(Isaac Albeniz)
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 on the site 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 – Daniel Barenboim
Iberia,
Erato ECD 88255 (CD: Noches en Los Lardines de Espana/Iberia)
Conductor – Daniel Barenboim
Sources: