Iberia is a suite for piano composed by Isaac Albéniz towards the end of his life (between 1905 and 1909), and to a great extent it sums up the results of his creative achievements. It consists of four books, each of which consists of three pieces. The cycle is rarely performed in full as in its entirety it lasts roughly one and a half hours.
This is one of Albéniz’ most famous works, his unsurpassed masterpiece which was highly rated by Claude Debussy and Olivier Messiaen who noted that “Albéniz’ Iberia was a miracle of the piano; possibly it is the best of his brilliant works for the king of instruments – the piano”. Stylistically, Iberia borders on impressionism, in particular in the sections that conjure up musical images of Spain. In different sections of the suite one can hear echoes of dances and songs from various towns and regions of the country, national customs and traditions and so on, and one can “see” scenes of folk life. From a technical point of view, this is one of the most complex pieces in the piano repertoire which demands outstanding virtuosity, power and versatility from the performer.
Evocación (Book I) is, to an extent, a nostalgic scene of his native land written in a colourful spirit (Albéniz spent the last fifteen years of his life in Paris), which combines elements of the southern Spanish fandango and the Aragon jota from northern Spain.
Triana (Book II) is a piece in the Spanish gypsy style which was named after the gypsy quarter in Seville.
Lavapiés (Book III) is yet another “evocation”, named after one of the districts of Madrid.
Goyescas (1907–1911) are two piano suites by Enrique Granados (each consisting of three pieces) that were inspired, as the name would suggest, by the great artist Francisco Goya. But although the title of the first book – Los majos enamorados – allows us to identify certain specific associations, albeit with the famous picture Los majos en el balcón, we should not seek a musical embodiment of any specific paintings. Rather it is possible to speak of the picturesque nature, or even the subject quality, in the music of the suite which gives us the possibility of fully comprehending various “stage” images and situations, the composer’s desire to embody a generalised musical image of Spain and also his wish to create a “musical tribute” to Goya.
“In Goyescas I would like to add an individual note, a mixture of passion and grace, I would like neither of these two emotions to dominate the other in the atmosphere of refined poetry.
The significance of the melody and rhythm is great, and these often immerse one fully in the music. The rhythm, colours and life are purely Spanish, the shades of emotion so loving and passionate, so dramatic and tragic, as they are in all of Goya’s works,” the composer wrote of his cycle. Goyescas having seen Goya’s paintings at the Prado in Madrid. The first was performed in 1911 in Barcelona, then in Paris and the complete cycle in 1913 in Madrid. The suite proved a tremendous success, to a large extent because of the poetic feel of the music, the melodic richness and the brilliant Liszt-like style of piano composition embodied in it – albeit with amendments to take account of the specific nature of Spanish music and the composer’s individuality. And Granados goes beyond the limits of pure virtuosity; the performer must, first and foremost, embrace the inner essence of this music and the depth of its unique and magistic world.
Maja y el ruiseñor (Book I) is one of Granados’ most popular works and one of the most lyrical highpoints of Goyescas. The piece draws us with its melodic charm and the contrast of passionately dreamy and sad emotion that is typical of the folklore of Spain and of Andalusia in particular.
El pelele (“The Straw Doll”, Fandango, Book II) combines elements of Spanish folklore and romantic, virtuoso dance and piano style (similar to Chopin’s polonaises), ingeniously interpreted by the composer in the early 20th century. | | Claude Debussy’s Suite bergamasque (1890–1905) is one of the great French composer’s most popular works for piano. The suite has four parts: Prélude, Minuet, Clair de lune and Passepied. Written in the early 1890s, this work was only published fifteen years later, and the composer moreover made significant amendments to certain sections and changed the title of at least two parts: Promenade sentimentale became Claire de lune, and the Pavane became a Passepied.
Debussy, who invented and original and innovative piano style, very often found inspiration in the genres, forms and technical methods of early music (in this cycle it is the Prélude, Minuet and Passepied). The revival of early genres was one of the most important features of Debussy’s music, as it was with another brilliant impressionist, Maurice Ravel. In this sense, the Suite bergamasque may be called one of the precursors of neoclassicism in the first half of the 20th century.
The Prélude is a piece that is powerful in character, restrained in the baroque fashion typical for the genre. It is full of dynamic contrasts, in particular the energetic outer sections.
The Minuet is to a large extent a unique miniature that is far from the traditional minuet: instead of the gallantness, refinement and elegance of an early court dance there is rough merriment in a folk spirit. The joking main theme contrasts with the mysterious and dramatic middle section.
Clair de lune id the lyrical heart of the suite, as well as being its most famous section, named after a poem by Paul Verlaine – one of Debussy’s favourite poets. Regardless of all its originality, this thematic piece is close to the previous two sections.
The Passepied is the suite’s finale which is written in the genre of an early British dance and which in part returns to the style of the Prélude at the start of the cycle.
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev’s Piano Sonata No 4 in C Minor (Op. 29, 1917, in three parts) has the secondary title From Old Books. The first sketches for this work date to 1908 (at that time it was Sonata No 5).
The Fourth Sonata is imbued with a devotion to classicism, and Beethoven’s influence may be seen on several occasions. This is, undoubtedly, not by chance: it should be remembered that in 1917 Prokofiev wrote his Classical Symphony, modelled on Haydn’s symphonies. Most of all it is the general concept of the work, which may generally be defined as a movement “from darkness to light”, that refers back to Beethoven. The “Beethoven” C Minor also plays its role, being the main tone of the work.
The first section is restrained in the mood of bleak contemplation, and in conveys mournful emotions, I particular the main theme (the Sonata is dedicated to the memory of Sergei Prokofiev’s friend Maximilian Schmidthof). The music is completely bereft of superficial effect, often typical for the young Prokofiev.
The second section is a revised Andante of his earlier Symphony in E Minor, written in 1908. It is based on an expressive and tender song melody that embodies poetical and contemplative images and lyrical dreams.
The Sonata’s finale, “just like a blinding ray of sunlight, like a powerful gust of wind” (I. I. Martynov), bursts into the restrained and lyrical imagistic world of the previous sections. Throughout the entire finale there is a triumphant, life-confirming mood, pathos of creation and, possibly, a presentiment of the “birth of a new world”. In the music this is expressed in the expansive themes, the vivid passages and other bold piano techniques that Prokofiev avoided in the previous sections, as well as the “sunny” tone in C Major of the third section.
Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff arranged Fritz Kreisler’s Liebesleid and Liebesfreude in the 1920s (1921 and 1925 respectively), when there was a lengthy interruption in his art due to his departure from Russia as an émigré. The composer turned to the genre of transcription at this time, producing piano arrangements of his own romance Marguerites, Schubert’s song Wohin? from the cycle Die Schöne Müllerin, Johann Sebastian Bach’s Prelude, Gavotte and Jig from the Partita in E Major for violin solo, a Scherzo from music by Mendelssohn for Shakespeare’s comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a Minuet from Bizet’s L’Arlésienne and a Hopak from Musorgsky’s opera Sorochintsy Fair among other works. Turning to Kreisler’s popular pieces, Rachmaninoff added a strong, virtuoso concert-style and improvised feeling to their melodic charm. Ever since, with Rachmaninoff’s “lightness of hand”, these pieces have held a key position in the piano repertoire. |
