The twelve Danzas españolas para piano were claimed by Granados to have been written when he was sixteen, but they were not given their first public performance until 1890, when the composer himself performed them in Barcelona. Whatever the case, the Danzas are written with elegance and finesse, and represent his most obviously ‘nationalist’ music. Granados is not here harmonizing folk motifs, since his themes are original, although a connection with popular tradition may be evident. The popular inspiration is, however, dressed in completely romantic musical language.