Granados: Goyescas

Description

Enrique Granados(1867-1916) Goyescas - Suite forPianoEnrique Granados was born in Lerida, near Barcelona. Son of an armycaptain, Granados began piano study with Joan Baptista Pujol (1835-1898) andsubsequently studied harmony and composition with composer Felipe Pedrell(1841-1922).The young Granados realised that in order to achieve his professionalaspirations he would need to leave Spain. In 1887 he went to Paris where hestudied with Charles de Beriot (1833-1914). After returning to Barcelona in1889 Granados published his Danzas espanalas, which brought himinternational recognition.From 1890 until his death Granados performed concerts in Spain, Franceand the United States collaborating with Isaac Albeniz, Pablo Casals,violinists Eug?¿ne Ysa??e and Jacques Thibaud, pianists Mieczyslaw Horszowski andCamille Saint-Saens. In addition to his numerous piano works he composedchamber music, vocal music, operas and symphonic poems. Granados was also afine teacher and in 1901 he founded the Academia Granados, which produced suchnoted musicians as Paquita Madriguera, Conchita Badia and Frank Marshall.In 1912 Granados met the American pianist Ernest Schelling, who was thefirst pianist to perform Granados's music outside Spain. Schelling arranged forthe composer's works to be published in New York and encouraged Granados in hisplans to convert the piano suite Goyesca, into an opera, later arrangingfor its premi?¿re at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.Terrified of the ocean, Granados nevertheless sailed to New York for thepremi?¿re of the opera on the 28th January, 1916. While in New York he performednumerous concerts, made piano-roll recordings, and performed at the White Housein Washington. Granados and his wife returned to Europe via Liverpool but whilecrossing the English Channel on the British ship The Sussex, their boat wastorpedoed by a German submarine and they both perished.At age 43 Granados wrote in his diary: 'Finally I have had the goodfortune to write something important - Goyescas'. Subtitled Los majosenamorados ('The Majos in Love'), Goyescas was published in twobooks, the first in 1909-1910 and the second in 1913-1914, along with aseparate piece El pelele: Escena goyesca, traditionally considered asapart of Goyescas. The work is possibly unique in that the suite wassubsequently transformed by the composer into an opera.Goyescas, the title meaning Goya-esque or Goya-?¡like, is highly unusual in thecomplex nature of its inspiration. Through the influence of writer FernandoPeriquet, Granados became inspired by the Spanish painter Francisco Goya(1746-1828). Granados drew inspiration from the painter's ability to depictwhat Granados saw as the essence of the Spanish character. It was theatmosphere, the people and the details of their lives within the context ofGoya's Madrid, which spoke to Granados. He explained his fascination in a 1910letter: '...I fell in love with the psychology of Goya and his palette... thatrosy-whiteness of the cheeks cont