Spain has long been the source of an exotic element in the music of Europe. In the 19th century it appealed to composers as far away as Russia and as near as France. Musical nationalism developed in Spain largely towards the end of the century, parallel to the nationalism experienced in other countries in the same period. Viva España features two Spanish composers, both thoroughly representative their way. Isaac Albéniz was born in 1860 and enjoyed a turbulent childhood as a pianist, before settling into a more conventional career, devoting himself from 1890 primarily to composition. The piano pieces published under the title Iberia, orchestrated by his younger contemporary, the conductor Enrique Fernandez Arb-s, are characteristic of Albéniz and of the spirit of Spain, here represented by four pieces, Evocaci-n, El Corpus en Sevilla, Triana and El Albaic'n. Manuel de Falla, born in C?diz in 1876, won an even wider international reputation. He is here represented by two suites from his ballet The Three-Cornered Hat (El sombrero de tres picos), the famous Ritual Fire Dance from the ghostly gypsy ballet Love the Magician (El amor brujo) and an Interlude and Dance from the lyric drama La vida breve (The Short Life), invariably known by its Spanish title.
Recommended recording
Recommended recording: Viva España. The Music of Spain, played by the Czecho-Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra under the ebullient young conductor Kenneth Jean.
Naxos 8.550174
