The late 19th and early 20th centuries have been called the golden age of Spanish piano music — a rebirth of fervent nationalism that ushered in a true keyboard renaissance. Brought to national awareness by the four most important composers of their generation — Isaac Albéniz, Enrique Granados, Manuel de Falla, and Joaquin Turina — this new wave of music explored everything Spanish: the magnetic rhythms of Spanish dance, the dark lyricism of Spanish song, the Iberian countryside, the landscape, and the sights and sounds of everyday life.
Albéniz sketched picturesque vistas of Spanish scenes and landscapes in works called "Malagueña," "Asturias," and "Córdoba." In Goyescas, Granados transformed Francisco Goya's artwork into a world of voluptuous sound, confessing that "I fell in love with Goya's palette . . . with his lady maja." Falla painted the Spanish landscape in "Aragonesa" and "Andaluza" and brought new life to Spanish dance theater with his ballet El amor brujo — featuring the world-famous "Ritual fire dance" — and with the brilliant farrucas, fandangos, and seguidillas of his ballet El sombrero de tres picos. And Turina added new luster to Spanish nationalism with music steeped in the cante hondo ("deep song") of his native Andalusia.
Dover's outstanding new collection brings together 24 works by these Spanish masters, introduced by Antonio Soler's hypnotic: "Fandango," considered one of the most celebrated keyboard works of the 18th century. The technical range of the pieces in this exceptional volume makes this collection of special interest to a broad range of pianists, intermediate to advanced.