To celebrate the 150th anniversary of Enrique Granados’s birth the three internationally admired volumes of his orchestral discs have been brought together. Characterised as “affectionate...

To celebrate the 150th anniversary of Enrique Granados’s birth the three internationally admired volumes of his orchestral discs have been brought together. Characterised as “affectionate and characterful” by Gramophone they include one of the greatest pieces in all Spanish music, the Intermezzo from Goyescas, as well as much that is exceptionally rare, such as the symphonic poem Dante, one of the most ambitious and exciting Spanish orchestral works of its time. Born in Lerida in 1867, Enrique Granados studied the piano and composition in Barcelona and then in Paris, returning to Barcelona in 1889. He won distinction as a pianist and popularity in Spain with his contributions to the zarzuela. He was drowned in the English Channel when the boat on which he was returning home from an American tour by way of Liverpool was torpedoed during the First World War in 1916.

Past praise previously released individual volumes in this set:

Granados: Orchestral Works, Vol. 1 / Gonzalez, Barelona Symphony

The entire program makes the best possible case for Granados as a writer of orchestral music, and the sonics are excellent.

Granados: Orchestral Works, Vol. 2 / Gonzalez, Barcelona Symphony

All the music is finely played and performed by the soloists, the chorus and the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra under Pablo González. Mezzo-soprano Gemma Coma-Alabert gives a stunning performance in the ‘Dante’. The liner notes are helpful in approaching this little-known music.

– MusicWeb International

Granados: Liliana, Suite oriental & Elisenda / Gonzalez, Barcelona Symphony

Pablo González and the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra respond, as they have throughout this series, with warmth and an attractively natural sense of how to turn a phrase. The woodwinds are the real stars, though: supple oboes with just a hint of nasal buzz.

– Gramophone