This is a suite of music
composed for the piano between 1905 and 1909 and regarded as Isaac Albeniz' magnum opus.The suite, which lasts about an hour
and a half when performed in its entirety, comprises twelve pieces in four
books of three and is described as "architecturally quite
complex", combining traditional Andalusian and contemporary music
styles.The original piano
works have also been transcribed for orchestra by Carlos Surinach and Enrique Fernandez Arbos
and many recordings have been made with acclaimed examples being by Alicia
de Larrocha, Claudio Arrau and Marc-Andre Hamelin.
The Books are:
Book 1 (dedicated to
the wife of the composer Ernest Chausson)
Evocacion
El Puerto*
El Corpus en Sevilla
(Fete-dieu a Seville)*
Book 2
Rondena
Almeria
Triana*
Book 3
Al Albaicin
El Polo
Lavapies
Book 4
Malaga
Jerez
Eritaria
(Individual pieces that have
their own entries have been marked with a *)
Alicia de Larrocha recordings
Iberia - Book IV
EMI
64504 (CD: Albeniz:
Iberia)
Piano - Alicia de Larrocha
London Symphony Orchestra recordings
Iberia
Sony 48480 (CD: Iberia)
Conductor - Paul Daniel
Guitar -John Williams
Moscow Symphony Orchestra recordings
Iberia
Naxos
8.553023 (CD: Iberia)
Conductor - Igor Golovchin
Orchestre de Paris recordings
Iberia
Erato 2292-45266 (CD:
Noches en Los Jardines
de Espana/Iberia)
Conductor -DanielBarenboim
Iberia,
Erato ECD 88255 (CD:
Noches en Los Lardines
de Espana/Iberia)
