Clark, Walter. Isaac Albéniz: Portrait of a Romantic

Based on new and previously overlooked documentary evidence, Mr. Clark presents a detailed and accurate account of one of the most intriguing musicians of the late-Romantic period.  The text is richly illustrated with excerpts from his works and treats Albéniz’s (1860-1909) stylistic development, employment of folklore, and his enduring legacy. Isaac Albéniz (1860-1909), a renowned concert pianist, created a national style of Spanish piano music and also fostered the growth in Spain of the concerto, orchestral music, and opera.  His career was to become the stuff of legend: a touring child prodigy who supposedly stowed away on a steamer to the New World, he later studied with Liszt, and eventually became ensnared in a “Faustian pact” with the wealthy English librettist Frances Burdett Money-Coutts. Based on a wealth of new and previously overlooked documentary evidence, this biography debunks the mythology surrounding Albéniz’s career—much of it spun by the composer himself—and reveals a complex individual who was able to capture the mystery of Spain in his music yet who in reality felt estranged from his homeland.