Pedro Pérez de Albéniz: Fortepiano Fantasies
I have always felt curious about the time periods between composers such as Antonio Soler or Domenico Scarlatti, belonging to the first half of the 18th century, and others like Enrique Granados, Isaac Albeniz or Manuel de Falla, who were active between the end of the 19th-century and the first half of the 20th-century. During the last decades, research has been done about some of the most important composers of this period. Among all of them, Pedro Pérez de Albéniz (1795-1855) stands out. His importance as a composer and, above all, as a teacher was fundamental in creating a solid and successful piano school in Spain. His pianism is inspired, in order of increasing importance, by Spanish folklore, Italian opera and the pianistic writing and resources used in 19th-century Paris, and is influenced by two capital figures: Friedrich Kalkbrenner (1785-1849) and Henri Herz (1803-1888). Finally, his fantasies are the most ambitious works of his catalog. They are the ones that best exhibit the characteristics of his pianistic language. They are essential to understanding where Pedro Albéniz can be placed within the Spanish piano literature and illustrate how deep Romanticism had come at this time in the context of the Spanish piano.
