spanish piano music

[sof]

any suggestions on Spanish piano music? Tango?

thanks.

[shasta]

What else are you working on (to give us an idea of your level)?

There's a ton out there - - - do some Google or Amazon or Sheet Music Plus searches to see if anything catches your eye/ear.  You might start with these:

Albeniz - Iberia or Suite Espanola

Grenados - Goyescas or his Danzas Espanolas

Mompou - I like his Chopin Variations

Soler - <-- his sonatas are fun and underplayed

De Falla - Piezas Españolas, Serenatas, or his Homenaje "Le tombeau de Claude Debussy"

Rodrigo - Cinco Piezas del Siglo XVI or his 2 Berceuses

Turina - his Dos danzas sobre temas populares or Danzas gitanas (Op. 84 and 55)

Godowsky - not a spaniard, but he did a lovely transcription of Albeniz's Tango (one of my fav pieces)

You might also look at works by Lecuona (Cuba), Ginastera (Argentina), Villa-Lobos (Brazil), Piazzolla (Argentina).... so many to choose from!  Good luck!

[ryguillian]

Also, Sorabji’s five movement “Fantasia ispanica” is very interesting.

—Ryan

[sof]

thanks!

I'm currently playing Prokofiev sonata no.2, Chopin ballade no.4, Liszt transcendental etude no.10, you get the idea.

[Mozartian]

Antonio Soler is fantasic; I particularly like his F#M sonata (op. 90).

de Falla is another favorite.

Glad to see someone else interested in the Spanish masters!

[nicco]

liszt- spanish rhapsody of course

[anda]

ravel was very much influenced by spanish folk music - try maybe habanera or pavane pour une infante defunte; also try infante, he has some very spanish works.

best luck

[bernhard]

Here are some more, not yet mentioned:

Scarlatti, although Italian, lived the last 23 years of his life in Spain, and composed most of his 555 sonatas there. According to Kirkpatrick (Domenico Scarlatti - Princeton)

This music ranges from the courtly to the savage, from an almost saccharine urbanity to an acrid violence. Its gaiety is all the more intense for an undertone of tragedy. Its moments of meditative melancholy are at times overwhelmed by a surge of extrovert operatic passion. Most particularly he has expressed that part of his life which was lived in Spain. There is hardly an aspect of Spanish life, of Spanish popular music and dance, that has not found itself a place in the microcosm that Scarlatti created with his sonatas. No Spanish composer, not even Manuel de Falla in the 20th century, has expressed the essence of his native land as completely as did the foreigner Scarlatti. He has captured the click of castanets, the strumming of guitars, the thud of muffled drums, the harsh bitter wail of gypsy lament, the overwhelming gaiety of the village band, and above all the wiry tension of the Spanish dance.

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,2339.msg20064.html#msg20064
(Scarlatti favourite sonatas – almost 200 sonatas graded and commented).

Juan Arriaga (1806 –1826), considered the Spanish Mozart, died at 19, but still found the time to write three pieces for keyboard: Estudios o caprichos

Sebastian Albero (1722 – 1756) – If you are into classical sonatas but tired of Mozart and Haydn, he is your man: he wrote 30

Oscar Esplá (1886 –1976) – Modern writing, his op. 54 (“Lyrica Española”) is very rhythmical and “Spanish”.

Rodolfo Haffter (1900- ?) – Although born in Spain, Haffter became a Mexican citizen in the late 1930s. His 11 bagatelles op. 19 are particularly nice with very sophisticated writing (technically not difficult).

And then, don´t miss on Victor Carbajo:

https://www.pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,8368.0.html
(Victor Carbajo)

I am sure there is much more.

Best wishes,
Bernhard.