Iberia, Instrumental music by Isaac Albeniz
Title: Iberia
Author: Isaac Albeniz
Genre: Instrumental music
Year: 1905-08
At the end of his life Isaac Albeniz composed what is considered his masterpiece and one of the finest piano compositions ever written, the Iberia suite, created between 1905 and 1909, a luminous and moving evocation of Spain composed from his retirement in the French countryside due to his health problems.
Iberia is a suite consisting of twelve pieces for piano.
It should not be confused with the Spanish Suite, Op. 47, also by Albéniz.
Despite its title, most of the pieces in this suite are characterized by writing heavily inspired by features or places in Andalusia, thanks to the use of melodies, rhythms, and harmonies typical of flamenco music. Iberia is considered a masterpiece of the piano repertoire and of Spanish music.
It consists of four notebooks of three pieces each.
First Notebook
In 1906, Albeniz completed the First Notebook, which comprises Iberia, containing the pieces Evocación (Evocation), Puerto (Port), and Corpus Christi in Seville.
This first section premiered on May 9 of the same year by the French pianist Blanche Selva Pleyel.
Second Notebook
The Second Notebook was completed in the same year, 1906, and premiered by the same pianist, Blanche Selva, on September 11, 1907, in Sant Joan Lohitzune. This notebook included the pieces Rondeña, Almería, and Triana.
Third Notebook
The Third Notebook premiered in Paris, at the residence of the Princess of Polignac, on January 2, 1908.
This notebook is composed of El Albaicín, El Polo, and Lavapiés.
Fourth Notebook
The last of the four notebooks, the Quart Quadern, premiered in 1909 at the National Music Society.
This notebook is composed of Málaga, Jerez, and Eritaña, which use the aforementioned free adaptation of sonata form.
Recordings
Among the early recordings of Iberia, those made by Arthur Rubinstein and Alicia de Larrocha stand out, who recorded all the pieces from the suite in 1958-9 (Hispavox / Erato DUE 20236/37, [EMI 64504?]). He did so twice more later, in 1972 (London 448191 and 433926) and 1989 (London 417887).
Luis Fernando Pérez's recording has been highly acclaimed and has earned him the Albéniz Medal.
It has also been recorded by Claudio Arrau (only books 1 and 2), Gustavo Díaz-Jerez, Miguel Baselga, Ricardo Requejo, Michel Block, Guillermo González (according to his own critical edition of the score), Marc-André Hamelin, Yvonne Loriod, Artur Pizarro, Jean-François Heisser, Esteban Sánchez, and Ángel Sanzo, among others.