8/3: Enfoque: Isaac Albéniz
Isaac Albéniz is best known for his works for the piano, most notably, Iberia. But he also wrote songs, chamber works, and a number of zarzuelas and operas, and dreamed of creating a Spanish national opera. Isaac Albéniz was one of the most outstanding personalities in Spain's musical history. On this edition of The Spanish Hour, we explore the life and work of Isaac Albéniz and the cultural environment that allowed him to flourish, via selections from Pepita Jiménez, Iberia, Cantos de España, as well as the rarely heard Piano Sonata No. 5.
8/10: Foreign Impressions of Spain
Spain in the imagination of Ravel, Debussy, Chabrier, and Franz Liszt, just a few of the many composers whose imaginations were sparked by the customs and music of the Iberian Peninsula. This week, we hear their impressions of Spain.
8/17: Does This Spanish Music Sound “Spanish?”
While Spanish classical music owes much to the folkloric characteristics of Spanish musical traditions, there are many works inspired by at European modernism. This week on The Spanish Hour, we take a walk through Spanish orchestral works of the 20th-century, from a 1928 recording of Albéniz' s El Puerto from Iberia to theguitar concierto Mare nostrum by Catalan Salvador Brotons to the Concerto for Orchestra by Aragonese innovator Antón García Abril, who died in March 2021 following complications from Covid-19.
8/24: Gems from Uruguay, Panamá, and Spain
Enjoy twentieth-century chamber music for winds and small orchestra. There’s a suite for six – count-em six -- tubas by Uruguay’s Enrique Crespo, plus miniatures for small orchestra from Panama’s Roque Cordero. Federico Moreno Torroba’s homage to the dance “seguidilla” rounds out this week’s program.
8/31: Música de cámara: Argentina, Mexico and Spain
This edition of The Spanish Hour features chamber Music from Spain, Argentina, and Mexico from the early and mid-20th century. We’ll hear a piano quartet by Spain’s Joaquín Turina, Argentinian composer Piazzolla’s Four Seasons of Buenos Aires arranged for piano trio, and Mexican composer Carlos Chávez’s first string quartet. Artists include Trio Solisti, Southwest Chamber Music, and the Damocles Trio.