Berlin 19-04-2010
Enrique Granados – www.foto-face.com
The Spanish-Catalan pianist and composer Enrique Granados was born in Lleida, Catalonia, Spain in 1867 – his music is uniquely Spanish, representative of musical nationalism of the times – namely the incorporation of traditional folk music set into more formal classical form.
His musical career started with piano studies in Barcelona, and in 1887 he went to Paris to study composition with Felipe Pedrell returning to Barcelona 2 years later.
He presented his first successful composition at this time – the zarzuela ‘Maria del Carmen’ which became instantly popular and well publicized and caught the attention of King Alfonso XIII.
In 1911 Granados premiered what would become his most famous work – is suite for piano called ‘Goyescas’ – six pieces based on paintings by his favorite painter Goya.
Francesco Goya was a Spanish romantic and is often regarded as last of the old Spanish Master painters and as first of the moderns – along with being a chronicler of history, which was unique at this time.
Enrique Granados was multi-talented, and like his fellow composer Arnold Schoenberg and British politician Winston Churchill, was also a talented painter.
The ‘Goyescas’ became such a big success that he expanded on it forming a whole opera based on the subject in 1914, but the outbreak of first World War forced its European premiere to be canceled.
It was therefore performed for the 1st time in New York 1916, and was immediately well received.
While in the US he was invited to perform a solo piano recital for the then US President Wilson.
Because of this special presidential invitation his original plans for a return journey to war-torn Europe were delayed. This delay caused him to miss his boat back to Spain via the England and from there the cross channel ferry to Dieppe France which was subsequently torpedoed by a German U-boat.
In a courageous but failed attempt to save his wife whom he saw floating in the water some distance away, Granados jumped out of his lifeboat, and then tragically drowned.
The couple from neutral Spain left six bereaved children and a nation bereaved of one of its shining musical lights.
Besides his piano music -many of which have been popularized after having been transcribed for guitar – Granados also wrote chamber music, songs, Zarzuelas, and an orchestral tone poem based on ‘Dante’s Divine Comedy’.
During his too short life Granados was an important influence on at least two other important Spanish composers and musicians, Manuel de Falla and Pablo Casals – both of whom also have apartments named after them at the OTA-Berlin Spanish Composer building at Metzer Strasse in Berlin Mitte.
=======================================================
As a continuation of our’ OTA-Berlin Constituency Blog Mini-Composer-Biography Series’ we present the third of the Spanish Composers for the new OTA-Berlin serviced apartments building opening in beginning of May 2010 – Metzer Straße 8 in Berlin Mitte.
Tags: Enrique Granados y Campiña, Mini-Composer-Bios, OTA-Berlin Spanish Composer buildings
Loading ...
