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| Isaac Albeniz 1860 -1909 Isaac Albeniz was a child prodigy having been taught to play the piano by his sister at age of one year! If we are to believe the stories he ran away and travelled extensively in South and North America from Buenes Aries to Uruguay and as far as San Francisco. He was a gifted pianist and composer and his most famous legacy is probably the Iberia Suite, which musically describes many provinces of Spain, from which the beatiful 'Granada' comes. Listen to it here. Much of Albeniz's work has been very successfully transcribed for the guitar. If you want to hear the guitar version it's here. Finally, one piece of music that I listen to over and again through the years is his 'Tango in D' opus 165, from the Espanola Suite. It, too, works well for the guitar. Look at that fabulous photograph - don't try to tell me that Albeniz was not a romantic! Incidentally there are much better recordings available but they're not on YouTube. |
"Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendia was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice."
Gabriel Garcia Marquez: "One Hundred Years of Solitude"
One of my favorite CDs is a recording of Alicia de Larrocha playing Albeniz. Pure magic.
ReplyDeleteI have never heard Albeniz's work. I enjoyed the 'Granada'. That's pure beauty.
ReplyDeleteI am thrilled to be exposed to Isaac Abeniz. I took classical guitar for years, and now my fingers are twitching to get back to it after listening to his musical compositions. Can't wait to go tune my guitar!
ReplyDeleteAlicia: I found some clips of her playing on You Tube and I might change the link becuse she plays Granada better! Thanks for the info. It must be something to do with being called Alicia.
ReplyDeleteMr Stupid: I'm happy that you enjoyed it. You're not so stupid now!
The Snee: I used to play classical guitar for many years but I found that unless I played for two or three hours every day I was going backwards. Albeniz's music is perfect for guitar. John Williams' version of the Tango in D is superb but I couldn't find it on you tube. Thanks for visiting.
I thought the 'Grenada' was beautiful. I checked it out on YouTube. Very cool. It's the kind of music you could lay back in your recliner, listen to and thoroughly enjoy. Not to mention it would likely help you contemplate life. At least it did for me. Thanks for sharing this.
ReplyDeleteSo. Deep within the MasterHeathen's chest there beats a marshmallow heart! You paint an appealing image of laying back in quite contemplation. This music is a great cure for a bad day!
ReplyDeleteI have played pieces by Albeniz on the piano.....interesting rhythms.
ReplyDeleteMy playing was even worse than that on You Tube...no kidding!
Thanks for posting the photo as I had no idea what he looked like before.
Greetings bazza,
ReplyDeleteTo listen to such gentle music as this makes me think of all the times I listen to Classic FM in the wee hours of the morn.
This type of music, tis true, is the kind I often have on in the background when I attempt to formulate a blog.
Then again, other times, I'm listening to Metallica, Pink Floyd or a bit of Devo. Yes, I love diversity.
Thanks for sharing the works and some interesting information about Albeniz, with us.
Kind regards, Gary.
Bob: I think it must be very difficult to play. In all my guitar playing years I never attempted it (or Villa Lobos, also tricky). If you check out the artist that Alicia mentions in the first comment you may find a better rendition on You Tube.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment.
Gary: I am a Classic FM listener as well but I have Spotify on my desktop and I can listen to almost anything ever recorded for nothing having signed up when it was free.
All three videos are great music, all different. Nice post with information that was new to me. I always like to learn more especially about music. My hubby is a musician. So I am blessed.
ReplyDeleteTechnobabe: Hello and welcome. Glad you like the music. Thanks for visiting.
ReplyDeletehi bazza! thanks for stopping by my blog. boy! you sure are diverse!! lots of great info here. a learning curve for sure. i'll be listening to the music for sure!
ReplyDeleteLike the true parasite I am, I will use Bazza's site to announce that I will be gracing some of the bloggers who comment here with my presense! Stand by for fun.
ReplyDeleteOh do behave!
Sir Tom: Yes Sir Tom do behave.
ReplyDeleteI am sure you will illuminate the blogosphere. (I have noticed your presense here and there already!)
Hello Stef, it looks like all of the 'babes' are looking in today. Lucky me! I'm delighted you like this blog. Thanks for visiting!
ReplyDelete