Search - E. Granados, Douglas Riva, Jordi Masó :: Granados: In The Village; Piano Music Vol. 10

Mostly Minor, but Still Delightful, Granados, and an Albéniz

J Scott Morrison | Middlebury VT, USA | 02/27/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is the tenth in a series of recordings of piano music of Enrique Granados (1867-1916) by the distinguished American pianist, long-resident in Spain, Douglas Riva. Riva is in the midst of bringing out a complete printed publication of all of Granados's music and he, along with project director, Alicia de Larrocha, surely are the foremost experts on the composer's music.



This issue mostly contains music from Granados's very early years and although such pieces as the Four Melodías, the Military Marches, Andalucia-Petenera, Berceuse and the Canto del pescador et al. are pleasant, filled as they are with winsome melodies and Spanish-tinged harmonies, they are nonetheless primarily superior salon music. They are played with grace and ease by Riva.



The two unusual works here are those for two pianists. There is the early work for piano four-hands, 'En la aldea' ('In the Village'), a suite of ten character pieces. Riva is joined by another quite fine Spanish pianist, the young Jordi Masó. And finally there is Granados's arrangement for two pianos of 'Triana' from Iberia, Book 2, by his close friend Isaac Albéniz. For me, this latter is one of the highlights of the CD, one that I found myself returning to again and again while comparing it with the original one--piano version. To be honest, I found little to distinguish it from the original version except that there are fuller chords and perhaps more brilliance in the passage work.



My favorite piece, though, is the piano version of the orchestral Intermezzo from Granados's opera, Goyescas; it contains one of the loveliest melodies Granados ever wrote, and the wonder is that he literally wrote it overnight when the original Intermezzo was too short for one of the opera's scene changes. This piece does not appear in the vastly more familiar and beloved 'Goyescas' suite for piano.



This CD is recommended for those who are collecting all of Riva's Granados piano performances, and for those who love short character pieces that are unfailingly melodious and charming.



Scott Morrison



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