Albeniz - Orchestral Works [Incls 'Piano Concerto No 1']

 
Albeniz - Orchestral Works [Incls 'Piano Concerto No 1'] cover $35.00 Out of Stock
6+ weeks add to cart

ISAAC ALBENIZ
Albeniz - Orchestral Works [Incls 'Piano Concerto No 1']
Martin Roscoe (piano) / BBC Philharmonic, Juanjo Mena

[ Chandos / CD ]

Release Date: Sunday 29 May 2016

This item is currently out of stock. It may take 6 or more weeks to obtain from when you place your order as this is a specialist product.

The Chandos Spanish Music series (La Música de España) with the BBC Philharmonic and Juanjo Mena, its Spanish chief conductor and a specialist in the repertoire, now reaches the music of Isaac Albéniz, one of the greatest Spanish composers of any era.

Highly colourful and subtly contrasted, the Suite española is perhaps the most interesting early anticipation of the great piano collection Iberia, composed about twenty years later, in which, as Debussy remarked, Albéniz 'put the best of himself'. Brilliantly successful though he was as a pianist and composer of piano music, Albeniz also composed operas, having his first success with The Magic Opal, in London, three orchestral movements from which feature here.

The soloist in the Concierto fantástico is the British pianist Martin Roscoe, already highly praised for his many past recordings for Chandos, on which he features with artists such as Tasmin Little and Jennifer Pike.

Written at the same time as the Piano Concerto yet very different in style, Rapsodia española positively celebrates the Spanish idiom - all the more vividly in the orchestration by George Enescu, chosen for this recording. The piano soloist, again, is Martin Roscoe.

Artists:
Martin Roscoe | Piano*
BBC Philharmonic
Juanjo Mena

"The disc opens with the Rapsodia española as orchestrated two years after the composer's death by George Enescu. This is a wonderful piece of orchestration with the original suiting the gypsy character of Enescu's style. The result is a twelve minute tour de force for piano and orchestra, one in which the Spanish elements music come well to the fore. The piano plays an important role in this piece, and here Martin Roscoe gives a stellar performance. Mena has the BBC Phil sounding more Spanish than most Spanish orchestras in this music. Gerald Larner's booklet notes are extremely informative and aid the enjoyment of this wonderful disc which also has excellent sound." Recording of the Month MusicWeb May 2016

"Martin Roscoe's performances are of exceptional skill and affection while the BBC Philharmonic under Juanjo Mena, finely recorded, play with a suitably heated, open-hearted commitment." (Gramophone)

Tracks:

Suite española (arr. Frühbeck de Burgos)
Suite from The Magic Opal
Piano Concerto No. 1 Concierto fantástico
Rapsodia española (orch. George Enescu)