Enrique Granados was born in Lleida (in Spanish Lérida), Catalonia (Spain). He made his debut as a pianist at the age of 16. (To me, that's like going to university right after PMR.) He had a chance to rub shoulders with Felipe Pedrell, the father of Spanish nationalism in music. Granados' 12 Danzas espanolas and Goyescas became hits, besides his seven operas, of which the first was Maria Del Carmen.
Uniquely composed, Granados' music, mostly for piano, was rich with ancient air, with a somewhat Romantic style. He even had his own classical concerts society and a music school, of which many great musicians were born.
This gifted musician met his end on a ship to England, where he boarded the passenger ferry Sussex for Dieppe, France. Halfway across the English Channel, the Sussex was torpedoed by a German U-boat. In attempt to rescue his wife Amparo, Granados jumped out of a lifeboat in spite of his fear of water, but drowned eventually. How much he must have loved her!
Right now, I am studying a piece from the 12 Danzas espanolas, known as Andaluza. I had tried to figure out the tune for the piano piece by sight-reading. Thinking it was something like the typical Everyday in G major from High School Musical 2, I had a total shock when it turned out to be an unharmonious blend of 6 quaver beats!
"You have to play this piece well, Chow Xin," my violin teacher said. "Or I would have to ask you to play another song!"
Whoa, whoa! I'm not giving up on the Andaluza! I may have failed to perform well today, teacher, but I will try even harder, and I'm sure I will do better. Because, I don't think a piece of Granados' is worth letting go of.
Granados's "Goyescas", Metropolitan, N.Y. 1916
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