Suite Española

Isaac Albeniz, Enrique Bátiz, State of Mexico Symphony Orchestra
Albéniz:Iberia/Navarra/Suite Española
Genre: Classical

Track Listings (14) - Disc #1
1. Iberia: No. 1: Evocacion
2. Iberia: No. 2: El Corpus en Sevilla
3. Iberia: No. 3: Triana
4. Iberia: No. 4: El Puerto
5. Iberia: No. 5: El Albaicin
6. Navarra
7. Suite espanola: No. 1: Granada (Serenata)
8. Suite espanola: No. 2: Catalu a (Corranda)
9. Suite espanola: No. 3: Sevilla (Sevillanas)
10. Suite espanola: No. 4: Cadiz (Saeta)
11. Suite espanola: No. 5: Asturias (Leyenda)
12. Suite espanola: No. 6: Arag n (Fantasia)
13. Suite espanola: No. 7: Castilla (Seguidillas)
14. Suite espanola: No. 8: C rdoba (from Cantos de Espa a, Op. 232)

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CD Details

All Artists: Isaac Albeniz, Enrique Bátiz, State of Mexico Symphony Orchestra
Title: Albéniz:Iberia/Navarra/Suite Española
Members Wishing: 0
Total Copies: 0
Label: Asv Living Era
Release Date: 8/23/1994
Genre: Classical
Styles: Forms & Genres, Short Forms, Suites, Instruments, Keyboard
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPC: 743625088823

Synopsis

Amazon.com

Music inspired by specific locations occupies an honored place in the classical repertory, and some pieces actually become informal "national anthems" of the countries they celebrate. There's Sibelius's Finlandia, and Smetana's cycle of tone poems called Ma Vlast ("My Fatherland"). In Spain, there's Albeniz's Iberia Suite. It was originally composed for piano, and no less a composer than Ravel wanted to orchestrate several of the pieces. He was disappointed to discover that the orchestral rights had been ceded by the composer to Enrique Arbos. "Who the hell is Arbos?" Ravel is reported to have said when he found out, and sure enough, the only thing Ardos is remembered for is his orchestration of Iberia. As you can hear for yourself on this fine disc, he did a very good job. --David Hurwitz

CD Reviews

Excellent Recordings of Albeniz Orchestral Music

goodmusicman | USA | 07/07/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The music featured on this CD was all originally written for piano and later orchestrated by Spanish conductor Arbos. (The Amazon review provides backround). Since Albeniz was aiming to portray pictures through the medium of sound (the piano), the orchestrated versions are even more successful in this endeavor. All of the music captures a genuinely "Spanish" sound, representative of different Spanish locations. The CD features what is apparently one of the only complete orchestrations of the Spanish Suite.

Enrique Batiz's colorful interpretations are very enjoyable to listen to and his Mexican orchestra clearly knows this music well and plays it to perfection. The sound quality is literally some of the best sound I have ever heard on CD: vivid, detailed, with dynamic range, delivering enormous impact in climaxes. Particularly noteworthy is the bass drum (listen to track 11), which sounds like it's being played in the room with you!

All in all, this CD is easily recommendable to anyone who enjoys colorful or exotic music, as well as for fans of the piano originals of Iberia and the Spanish Suite. Enjoy!"