Granados Allegro de Concierto, Op.46 - Bradley Bolen, piano

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I doubt that it was easy being a composer born at the end of the Romantic era, particularly if one was interested in writing piano music. After all, the era was dominated by piano masters such as Frederic Chopin and Franz Liszt. But that was exactly the fate of Enrique Granados who was born in Spain in 1867.

It is a good thing for us that Granados admired the writing of both Chopin and Liszt because the result was that many of his works incorporate the lyricism we associate with the music of Chopin and the transcendental virtuosity we associate with Liszt. Today, Granados is even sometimes referred to as the Chopin of Spain.

This piece, “Allegro de Concierto,” was written by Granados for a composition contest sponsored by the Madrid Royal Conservatory in the year 1903. The contest was for the best “concert allegro.” There were a number of very talented composers entered in that contest, among them Manuel DeFalla (of Ritual Fire Dance fame), who won the honorable mention prize. Granados won first prize, and this is one of the first works that brought him national attention.

For those among you who are familiar with what we music nerds call “sonata allegro form,” the architecture of this work will seem familiar. It is a sonata form, with an exciting first theme and a contrasting lyrical second theme, followed by the developmental middle section (which in this case actually introduces us to a new theme of sorts…not typical of most sonata forms), and finally coming back to the main themes in the recapitulation.

This performance is dedicated to the memory of Jeff Dalton.

A special thanks to the Baylor University School of Music and the support of dean Gary Mortenson, Sue Getterman for her donation of this beautiful Hamburg Steinway D, and Ulysses Lozano who handled the technical aspects of this recording.