El Blog de Tritó » Isaac Albéniz

The Magic Opal, by Isaac Albéniz, in a voice edition

Cristina Martí — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 08:23:43 +0000

Even in August, Tritó continues working for Spanish music. So this last month we edited and published the reduction for piano of the opera The Magic Opal, a fantastic story in two acts with pirates, ghosts and impossible loves made possible by art of magic on the coast of Karatol, composed by Isaac Albéniz in his London period. And in this work we discover the composer’s personal style mixed with typical elements of Victorian opera.

Therefore, as we were saying, this opera, which up till now you could only obtain in its full version or rent, is now also available as a reduction for solo voices, choir and piano at a launch price of just 31.20 euros.

Commitment to music, by Javier Pérez Senz

Javier Pérez Senz — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 11:47:00 +0000

There are things that stir the music-lover’s memory, which bring back reminiscences of that irreplaceable experience which consists of listening to live music in its natural environment, the auditorium. For many fans, the recent recording of the symphonic rhapsody Catalonia, by Isaac Albéniz, at the hands of Jaime Martin and the Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya (OBC) will come as a pleasant surprise: the discovery of a score that exudes freshness, simplicity and melodic charm. For others, it will imply the rediscovery of a work that would be an obligatory part of the concert repertoire in any civilized country, but here, sadly, is not.

Its audition allows listeners to refresh their impressions and memories of great conductors and composers who, throughout their careers, demonstrated their belief in the value of this piece by their acts, without getting caught up in the widespread and sterile debate about Albéniz’s poor reputation as an orchestrator. Certainly, it is a marvel of refinement, but, when performed with full conviction of its merits, the listener is immediately captivated by the simplicity, the melodic inspiration and eternal freshness that permeate the Catalan composer’s music.

I am speaking of legendary musicians, such as the Russian Igor Markévitch, especially in his wonderful period of artistic involvement with the Orquesta Sinfónica de la RTVE; the Romanian Georges Enescu, stalwart defender of a piece that he often programmed, and all over the world; and Eduard Toldrà, the brilliant Catalan violinist, conductor and composer who, in 1944, created the Orquestra Municipal de Barcelona (now the OBC, which has at last recorded Catalonia), and who was a fervent promoter of the Spanish repertoire.

A greater commitment to music is needed and less obsession with attendance figures and box office takings.

There is a need for concert programmers who really believe in Spanish music.

The list includes musicians who are active at this time, such as Antoni Ros Marbà, a passionate perfomer of Albéniz and, in a very special way, of Toldrà, who was his teacher, Jesús López Cobos and José de Eusebio (thanks to his enthusiasm we now know more about the Camprodón musician’s operatic legacy than ever before; the recording discussed today includes an orchestral suite from Pepita Jiménez revised by him), and on his first CD with the OBC, Jaime Martin,

Albéniz had and has eloquent supporters. Why, then, is Catalonia still rarely heard in concert halls? Difficult question. First of all, there is a need for concert programmers who really believe in Spanish music. It is pointless to include just four or five pieces in a whole symphonic season; nor is the Spanish share of the programmes sufficient; nor are there enough commissions, increasingly unambitious and scarce. A greater commitment to music is needed and less obsession with attendance figures and box office takings.

There is enough leeway to balance the offer using the more popular classics to attract the general public –it all depends on the programmers’ imagination. The regularisation of works such as Catalonia – and this piece is just one example because there are hundreds of scores in the same situation – requires a strong alliance between performers, programmers and the public.

The musicians with power – and the chief conductors of a symphonic ensemble have a lot of power – are the ones who ultimately have a greater say when it comes to choosing which works are programmed and which are left out: when a chief conductor wants to play a given piece, eventually it gets played.

Programmers, managers and artistic directors should limit themselves to doing their duty, because the revival and dissemination of the national repertoire is an obligation for all orchestras, auditoriums and the concert-going public.

As for the public, the greatest possible complicity is needed, using the media that now, more than ever, can arouse – if used with imagination and efficiency – music-lovers’ curiosity, the desire to discover new and old scores, the possibility of expanding frontiers.

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The Magic Opal by Isaac Albéniz

Arnau Farré — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 10:10:27 +0000

Josep Pla was of the opinion that music should be systematically understandable: “if necessary, to the point of sheer vulgarity, mud and bricks and that’s it.” The operetta genre lends itself more freely to this description than others, or to put it in a more pedantic and euphemistic way, this excess of comprehensibility.

Using an eccentric libretto that situates the action on the coast of Greece (a circumstance that determines the names of some characters but has no influence on the music, unless it’s the abundance of Phrygian cadences) Isaac Albéniz complies effectively with the customs of Victorian operetta.

Now, in a magnificent edition by Borja Mariño, this work is newly available and we have the opportunity to approach it with a full and thorough knowledge of the facts. Forget any condescension towards the genre, though: it is more than likely that “The Magic Opal” has moments of ambivalent simplicity in store for us, unbearable and delicious at the same time.

Listen to an excerpt from The Magic Opal >

Upcoming concerts

Cristina Martí — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 07:48:08 +0000

Maybe you are still not aware that Tritó has a concert schedule, which provides details of all our composers’ musical activity, both around Spain and abroad.

To begin with, last week, on the 23 and 25 February, the Oviedo Filarmonía, under the baton of Lorenzo Ramos, performed the Tonadillas by Enric Granados with orchestration by Albert Guinovart, at the Auditorio Príncipe Felipe in Oviedo and the Madrid auditorium.

And on 26 February in Biscaya, the Orquestra Simfònica de Bilbao and the Orfeón Donostiarra continued the commemoration of the 50^th anniversary of the death Jesús Guridi, performing his “Cuadros Vascos” at the Teatro Social Antzokia in Basauri

We can recommend seven concerts in March: if you were at the Centre Pompidou in Paris on the 2^nd of the month you may have listened to the Ensemble Intercontemporain playing “Stress Tensor” by Hèctor Parra. On the 11^th, Sortilegis, by Xavier Montsalvatge, will be performed at the Teatro Monumental in Madrid by the Orquestra de RTVE, and on the following day, at the same venue and with soloists from the same orchestra, you can listen to the Quartet with oboe by Jesús Torres

Continuing in the month of March, other concerts are La rosa del azafrán, by Jacinto Guerrero in Albacete on the 18^th, Orchestral highlights from the opera Pepita Jiménez by Isaac Albéniz (edited by José de Eusebio) in Reutlingen (Germany), and the Obertura del ballet Alphonse et Léonore ou L’amant peintre by Ferran Sor in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, both on the 24^th. And lastly, on 29 March the students from the Salamanca Music Conservatory will play the Concert for bassoon and chamber ensemble by Agustí Charles

There’s sure to be something that interests you among all these works. As you know, if you want to go to a concert, consult the schedule for the next few months. Enjoy yourselves!

Catalonia by Isaac Albéniz

Cristina Martí — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 12:27:25 +0000

The two great symphonic works by Isaac Albéniz, Catalonia and Catalan Symphonic Scenes, have been virtually ignored by the recording companies: the versions of Catalonia available on the market are scarce, date back over two decades and are from abroad, and as regards Symphonic Scenes there is no evidence of any recordings prior to this release.

Following the recent revival of the opera Pepita Jimenez, a suite was released that brings together the orchestral sections and it concludes this selection of repertoire that aims to bring the public closer to Isaac Albéniz’s authentic symphonism.

The new recording is titled Catalonia and includes the abovementioned works, performed by the Orquestra Sinfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya under the baton of Jaime Martín. It should be mentioned that the sleeve notes were written by the musicologist Josep Dolcet.

Listen to it here >

The work that Albéniz began and Granados finished

Marcel Soleda — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 12:11:56 +0000

“Azulejos is really delightful. Rosina has given me the original copy by Isaac and I treasure it. But I’m happy to share it with you. Would you like a copy? I’ll send you the original of what I’ve written.”

This is how the letter ends that Enrique Granados sent to Joaquim Malats in 1910 about Azulejos, an exquisite piano work that the maestro Isaac Albéniz had left unfinished and which would have constituted the beginning of a second suite, following the success of the Suite Iberia. Granados began at bar 51 and left it with its present 154 bars in a masterly exercise in composition, where he is faithful to his own style but at the same time does not betray the original spirit Albéniz’s work.

The finished work was published in 1911 by Édition Mutuelle in Paris. The original manuscripts were separated and have been held up to the present day in the Museum of Music of Barcelona and the Biblioteca de Catalunya, respectively. However the central sheet which contains the union of the two parts got lost and finally appeared in a collection of autograph scores. Probably owing to its peculiarity, it was removed, framed and exhibited at the Institut del Teatre.

As a result of this discovery the Biblioteca de Catalunya prepared a special edition, with score and facsimile of the original, to mark the hundredth anniversary of the composition of this work.

This new edition has been used to record the CD Azulejos, música de cámara, which, as well as the performance of Azulejos by the pianist Jean-Bernard Pommier, contains the Quintet in G minor and the Trío in C by Enrique Granados, performed by Santiago Juan and Cristian Benito, violin; Alejandro Garrido, viola; and Màrius Díaz, violoncello.

Listen to it here >

New edition of the Complete Works for voice and piano by Isaac Albéniz

Leticia Martin — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 10:13:27 +0000

To mark the centenary of Isaac Albéniz’s death, Tritó Publishers has issued a new revised edition of this composer’s complete works for voice and piano, a key repertoire among the Spanish music from all periods.

It is hoped that this long-awaited new edition will be as successful as the previous one, published over ten years ago. It continues the line initiated with the publication of another important set of complete works for voice and piano, the songs of Enrique Granados.

In this edition particular mention should be made of the inclusion of the translations of the original lyrics to English, Catalan and Spanish, and also the phonetic transcription made by Oriol Gil Sanchís. The introductory study has also been reviewed, enlarged and updated by its author, Jacinto Torres, one of the foremost experts on this composer.

The publication includes five poems by Becquer for recital with piano accompaniment, along with later versions by Albéniz for singer and piano. It also includes six salon romances in Italian, four songs on French poems with modernist and symbolist aesthetics, and most important of all, the set of the sixteen songs based on poems by his English patron Francis B. Money-Coutts.

Albéniz’s piano music has often overshadowed the rest of his musical output. Among his songs and lieder there are very different pieces, ranging from salon romances to French impressionist songs and recited works with piano accompaniment. This compilation of works – some of them hitherto unpublished – provides a novel overview of this composer.

For further information about this issue…

(Castellano) Homenajes al Centenario Albéniz

Redacción — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:17:30 +0000

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“La guitarra soñada” by Javier Riba presented in Madrid and Barcelona

Leticia Martin — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 17:05:37 +0000

In the year of Albéniz’s centenary (1860-1909), Javier Riba, following the best Spanish guitar tradition (Miquel Llobet, Francesc Tárrega), has realised some brilliant versions of different works by the maestro from Camprodon, which are now being presented in concert in Madrid and Barcelona.

The opportunity to listen to Javier Riba live in Madrid is on 22 April, as part of the concert programme organised by the Sociedad Española de la Guitarra, at the Centro Cultural Conde Duque del Ayuntamiento de Madrid, and he can be heard in Barcelona on 23 May, as part of the Festival de Guitarra de Barcelona , in the Iglesia de San Felipe Neri.

The CD “La guitarra soñada” by Javier Riba is a Tritó production.

Albéniz for guitar

Leticia Martin — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 11:08:55 +0000

Isaac Albéniz is one of the most emblematic composers of Spanish music of all time and although he never wrote for guitar his music almost immediately aroused the interest of guitarists. The first adaptations for guitar of Albéniz’s music are practically contemporary to the original versions for piano, although there is no doubt that the best known are those realised by Andrés Segovia.

Javier Riba now presents adaptations of some of Albéniz’s masterworks, pieces that have been included in the CD “La guitarra soñada”, which is now being released for the enjoyment of all guitar lovers.

Evocación

El puerto

Above all, the guitarist has aimed to respect the style and resources of the guitar of the epoch and the spirit of Albeniz’s piano music.

For the time being, the published works are the following: Evocación and El puerto.

You can download a sample on continuation…

El Puerto

Evocación