The American pianist Douglas Riva has gained international recognition for his profound knowledge of Spanish music, and no less an authority than the distinguished Spanish composer Xavier Montsalvatge has described him as an exceptional pianist. Douglas Riva’s interpretations of the works of Enrique Granados, in particular, have earned him a place as one of this composer’s leading exponents worldwide, praised in the Spanish press and elsewhere. His recordings for Naxos of the complete piano works of Granados have won critical acclaim, notably in Spain, the United Kingdom, Japan and the United States. Douglas Riva is the Assistant Director of the eighteen-volume critical edition of the Complete Works for Piano of Enrique Granados, directed by Alicia de Larrocha and published by Editorial Boileau, Barcelona. An active recitalist, he has performed at the White House and at Carnegie Hall and has recorded numerous programmes for television and radio in Brazil, Spain, Portugal, Holland, and the United States. He gave the first American performance of a newly discovered Scarlatti sonata at the National Gallery of Art and the world première of Gazebo Dances by John Corigliano in Barcelona. Granados’s long-lost masterpiece Cant de les estrelles for piano solo, organ and choruses was performed for only the second time in history by Douglas Riva and the Voices of Ascension, directed by Dennis Keene in 2007. The Naxos recording of the première performance, Song of the Stars (Naxos 8.570533), was nominated for a Grammy award. Douglas Riva started his musical education at the age of nine, studying both the piano and the flute. He began his professional career at the age of sixteen as the Principal Flautist of the El Paso (Texas) Symphony Orchestra. Later, devoting himself exclusively to the piano, he continued his studies at the Juilliard School, New York University, and at the Academia Marshall, founded by Granados. The Fallen Nightingale, a novel by John W. Milton based on the life of Enrique Granados, was published by Swan Books in 2005 and includes a compilation CD of Douglas Riva’s recordings for Naxos.

A pianist and composer, the Spanish musician Albéniz was a leading figure in the creation of a national style of composition in Spain. Although he wrote operas (including a King Arthur to English words), songs and orchestral music, he is best known for his piano music, some of which has been arranged by others for orchestra.

Piano Music

Albéniz’s music for piano includes Iberia (four books), two Suites españolas, 12 piezas características and Recuerdos de viaje (‘Travel Memories’). Orchestral arrangements include pieces from the Suite Iberia, orchestrated by Arbós. Other arrangements have been for guitar, an instrument to which much of the music of Albéniz is well suited.

Born in Lérida in 1867, Enrique Granados studied the piano and composition in Barcelona and then in Paris, returning to Barcelona in 1889. He won distinction as a pianist and popularity in Spain with his contributions to the zarzuela. He was drowned in the English Channel when the boat on which he was returning home from an American tour by way of Liverpool was torpedoed.

Operas

In addition to a number of zarzuelas, Granados wrote an opera called Goyescas, derived from piano pieces after paintings by Goya. This was first performed at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 1916. An Intermezzo from the opera, either in orchestral form or as a duet for cello and piano, has proved viable in the concert hall.

Piano Music and Orchestral Arrangements

The 12 Danzas españolas (‘Spanish Dances’) are immensely effective, both in their original piano version and in various instrumental and orchestral arrangements. The Goyescas of 1911 are more ambitious in their technical requirements. There are further compositions for piano, including six pieces based on popular Spanish songs and seven Valses poeticos.

Granados @ 150 – listen to the podcast