Albeniz: "Cordoba" (flute & keyboard).

   • willie-whistleblower  

Albeniz was a Spanish virtuoso pianist, composer, and conductor. He is one of the foremost composers of the Post-Romantic era.

Isaac Manuel Francisco Albéniz y Pascual was born in Catalonia and spent his younger years in Central and South America. (he fostered the myth that he stowed away aged 12 to get there).
He was one of the first Spanish composers to exploit native rhythms and melodies.
During his extended stay in France he forged friendships with numerous composers there and his composition technique and harmonic language influenced aspiring younger composers such as Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel. His activities as conductor, performer and composer significantly raised the profile of Spanish music abroad, whilst also encouraging composers and performers in his own country. He is best known for his piano works based on Spanish folk music idioms.
While Albéniz's crowning achievement, 'Iberia', was written in the last years of his life in France, many of its preceding works are well-known and of great interest. The five pieces in 'Chants d'Espagne', (Songs of Spain, published in 1892) are a solid example of the compositional ideas he was exploring in the "middle period" of his life.
Albéniz died from kidney disease on 18 May 1909 in south-western France. He was only 48. Just a few weeks before his death, the French Government bestowed upon him the Legion of Honour, its highest honour. He is buried at the Montjuïc Cemetery, Barcelona.
(For those interested, Albeniz son Alfonso payed for Real Madrid and his great-granddaughter Cécilia married Nicholas Sarkozy).

(Recorded on a flute dating from the 1860's to give a contemporary sound).