Granados: Goyescas

Written in the first decade of the twentieth century, it is a musical tribute to the great Spanish artist Francisco de Goya, under whose spell Granados had fallen as a young man. Filled with a patriotic fervor for what he saw as a universally great Spanish genius, he wrote several pieces inspired by the painter s life and times. The six pieces that make up Goyescas are not mere tone-poems but instead draw on details from Goya s works notably the Caprichos, a sequence of aquatints that satirized (and outraged) Spanish society. Another product of Granados s preoccupation with the painter was the exuberant El pelele, which recounts the tale of a straw man being tossed on a trampoline, while the Allegro de concierto forms a fittingly brilliant endpiece.

Garrick Ohlsson hits each note so meticulously it s as though it s the only one on the page. Whether displaying the brevity in the Allegro de concierto, the sentimentality of ‘Coloquio en la reja, duo de amor’ or the snappiness of ‘El fandango de candil’, the attention to detail is carried forth with perfection. Hearing Ohlsson playing the melodious and frivolous opening ‘Book I Los requiebros’ is like diving into a crystal pool of shimmering notes. The remaining contrasting selections demonstrate his exactitude and passionate execution… A pristine performance!

ConcertoNet
Release date:
14 Feb. 2012
Number of Discs:
1
Label:
HYPERION