Iberia : for piano solo
Isaac Albéniz 1860–1909
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Themes & character
Four books of twelve pieces·Notoriously difficult·Spanish impressionism·Composed 1905 to 1909
About the piece
Twelve pieces in four books, composed between 1905 and 1909 in the last years of Albeniz's life and regarded as the summit of Spanish piano music. Each evokes a place or dance of Andalusia, using flamenco rhythms and guitar-derived textures within a harmonic language close to the French impressionists Albeniz knew in Paris.
The writing is famously difficult. Albeniz reportedly considered destroying parts of it as unplayable, and Messiaen later called it the wonder of the piano, ranking it at the summit of the instrument's literature.
The composer
Isaac Albéniz
1860–1909
Isaac Manuel Francisco Albéniz y Pascual was a Spanish virtuoso composer, conductor, and pianist. He is one of the foremost composers of the post-romantic era who also exerted a significant influence on his contemporaries and younger composers. He is best known for his piano works that incorporate Spanish folk music idioms and elements. His compositions, particularly his suite Iberia (1905–1908), are considered masterpieces and have influenced both European classical music and Spanish nationalism. Isaac Albéniz was close to the Generation of '98.
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