ISAAC ALBÉNIZ (1860-1909): Iberia (orch. Francisco Guerrero [1951-1997]).

Catalogue Number: 02J067
Label: Glossa
Reference: GSP 98006
Format: CD
Price: $18.98
Description: The avant-garde composer enjoyed doing orchestral transcriptions in his spare time (including 15 pieces of Tchaikovsky's Album pour enfants) but he considered this one his most important since, to him, Albéniz was his country's finest composer of the last hundred years. His sudden death left only six movements complete: Corpus Christi en Sevilla, Málaga, El Polo, El Albaicín, Jerez and Almería. From the first notes, you are aware that you are not in Arbós-land anymore... Guerrero uses all of his own personal orchestral style to reinvent and reimagine the sound world of Albéniz' piano pieces, sometimes spending an entire day on how to "translate" a chord, a phrase or even an accent. Tonal but dissonant in places (just like Albéniz himself), this is like your first sip of cask-strength bourbon after a lifetime of chardonnay. Galicia Symphony Orchestra; José Ramón Encinar.