The seventh volume in this acclaimed series is devoted to two works of Albéniz’s early maturity. The 12 Piezas características is a cycle of exquisite...

The seventh volume in this acclaimed series is devoted to two works of Albéniz’s early maturity. The 12 Piezas características is a cycle of exquisite miniatures encompassing a wide variety of styles, including the assimilation of Andalusian folk music into his own personal idiom, reminiscences of earlier greats such as Scarlatti and Chopin, and elements of nineteenth-century salon music. The work led Felipe Pedrell, the father of Spanish musical nationalism, to call Albéniz not only a superbly equipped pianist but a great composer as well. The romantic and virtuosic Piano Sonata No. 3 opens with a richly contrapuntal Allegretto, followed by a slow movement of the utmost delicacy in the manner of a romanza and concludes with a technically complex Allegro assai.