Issac Albéniz
IsaacAlbéniz was born in Gerona province in
Spain. He was a child prodigy,
who first appeared as a pianist at the age of 4. He had extensively toured
Spain and South America as a pianist by the age of 15. He studied in
Paris and was a pupil of Vincent D'Indy. He became a personal friend of
Franz Liszt.
Schumann and
Liszt had a great influence on his
early piano music.
He became a Spanish nationalist composer and pianist
who reflected the rhythms and styles of Spanish folkmusic
He wrote
mainly piano music, (250 piano works) but also a number of operas,
orchestral pieces, and songs. His masterpiece is the Iberia suite. This
consists of 12 pieces for piano, evoking the mood of Spanish fiestas. Several
of his piano pieces have been arranged for orchestra by Enrique Arbos.