Albéniz: Piano Music

Classic accounts of Spanish piano masterpieces by a major if undervalued pianist from the 1960s and 70s.

Composer: Isaac Albéniz
Artists: Esteban Sánchez (piano)

The French piano luminary Alfred Cortot declared Esteban Sánchez Herrero (1934-1997) to be a ‘musical genius’. Clara Haskil numbered among their colleagues who thought likewise, and Daniel Barenboim wrote: ‘How is it possible? How can Spain have hidden away a performer of this class?’ But Sanchez, born in Badajoz in 1934, shrank from the limelight even after winning several prestigious piano competitions. Having settled back into his native province as a teacher at the Badajoz conservatoire from 1978, he rarely travelled abroad, leaving a series of recordings made in Barcelona between 1968 and 1974 as his most lasting musical legacy.

The highlight of that legacy is widely recognised to be Sanchez’s recording of Iberia, that quintessential masterpiece of Spanish pianism. While Alicia de Larrocha’s name remains indelibly associated with Albéniz’s cycle and its post-Lisztian evocations of folk legends and urban life, Sanchez brought to this music an unrivalled sense of fantasy as well as muscularity. The booklet for this reissue includes an outline of Sanchez’s career, a detailed essay on Iberia and a critical appreciation of both his pianism and its harmonious match with the music of Albéniz.

‘The Catalan composer’s great music is always a personal expression,’ writes the veteran critic Luis Gago, ‘whether it is the memory of a landscape, the perception of a rhythm, or an experience which he could not forget.

Tracklist:
Iberia, Book I:
00:00:00 Evocación
00:05:33El Puerto
00:09:43 Corpus Christi en Sevilla

Iberia, Book II:
00:18:18 Rondena
00:25:09 Almería
00:35:12 Triana

Piano Sonata No. 5 in G-Flat Major:
00:40:53 Allegro non troppo
00:48:11 Minueto del Gallo
00:50:24 Rêverie, andante
00:57:33 Allegro

01:00:02 Pavana - Capricho
01:04:32 Tango, in A Minor
01:09:08 Torre Bermeja

Iberia, Book III:
01:13:26 El Albaicín
01:20:58 El polo
01:27:36 Lavapiés

Iberia, Book IV:
01:35:07 Málaga
01:40:28 Jerez
01:50:16 Eritana

Recuerdos de Viaje:
01:55:57 En el mar
02:00:37 Leyenda, barcarola
02:04:55 Alborada
02:09:22 En La Alhambra
02:13:40 Puerta de Tierra
02:17:18 Rumores de La Caleta
02:21:01 En la playa

Espana, Seis hojas de álbum:
02:24:57 Preludio
02:26:53 Tango
02:29:43 Malaguena
02:33:54 Serenata
02:37:17 Capricho catalán
02:39:44 Zortzico

Suite Espanola:
02:42:01 Asturias
02:47:55 Córdoba
02:54:02 Cádiz
02:58:34 Granada
03:03:20 Castilla
03:06:23 Cuba
03:11:18 Mallorca
03:17:27 Sevilla

03:22:27 La Vega

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Spotify Playlists:

#Piano #Classic #Albéniz #esteban #brilliantclassics

[MegaCirse]

You can't exist without pleasure, even for a second, and it's hard to have sorrow for a long time. Such is existence

[robertcohn]

Esteban Sánchez gives a brilliant performance, evoking all the beauty of these Albéniz pieces. Thank you.

[davidbawden]

I've really enjoyed listening to this in piano. I used to play classical guitar but haven't been able to for 10 years now due to physical problems and I love solo classical piano. I hadn't listened to Albeniz in a while, so this was a huge treat to hear piano arrangements.

[VictorHernandez-wovn]

Thr Sonatas are Albeniz at its Best. Just magic. Thaks for posting it❤.

[donmigueldecuenca]

Simply stunning -- THANK YOU! Spain's finest romantic composer and a truly great pianist, what a treat!

[victormanuelpadilla]

Felicitaciones! Para Brilliant Classics por compartir esta bellísima música española del Maestro Isaac Albéniz. Esteban Sanchez es un excelente pianista que ejecuta magistralmente estas excelsas obras para piano. Sin menosprecio del pianista, añoro las interpretaciones de los pianistas españoles tales como: José Iturbe y Alicia Larrocha entre otros. ¡ENHORABUENA! ¡BENDICIONES! Saludos desde México!!!

[theindependentlinguist]

Just what I need on a grey, rainy Friday in the UK! Fabulous music, fabulously played. I am back in Caceres in 1992 where I first met and fell in love with everything Spanish. Nothing has changed 30 years on when I hear this.

[GonzaBuckRP]

Que genio es Albeniz. Que buen compositor, como me gusta. Él y Granados son indispensables para mi.

[faziahaddalalelyon]

MERCI pour ce grand compositeur Espagnol🌹❤🙏

[tomasromeromendez]

Una maravilla, por suerte gran parte de la obra de Albeniz fue orquestada y es un regalo para la humanidad. ❤

[josemariamartinez-onalopez]

Wonderful music! Thank you very much for giving it and for this tribute to Maestro Esteban Sánchez!

[josevipadilla]

La indiscutible y desconocida belleza de la Música Española, poco valorada y desprestigiada incluso en nuestras propias fronteras.

[SofienneBeau]

The interpreatation of Jerez leaves me at awe

[hannawagenknecht]

Sentimental, dieses Spiel mag ich sehr, freue mich.

[eestebam]

Hi, Brilliant Classics.
There is an error in the line beginning with "01:55:57 Recuerdos de Viaje", so the timeline in wrong from there on.
It should go as:

"Recuerdos de Viaje:
01:55:57 En el mar
02:00:37 Leyenda, barcarola"
....up to
03:17:27 Sevilla".

The last line should be:
"03:22:27 La vega"
Cheers and thanks for uploading these wonderful classics!

[justoalarcon]

Fantástica colección. Gracias múltiples.

[KILLAMAYO]

Genial! Albéniz es una caricia al alma! Gracias por subirlo!!!

[IvanGreindl]

Albeniz was indeed a genius. So was Mrs de Larrocha.😉

[cidehamete]

Una maravilla.
Gracias por subir esta belleza.

[MenelionFR]

02:42:01
Bombastic! Thank you so much for this gem!