Isaac Albéniz; Enrique Granados - Piano Concertos (Melani Mestre)

Information

Composer: Isaac Albéniz; Enrique Granados

• Albéniz - Concierto fantástico in A minor, Op. 78
• Albéniz - Rapsodia española, Op. 70
• Granados - Piano Concerto in C minor "Patético" (arr. Mestre)

Melani Mestre, piano

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra

Martyn Brabbins, conductor

Date: 2012

Label: Hyperion

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Review

This absorbing disc, the 65th in Hyperion’s endlessly enterprising ‘Romantic Piano Concerto’ series, juxtaposes the Albéniz Concerto with two first recordings: his Rapsodia española in the San Sebastián version, and Granados’s C minor Concerto patético in a reconstruction of fragments by the pianist Melani Mestre. Oddly subtitled Fantástico, the Concerto shows little trace of either Albéniz’s early picture-postcard Spain or the later marvels of his masterpiece, Iberia.

Very much for those who like music that makes few demands, it was elegantly described on its first London performance as ‘pleasing though not lofty in design’. Certainly the second movement’s breezy seaside tune will set heads nodding and feet tapping, and it is remarkable that the authentically Spanish Rapsodia española was completed at the same time as the Concerto. Sultry and Moorish before bursting out into all the fun of the feria, the Rapsodia is hard to resist and will appeal to those in love with all things southern and Spanish.

Yet the chief interest lies in the Granados, solemn and declamatory in the first movement before leaving its C minor sense of elegy to recall two earlier Spanish Dances and the composer’s one unabashed showpiece, the Allegro de concierto. Musical adventure could hardly go further. Impeccably recorded, all the performances by Melani Mestre and the BBC Scottish Orchestra under Martyn Brabbins are of an unfaltering fluency and stylistic command.

— Bryce Morrison

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Isaac Albéniz (29 May 1860 – 18 May 1909) was a Spanish composer and virtuoso pianist. A prodigy who performed from age four, he studied in Leipzig and Brussels before teaching in Barcelona and Madrid. Initially known for light salon music, Albéniz began serious composition around 1890 under the guidance of Felipe Pedrell. He later settled in Paris where he was influenced by French composers such as Dukas and d'Indy. His works vividly capture the spirit of Spain through folk-inspired melodies and rhythms, with his masterpiece Iberia (1905–09) hailed as one of the greatest piano compositions ever written.

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Enrique Granados (27 July 1867 – 24 March 1916) was a Spanish composer and pianist from Catalonia. A student of Felipe Pedrell, he rose to prominence with his Danzas españolas and soon established himself as one of Spain's foremost pianists. In addition to his celebrated piano works, Granados also composed several operas and founded a piano academy in Barcelona. Deeply influenced by 18th-century and Spanish artistic traditions, he created the renowned Goyescas, inspired by the paintings of Francisco Goya. Granados's life ended tragically when the Sussex was torpedoed during his return voyage from New York.

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Melani Mestre (born 1976 in Barcelona) is a Spanish pianist, conductor and scholar. Trained in Barcelona Conservatory and London, he studied piano with Sulamita Aronovsky and conducting with Colin Davis. Mestre has performed with leading orchestras such as the London Symphony, Moscow Philharmonic and New York Philharmonic, collaborating with renowned artists including Martha Argerich and Lorin Maazel. A champion of rare repertoire, he directs the Lviv Symphony Orchestra and the Lviv Summer Music Festival, teaches at ESMUC, and publishes editions and compositions with Editorial Boileau.

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