Spanish Album

Seductive sounds of Spain from Hough and the Hyperion dream team

Record and Artist Details

Composer or Director: Maurice Ravel, Stephen Hough, Antonio (Francisco Javier José) Soler (Ramos), (Franz) Xaver Scharwenka, Isaac Albéniz, Claude Debussy, Enrique Granados (y Campiña), Federico Mompou, Federico Longás Torres, Walter Niemann

Genre:

Instrumental

Label: Hyperion

Media Format: CD or Download

Media Runtime: 72

Mastering:

Stereo
DDD

Catalogue Number: CDA67565

Tracks:

Composition Artist Credit
Sonatas for Keyboard Nos. 76-149, Movement: No. 90 in F sharp Antonio (Francisco Javier José) Soler (Ramos), Composer
Antonio (Francisco Javier José) Soler (Ramos), Composer
Stephen Hough, Piano
Valses poeticos Enrique Granados (y Campiña), Composer
Enrique Granados (y Campiña), Composer
Stephen Hough, Piano
Iberia, Movement: Evocación Isaac Albéniz, Composer
Isaac Albéniz, Composer
Stephen Hough, Piano
Iberia, Movement: Triana Isaac Albéniz, Composer
Isaac Albéniz, Composer
Stephen Hough, Piano
Impresiones intimas, Movement: Pájaro triste Federico Mompou, Composer
Federico Mompou, Composer
Stephen Hough, Piano
Impresiones intimas, Movement: La barca Federico Mompou, Composer
Federico Mompou, Composer
Stephen Hough, Piano
Impresiones intimas, Movement: Secreto Federico Mompou, Composer
Federico Mompou, Composer
Stephen Hough, Piano
Impresiones intimas, Movement: Gitano Federico Mompou, Composer
Federico Mompou, Composer
Stephen Hough, Piano
Aragon Federico Longás Torres, Composer
Federico Longás Torres, Composer
Stephen Hough, Piano
(3) Estampes, Movement: Soirée dans Grenade Claude Debussy, Composer
Claude Debussy, Composer
Stephen Hough, Piano
(24) Préludes, Movement: La sérénade interrompué Claude Debussy, Composer
Claude Debussy, Composer
Stephen Hough, Piano
(24) Préludes, Movement: La puerta del Vino Claude Debussy, Composer
Claude Debussy, Composer
Stephen Hough, Piano
Pièce en forme de habanera Maurice Ravel, Composer
Maurice Ravel, Composer
Stephen Hough, Piano
Tango Isaac Albéniz, Composer
Isaac Albéniz, Composer
Stephen Hough, Piano
Spanisches Ständchen (Franz) Xaver Scharwenka, Composer
(Franz) Xaver Scharwenka, Composer
Stephen Hough, Piano
Evening in Seville Walter Niemann, Composer
Stephen Hough, Piano
Walter Niemann, Composer
On Falla Stephen Hough, Composer
Stephen Hough, Composer
Stephen Hough, Piano
I cannot imagine many piano lovers failing to fall for this delectable and all-too-brief collection of impressions, portraits and postcards. If you are not drawn to the imaginative programme of the familiar, the brand new and the entirely unknown, then the elegant, eloquent playing of this master pianist will surely seduce you.

The recital is in three parts: nine pieces by native-born Spaniards, four by Frenchmen and four by “Others”, each a self-contained sequence but which also have a satisfying structure when heard in toto. Hough's Spaniards are not concerned with sangria and guitars - his choice of music and pianism are too refined for that - but the sparkling F sharp major sonata by the Scarlatti disciple Antonio Soler and Granados's chastely romantic Valses give little hint of their composers' origins. Indeed, only Triana and Federico Longas's equally taxing Aragón (dedicated to Horowitz) match the vivid red, blue and yellow of the disc's cover illustration. Elsewhere we are treated to some of the loveliest pianissimos and delicate shadings you'll hear, familiar from Hough's earlier Piano Albums and similar in his complete empathy with this kind of repertoire.

If the Albéniz-Godowsky, Scharwenka and Niemann works are very much second-hand Hispanic, Hough's own On Falla has an authentic ring that should provide him with a blistering encore for many years to come. It is dedicated to our own Bryce Morrison (who has provided a fine booklet) and his partner Lyndon Scarffe. The piano sound (Andrew Keener and Simon Eadon) is as you would expect from Hyperion's dream team.

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