera, also entitled Coyescas. He attended the premiere at the New York Metropolitan Opera House in 1916, but despite the success of this opera, the trip to America had a fatal outcome—while sailing back to Spain on the S.S. Sussex the ship was torpedoed by a German submarine and Granados and his wife were drowned. The tragic irony of his death at the peak of his career was heightened by the fact that a piano concert he gave for President Wilson had caused him to miss the ship by which he had originally planned to travel.

* * * *

Of Granados' many keyboard works, the Allegro de Concierto is one of the most popular. It contains every element of effective pianism: brilliance, virtuosity and color. Made up of octaves, chords, arpeggios and jovial themes with broad melodic contours, the piece well illustrates Granados' mas¬ tery of the romantic virtuoso idiom.

The Danza Lenta is one of Granados' last works, and thus represents his most mature style. The serenity of the opening chords is interrupted by a highly ornamented melodic line leading to a crescendo. After the brief appearance of a Valen- cian dance motive, wide arpeggios depicting broad strokes on a guitar lead back to the slow, peaceful chords of the beginning.

The Vaises Poeticos are among the many collections that demonstrate Granados' fidelity to the artistic norms of Roman¬ ticism. Written in 1887, they are part of a larger collection entitled Cartas de Amor (also known as the Vaises de Amor). From this collection, Granados selected seven waltzes, added an introduction and a coda, and dedicated the group to Joaquin Malats, his close friend and an outstanding inter¬ preter of his piano composition. This smaller selection of waltzes was then given the name Vaises Poeticos. The titles of each waltz, “Melodico," “Tempo de vals noble," "Tempo de vals lento," "Allegro humoristico," "Allegretto (elegante)" "Quasi ad libitum (sentimental)" and "Vivo" are in them¬ selves indicative of the moods of the music.

The Seis Piezas Sobre Cantos Populares Espanoles (Six Pieces on Spanish Popular Songs) is one of the two early collections of piano music which began Granados' career and firmly established him as a nationalistic composer. In these pieces the various musical elements of Spain are ex¬ ploited with tremendous variety and great subtlety. By em¬

ploying tunes and melodies deriving from all parts of Spain, and by using pianistic effects which simulate various popular musical instruments, Granados created a tableau in which each piece stands out individually, yet is pertinent to the whole.

The short "Preludio" (not counted as one of the six pieces) establishes the mood for the entire work, with its arpeggios depicting the strumming of a guitar alternating with a chordal melody. The "Anoranza" that follows retains the style of guitar music but adds brilliantly sounding chords in a fast rhythm, soon giving way to a sentimental melody. The chordal texture, alternating with the melody, grows to a crescendo, then retires to a final diminuendo.

In "Ecos de la Parranda" Granados uses themes from his opera Marl a del Carmen as well as mountain tunes. The two main motives—one bold, the other delicate—sing out above a reiterated chordal pattern in the bass. In the "Vascongada" the motives and strong rhythmic patterns of northern Spain are ornamented by arabesques, and the sounds of popular instruments are mirrored through lively and dynamic pianis¬ tic writing.

The "Marcha Oriental," as its name implies, uses harmonies reminiscent of the Orient, bound to a fast, march-like rhythm. The character of the "Zambra" is distinctive for its quickly pulsating rhythmic bass in combination with an ornamented, andante melodic line.

The most popular of the pieces in this collection is the "Zapateado," a tap dance in triple time, common everywhere in Spain. In this work, Granados combines expressivity and virtuosity while a melody soars above the forceful ternary beat creating a cantabile dance-like effect.

Alicia de Larrocha is an ideal interpreter of the piano music of Enrique Granados, since her playing ex¬ emplifies the style and methods which Granados developed in his Academy. Although she did not study with the composer himself, she was taught by Frank Marshall, who took over the direction of Granados' Academy after his death. Marshall reso¬ lutely maintained the'traditions begun by Granados, and, when he died, left the direction of the Academy to his prize pupil, Miss de Larrocha.

As a pianist she adds a personal charm and sensi¬ tivity to the subtle style ofexecution she learned from Marshall. Miss de Larrocha combines a brilliant tech¬ nique with an exceptional interpretive talent. Her professional career began as a child of ten, when she played a Mozart Concerto with the Orquesta Sinfonica conducted by Arbos. Though she has a vast repertory of Classical, Romantic and contemporary works, she retains a special devotion to the Spanish pianistic school and, specifically, to the works of Granados.

9

COVER PHOTO: KEN DEARDOFF ©"EPIC," MARCA REG. T.M. PRINTED IN U.S.A.

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