Various Composers - Concertos from Spain (Alicia de Larrocha)

Information

• Isaac Albéniz - Rapsodia española (arr. Cristóbal Halffter)
• Joaquín Turina - Rapsodia sinfónica, Op. 66
• Xavier Montsalvatge - Concerto Breve for Piano & Orchestra
• Carlos Surinach - Concerto for Piano & Orchestra

Alicia de Larrocha, piano

London Symphony Orchestra

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, conductor

Date: 1983; 1976

Label: Eloquence

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Review

This is not going to be an “objective” review, because I specifically asked that Australian Eloquence issue this compilation for the express purpose of bringing back into the catalog the Surinach Piano Concerto, a dazzling, hell-for-leather contemporary Spanish romp that would bring the house down in a live setting, and that has never been released on CD until now. The truth is, I heard it on my car radio in 1984 and sat transfixed in a parking lot, engine running, late for work, until it was done. Then I ran to my local Tower Records to buy it, only to find that it was out of print (it was recorded in 1977). I couldn’t find it used, and never heard it again. I was extremely annoyed that Decca Legends released the equally gorgeous and little-known Montsalvatge Concerto Breve (which isn’t so “breve” after all, lasting about 25 minutes) in tandem with a miscellany of solo works, when the Surinach would have made the perfect coupling.

All of the material included here is vintage Larrocha. The Albéniz and Turina performances are famous and highly regarded anyway, making this CD the ultimate 20th-century Spanish piano concerto collection that does not include the ubiquitous Nights in the Gardens of Spain. So aside from saying that the performances are spectacular, the sonics are terrific, and coming clean about my complicity in this enterprise, I’m just going to limit myself to a heartfelt “Thank you!” I hope that you agree.

— David Hurwitz

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Alicia de Larrocha (23 May 1923 – 25 September 2009) was a Spanish pianist, considered as one of the 20th century's greatest piano legends. Born in Barcelona, she began piano studies at age three with Frank Marshall. She debuted at six at the 1929 Seville World's Fair and performed with an orchestra by eleven. By the 1940s, she was a major concert attraction in Spain and soon toured internationally, including North America and Southern Africa. Famed for her interpretations of Spanish composers such as Albéniz, Granados, de Falla and Mompou, she received multiple awards for her extensive recordings.

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