GRANADOS : In the Village • Goyescas • ALBENIZ : Triana (Douglas Riva, Jordi Masó) (2008) FLAC (tracks), lossless

“The Riva series is essential for anyone interested in Spanish piano music." (MusicWeb International)
This final volume in the Naxos edition of Granados' complete piano music begins with the composer's final work, an impassioned and colourful transcription of the Intermezzo from the opera Goyescas. The disc also includes several youthful works dedicated to or inspired by women, as well as works inspired by Nature. The intricate Marchas militares for piano duet are among the composer's most delightful compositions, while the brilliant transcription of Albéniz's Triana from Iberia is his only work scored for two pianos. NAXOS
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Enrique Granados (1867-1916)

1    Goyescas. Intermezzo    
2-5    Melodias
6    Mazurca Alla Polacca
7    Mazurka in A Minor
8    Andantino espressivo
9    Andalucia-Petenera
10    Canto del pescador (Fisherman's Song)
11    La Berceuse
12-14    3 Marchas Militaires    
15-24    En la aldea, Poema
25-26    2 Marchas militares

Isaac Albéniz (1860-1909)
(arr. E. Granados for 2 pianos)
27    Iberia, Book 2: No. 3. Triana

TURINA : Danzas fantásticas • Danzas gitanas • Danzas andaluzas (Jordi Masó) (2004) FLAC (tracks), lossless

Like his Spanish contemporaries de Falla, Granados, Albéniz, and Mompou, Joaquín Turina composed some of his most significant works for the piano; the full list of his keyboard works shows him to have been quite prolific. Yet because of his musical conservatism and allegedly reactionary politics, Turina has been somewhat less loved and less performed than his compatriots, and consequently less frequently recorded. Pianist Jordi Masó has begun recording Turina's complete piano works for Naxos, and this first volume presents two of his most important solo works, the Danzas fantásticas, Op. 22 -- later orchestrated -- and the Danzas gitanas, Opp. 55 and 84, along with several shorter sets of dance pieces. Turina's blending of poignant Andalusian-styled melodies, Impressionistic harmonies, and elaborate ornamental figurations give the music a delicate and slightly exotic quality, and these pieces pulse with strong dance rhythms and rhapsodic moods. As might be guessed from his vigorous playing and idiomatic interpretations, Masó is fully committed to this recording project and determined to bring Turina's music the attention he feels it deserves. However, listeners may find these pieces easier to appreciate in small doses, because hearing the disc in one sitting exposes the music's sameness of style and limited range of expression. Naxos offers fine sound quality. by Blair Sanderson
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Joaquín Turina (1882-1949)

1-3    Danzas Fantásticas (Fantastic Dances), Op. 22    15:30
4-6    Tres Danzas Andaluzas (Three Andalusian Dances), Op. 8    11:49
7-11    Danzas Gitanas (Gypsy Dances), Op. 55    13:03
12-16    Danzas Gitanas (Gypsy Dances), Op. 55    13:03
17-18    Dos Danzas Sobre Temas Populares Españoles, Op. 41    4:52
19-23    Bailete: Suite De Danzas Del Siglo XIX, Op. 79    11:13

Piano – Jordi Masó

TURINA : Sonata romántica • Sonata fantasía • Rincón mágico • Concierto sin orquesta (Jordi Masó) (2005) FLAC (tracks), lossless

Joaquin Turina made an outstanding contribution to Spanish piano repertoire, along with Falla, Albéniz, Granados and Mompou. This second volume of his complete piano music ranges widely in style, from the early Romantic Sonata on the popular Spanish folksong, El vito, to the impressionistic Fantasy Sonata with its extraordinarily beautiful, slow openings. The dazzling Rincón mágico (Magical Corner) was described by Turina himself as “the corner of the composer’s office… an intimate and secluded place”. NAXOS
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Joaquín Turina (1882-1949)

1-3    Sonata romántica sobre un tema espanol, Op. 3
4-5    Sonata fantasía (Fantasy Sonata), Op. 59
6-9    Rincón mágico - Desfile en forma de Sonata, Op. 97
10-11    Concierto sin orquesta, Op. 88

Piano – Jordi Masó

TURINA : Mujeres de Sevilla • Mujeres españolas I and II • Sevilla (Jordi Masó) (2006) FLAC (tracks), lossless

Joaquin Turina made an outstanding contribution to Spanish piano repertoire, along with Falla, Albéniz, Granados and Mompou. This third volume of his piano music (previous volumes are available on Naxos 8.557438 and 8.557150) brings together works from two of the composer’s principal sources of inspiration: women and his native city of Seville. The two collections of Mujeres españolas in particular convey the aromatic and unmistakable language of one of the most characteristic Spanish composers of the twentieth century, with intimate portrayals of women from all walks of life. NAXOS
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Joaquín Turina (1882-1949)

1-3    Sevilla, Op. 2
4-6    Mujeres españolas (Spanish Women), Series I, Op.
7-11    Mujeres españolas (Spanish Women), Series II, Op.
12-16    Mujeres de Sevilla (Women of Seville), Op. 89

Piano – Jordi Masó

TURINA : Niñerías • Miniaturas • Jardín de niños (Jordi Masó) (2009) FLAC (tracks), lossless

Along with Falla, Albéniz, Granados and Mompou, Joaquín Turina made an outstanding contribution to Spanish piano repertoire. This fourth volume of Turina’s complete piano music focuses on the child’s universe. The two sets of Niñerías both evoke the composer’s own Andalusian childhood memories and capture images of his own children playing in the yard or among the streets and small squares of some unidentified town. Miniaturas inhabit the childhood fantasy world of Debussy’s Children’s Corner, while Jardín de niños (Jardins d’enfants), dedicated to the composer’s daughter, recreates a world of tenderness and fantasy but also one of charm and great humour. Previous volumes in this series are available on 8.557150, 8.557438 and 8.557684. NAXOS
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Joaquín Turina (1882-1949)

1-8    Ninerías (Petite Suite), Series 1, Op. 21
9-16    Ninerías (Petite Suite), Series 2, Op. 56
17-24    Miniaturas, Op. 52
25-32    Jardín de niños (Jardins d'enfants), Op. 63

Piano – Jordi Masó

TURINA : Cuentos de España • Recuerdos de la antigua España • Siluetas (Jordi Masó) (2009) FLAC (tracks), lossless

Jordi Masó’s acclaimed series of Joaquin Turina’s Piano Music continues with the evocative Spanish Tales, Souvenirs of Old Spain and Silhouettes, consolidating the young pianist’s reputation as a leading interpreter of this distinctively Iberian repertoire. “Jordi Masó is one of Spain’s leading pianists.” (MusicWeb on Vol 1, 8.557150), “Masó, as always, is excellent” (Scherzo on Vol 2, 8.557438), “You can't go wrong with Masó…he is very sympathetic” (Fanfare on Vol 3, 8.557684), “He can make a melody sing” (MusicWeb on Vol 4, 8.570026). NAXOS
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Joaquín Turina (1882-1949)

1-7    Cuentos de España (Contes d'Espagne), Series 1, Op. 20
8-14    Cuentos de España (Contes d'Espagne), Series 2, Op. 47
15-18    Recuerdos de la antigua España Op. 48 (arr. for piano)
19-23    Siluetas (Silhouettes), Op. 70

Piano – Jordi Masó

TURINA : Ritmos • Fantasías • Poema fantástico (Jordi Masó) (2010) FLAC (tracks), lossless

Fantasy, that marvellous ability the mind has to recapture past events or distant memories, or to idealise reality, is the thread that runs through this album. It was certainly central to the work of Joaquín Turina, who created a world that conjured up a childhood full of fantastical possibilities. This sixth volume of the complete Turina piano works as performed by Catalan pianist Jordi Masó features pieces in which fantasy not only forms part of the title but also lies at the heart of the music itself. NAXOS
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Joaquín Turina (1882-1949)

1-6        Ritmos, Op. 43 (version for piano)
7-9        Fantasía sobre 5 notas, Op. 83
10-12    Fantasía italiana, Op. 75
13         Fantasía cinematográfica, Op. 103
14-16    Fantasía del reloj, Op. 94
17-20    Poema fantástico, Op. 98

Piano – Jordi Masó

TURINA : Album de viaje • Viaje maritimo • Evocaciones • Mallorca • Tarjetas postales (Jordi Masó) (2011) FLAC (tracks), lossless

This much admired series continues with an evocative travel album that shows Turina at the height of his descriptive powers. Álbum de viaje comprises delicious watercolours whilst Viaje marítimo embodies the influence of Debussy, fruitfully harnessed to Turina’s vivid sense of colour and texture. He evokes the passion of Catalonia in Evocaciones, whereas in Mallorca he pays homage to the island’s sense of myth and contemporary excitement. Music from the Basque Country opens the brilliant Tarjetas postales. “Masó’s mastery of this repertoire is never in doubt: his melodies sing and his rhythms snap.” (Fanfare, on 8.570370). NAXOS
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Joaquín Turina (1882-1949)

1-5    Album de viaje, Op. 15
6-8    Viaje maritimo, Op. 49
9-11    Evocaciones, Op. 46
12-14    Mallorca, Op. 44
15-19    Tarjetas postales, Op. 58

Piano – Jordi Masó

TURINA : Jardines de Andalucia • El barrio de Santa Cruz • Las musas de Andalucia • En el cortijo (Jordi Masó) (2012) FLAC (tracks), lossless

Turina was one of the great musical poets of his native Andalusia, and his music is drenched in its colour, variety and dance. Jardins d’Andalousie illustrates his dazzlingly picturesque absorption of the seguidilla rhythm and an invocation of courtly scenes. Le Quartier de Santa Cruz is one of his longest piano works and depicts a dramatic narrative of love, duel, and drama in Seville, whilst En el cortijo visits the plains for a quartet of rural episodes of rich characterisation and virtuosity. Jordi Masó’s ongoing Turina cycle has received worldwide acclaim. NAXOS
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Joaquín Turina (1882-1949)

1-4    Jardines de Andalucia, Op. 31
5    El barrio de Santa Cruz, Op. 33
9-8    Las musas de Andalucia, Op. 93 (excerpts)
9-12    En el cortijo, Op. 92

Piano – Jordi Masó

TURINA : Rincones sevillanos • La leyenda de la Giralda • Por las calles de Sevilla • Contemplacion • Desde mi terraza (Jordi Masó) (2013) FLAC (tracks), lossless

In the first three works on this album, the ninth volume in Jordi Masó’s survey of the complete piano works of Joaquín Turina, we see the composer’s gaze fall once more on his native city of Seville, Andalusia’s picturesque and evocative capital. The last work here, Desde mi terraza, also revisits and recreates memories of his native land, while by contrast the pieces that make up Contemplación were inspired by three well-known works of art: Fra Angelico’s The Annunciation, Velázquez’s The Surrender of Breda and the sculpture known as The Lady of Elche, a limestone bust which was carved at some point between the fifth and fourth centuries BC and is one of the most significant and best-preserved examples of Iberian art.

Coins de Séville (Corners of Seville) is, to quote Jordi Masó, “one of [Turina’s] extraordinary but rarely performed early works”. A suite of four short but well-developed movements, it draws on local folk-music, quoting tunes whose origins are deeply rooted in Andalusian culture. These folk motifs, however, are wrapped in the new harmonies of French modernism, a style which was to prove a major influence on the composer after he moved to Paris in late 1905 to study with D’Indy at the Schola Cantorum. The work is dated February 1911 and was first performed by Turina himself on 6 April that year, as part of a recital he gave at the Salle Gaveau in Paris.

This sense that Turina was open to Debussyan innovation, despite always remaining faithful to D’Indy’s conservativism, can be heard in the first of the Coins movements, Soir d’été sur la terrasse (Summer evening on the terrace), whose Impressionist hues conjure the hazy atmosphere of an evening in southern Spain. A subtle succession of ascending and descending arpeggios suggests the serenity and perfumed air of a moonlit night. Above this calm a melancholy melody and distant guitar strummings emerge. In the central section a sevillanas dance rhythm conveys the sounds of a fiesta, while the movement ends with a return of the calm opening bars.

Rondes d’enfants (Children’s Songs) is a brief and lighthearted scherzo which draws on well-known Spanish children’s songs, such as Quisiera ser tan alta como la luna (I wish I were as tall as the moon) and Me casó mi madre, chiquita y bonita (I was just a young girl when my mother married me off). For Danse de “seises” dans la cathédrale (Dance of the Choirboys in the Cathedral) Turina borrows a melody written by his first composition teacher in Seville, Evaristo García Torres. This melody, to which the choirboys still perform the dance today on certain dates of the church calendar, appears as originally written, but is freely harmonised in line with Turina’s own aesthetic thinking. The last piece in the suite, A los toros (To the Bulls), uses a pasodoble rhythm to evoke the high spirits and general uproar of a hot afternoon in the bullring.

The Giralda, Seville Cathedral’s famous bell-tower and symbol of the city as a whole (originally the minaret of the mosque that stood on the same site, the tower was built during the rule of the Almohad dynasty in the late twelfth century), appears in several of Turina’s works, including the eponymous sixth number of the song cycle Canto a Sevilla, Op 37 and the second part of Niñerías, Op 21, which is entitled Lo que se ve desde la Giralda (The view from the Giralda). In La leyenda de la Giralda (The Legend of the Giralda), however, it plays the starring rôle. This work was inspired by a novel by Andalusian writer José Más, La estrella de la Giralda (The Star of the Giralda, 1918), and comprises four episodes to be played without a break: Noche sevillana, Fiesta lejana, Tempestad y temblor de tierra, and Aparición del ángel gigantesco (Night in Seville, Distant Fiesta, Storm and Earthquake, Appearance of the Giant Angel). Requiring considerable virtuosity from the pianist at times, the work dates from 1926 and was dedicated to Turina’s piano tutor at the Madrid Conservatory, the eminent José Tragó.

Por las calles de Sevilla, Op 96 (Through the Streets of Seville) is a late work: a musical stroll in three stages, full of evocative writing and composed in 1943 when Turina, then 61, was entering the last few years of his life. He himself wrote the following about this piece: “Writers say that Seville’s streets have their own souls and can speak. This is the only aim the composer set himself: to listen and translate into music what those streets are saying. The musical process is therefore very simple, with no formal or idiomatic complexities. And at every turn of these magical streets you can hear the sounds and rhythms of dances, gypsy laments, mysterious footsteps against the backdrop of images of that perfect tower: the Giralda.” The first of its three movements, Reflejos en la torre (Reflected in the Tower), recreates all the charms of the city’s atmosphere, to which he was so closely attuned. The second, Ante la Virgen de la Merced (In the Presence of Our Lady of Mercy), takes us to one of the chapels of the Iglesia del Salvador, for a song-like, delicately harmonised piece of writing. The triptych concludes with La calle de Las Sierpes, a brief and dazzling piece, again based on a characteristic pasodoble rhythm to reflect the hustle and bustle of Seville’s busiest and most famous street.

Also dating from the latter part of Turina’s career is Contemplación, Op 99, three pianistic “impressions” inspired by works of art, composed in 1944 and dedicated to the Marqués de Lozoya. The first, Ante “La Anunciación” de Fra Angelico (Contemplating Fra Angelico’s “The Annunciation”), creates a fine-spun sound-world of sincere mysticism. In the second piece, sparked by the Lady of Elche carving, Turina uses an unusual intervallic structure based on series of fifths and eighths and dispensing with the third step of the musical scale. He also employs forceful and solemn sonorities to convey his ideas about the culture of the pre-Roman Hispanic people of eastern Spain. The final “impression” is a musical translation of Velázquez’s The Surrender of Breda (housed in Madrid’s Prado Museum) and as such features some suitably epic touches.

In 1947, three years after completing Contemplación and just two before his death, Turina wrote what proved to be his final work, Desde mi terraza, Op 104 (From My Terrace). This is a cycle of three estampas, prints or engravings, clearly reminiscent of Debussy and his Estampes. They take the form of a suite which is given a cyclical feel by the recurring use, in different keys, of a lively fandango-inspired theme. A la sombra del mucharabieh (In the Shade of the Moucharabieh—a patterned Moorish screen) begins with a dreamy introduction, a prelude to a brighter section that leads into the fandango which acts as the common thread throughout. The first section of Armonías de la ciudad (Harmonies of the City) includes a quotation from the popular song Yo que soy contrabandista (A smuggler am I), by fellow Seville-born tenor and composer Manuel García (1775–1832), a man who achieved world-wide fame, and fathered two equally talented and celebrated daughters, mezzo-sopranos / composers Maria Malibran and Pauline Viardot. The subtle influence of Debussy, creator of La soirée dans Grenade, is most palpable in the final estampa, Sinfonía de flores (Symphony of Flowers), for the finale of which Turina returns to the García quotation, clothing it in tones of solemn splendour. Justo Romero

Joaquín Turina (1882-1949)

1-4    Rincones sevillanos, Op. 5
5    La leyenda de la Giralda, Op. 40
6-10    Por las calles de Sevilla, Op. 96
9-11    Contemplacion, Op. 99
12-14    Desde mi terraza, Op. 104

Piano – Jordi Masó

TURINA : El castillo de Almodóvar • Rincones de Sanlúcar • Tocata y fuga • Partita • Preludios • Pieza romántica (Jordi Masó) (2015) FLAC (tracks), lossless

The tenth volume in Jordi Masó’s ground-breaking series of the complete piano music focuses on the years of Joaquín Turina’s maturity and the works he called a Ciclo pianístico. El castillo de Almodóvar (Almodóvar Castle) and Rincones de Sanlúcar (Corners of Sanlúcar) are both memorably evocative and descriptive. Elsewhere Turina takes classic forms, such as the toccata, fugue, partita and prelude and brings to them a more abstract but richly nuanced sensibility. The previous volume in this series has brought considerable acclaim: ‘In Masó you have an ideally committed and affectionate master of the idiom, finely recorded.’ (Gramophone, on 8.572915) naxos
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Joaquín Turina (1882-1949)

1-2    Tocata y fuga, Op. 50
3-6    Partita in C Major, Op. 57
7      Pieza romantica, Op. 64 00:06:41
8-10    El castillo de Almodovar, Op. 65
11-14    Rincones de Sanlucar, Op. 78
15-19    Preludios, Op. 80

Piano – Jordi Masó

TURINA : Verbena madrileña • En la zapateria • Linterna mágica • El Circo • Radio Madrid (Jordi Masó) FLAC (tracks), lossless

Are Catalonian pianist Jordi Masó's recordings of Joaquín Turina's music getting better and better, or is it just that those who have followed the series from the beginning have become more attuned to how inexcusable the neglect of this composer has been? In any event, these ingenious program music pieces are lost treasures of 20th century piano music. The evening opens with a suite, Verbena madrileña, Op. 42 (Madrid Fair), that offers Turina's usual mixture of French Impressionist and Spanish regional elements, with a rip-roaring, ragtime-like "Baile castizo" finale. From there on out, things get really delightfully original in conception and perfectly controlled in execution. En la zapatería (At the Shoemaker's Shop) is a little tribute to, of all people, Wagner, with two quotations in the opening movement from Die Meistersinger: the connection is that Hans Sachs in that opera is a cobbler. El circo, Op. 68 (The Circus), one of the later Turina pieces, is a breathtaking evocation of various circus acts, with trapeze artists at the end. And finally comes the absolutely nonpareil Radio Madrid, Op. 62, which is almost Ivesian in its conception: the opening movement depicts a pair of radio announcers conversing, with a neutral background (representing the period when the microphone is off) as prelude and as unifying sonority later on. Masó, it is clear, knows this music better than anybody else, and Naxos' engineers have settled into a fine, somewhat intimate acoustic for the series. Very highly recommended. by James Manheim  

Joaquín Turina (1882-1949)

1-5    Verbena madrileña, Op. 42
6-12    En la zapateria, Op. 71
13-15    Linterna mágica, Op. 101
16-21    El Circo, Op. 68
22-25    Radio Madrid, Op. 62

Piano – Jordi Masó

TURINA : Recuerdos de mi rincón • La Venta de los Gatos • Navidad • El Cristo de la Calavera (Jordi Masó) FLAC (tracks), lossless

“You’ll notice that this latest album features a series of Turina’s “programmatic” works. To be honest, I wasn’t too sure about these pieces, and thought they might be a bit dull, but once I started working on them I realised how interesting they actually were, with some truly inspired and beautiful moments, especially in Recuerdos de mi rincón and La Venta de los Gatos. I hope you enjoy them too.” This is an extract from the note Jordi Masó sent me along with a copy of the original edit of this, the twelfth disc in his monumental project to record Turina’s complete piano works. His considered judgement of the contents of the latest album in the series is entirely accurate. The works recorded here were written between 1914 and 1924: the earliest is the “tragicomedy for piano” Recuerdos de mi rincón (Memories of my little corner), and the latest is La Venta de los Gatos (The Cats’ Inn, inspired by a well-known short story of the same name by the poet Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer who, like Turina, was a native of Seville). This productive decade also saw Turina complete Navidad (Christmas, 1916), a “staged poem or miracle play in two scenes”, and El Cristo de la Calavera (The Christ of the Skull, 1923–24, also inspired by a Bécquer short story). All these “programmatic” works reveal Turina’s deft touch for infusing his picturesque style with a sense of drama.

The year 1914 proved to be one of great significance for Spanish music. When war broke out, many of Spain’s most promising young composers were studying in Paris, but left the French capital to return to their neutral homeland. Among them were Falla and Turina, both of whom settled in Madrid, whose music scene had very much stagnated at this time. Falla did not stay long in Madrid, preferring to move south to Granada, but Turina threw himself into life in the capital and soon became one of the leading figures in its artistic circles, thanks to his dynamism and energy. While Falla’s idiom developed, however, and began to encompass an aesthetic more in tune with the changing times, Turina remained entrenched in his own picturesque brand of musical nationalism, achieving success and rapid recognition in the process.

It was the composer’s everyday life in his local neighbourhood in Madrid that inspired Recuerdos de mi rincón, a work full of humour and descriptive elements. This “tragicomedy” has an unusual score, peppered with detailed notes and stage directions—written by Turina himself—so that it becomes a kind of play, with provision for the parts of the various characters involved to be mimed during a performance. As the composer pointed out, the work is a “collection of pieces in which I describe a group of us who used to meet in the now defunct Nueva España café, on the Calle de Alcalá, including the Berenguer brothers, conductor José Lassalle and artist Villodas”.

Recuerdos de mi rincón is, then, a lighthearted divertissement comprising twelve mini-scenes meticulously dramatised by Turina, with almost as many stage directions in the manuscript as there are notes on the stave—above, between and below the staves his italic script describes the many incidents and situations experienced by the motley bunch of characters that people his plot, including Don Joselito, the “Diplomat”, Tony the Mexican, María, Muriedas, Eloísa, Amparo, the Soldier, the man from Aragón, Pepe, and Pepa from Granada.

Turina caricatures each individual by making an almost Wagnerian use of leitmotifs: the “man from Aragón” is therefore assigned an Aragonese jota, the Granadan Pepa is depicted with a typically Andalusian seguidilla and Amparo (the Galician waitress) is associated with a Galician dance form, the muñeira, and so on. The Soldier is represented by a lively pasodoble with military touches (including a cornet), and Tony the Mexican by a quotation from the Mexican national anthem. These overtly humorous touches in no way detract, however, from the musical qualities of a score in which Turina’s gifts are evident throughout—from the carefully conceived pianistic texture to the skilful use of both his own inimitable harmonic soundworld and folk tunes and rhythms. The work, premiered by the composer at a recital given on 15th January 1915 at the Ateneo in Madrid, is dedicated to his fellow frequenters of that particular “corner” of the Nueva España, the score bearing an amusing note in which he “begs their forgiveness in advance” for having immortalised them in these musical portraits.

The late-Romantic poet Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer (1836–1870), known for his poems (Rimas) and short stories (Leyendas), has inspired many Spanish composers over the years. From Isaac Albéniz to Tomás Marco and Antón García Abril, not to mention Tomás Bretón, Manuel de Falla, Enrique Fernández Arbós, Joaquín Rodrigo and Frederic Mompou, among many others—Bécquer has become a permanent presence in Spanish classical music.

Turina was no exception to the rule, and his admiration for the writer’s work is a thread that runs throughout his production. Their shared roots were a key part of this—musicologist Federico Sopeña pointed out how closely Turina was attuned to the “deep-rooted and subtle Sevillian essence of the poet”. The author of the Sinfonía sevillana wrote his first Bécquer-inspired work as early as 1911: the song with piano accompaniment Rima, Op. 6, which sets lines from a poem entitled Yo soy ardiente, yo soy morena (I am a passionate woman, I am dark of hue). In 1923 he chose another of the poems for the last of his Three arias, Op. 26 (Te vi un punto…—I saw you for a moment…). Ten years later, in 1933, he wrote the Three poems for voice and piano, Op. 81, based respectively on the poems Olas gigantes, Tu pupila es azul and Besa el aura que gime… (Huge waves, Your eyes are blue and The keening breeze kisses…).

Turina’s other two overtly Bécquer-inspired works draw on (eponymous) short stories, and both are included here. La Venta de los Gatos, Op. 32, is a substantial work, brimming with the “truly inspired and beautiful moments” noted by Jordi Masó. These are developed in an ambitiously constructed piece of writing which, like all the composer’s keyboard works, reveals just how talented a pianist he himself was. This was no doubt evident at the première, which Turina gave on 7th March 1925 at the Ateneo in Seville, not far from the real-life tavern that had inspired Bécquer’s tale, “halfway down the street that leads to the San Jerónimo monastery from the Puerta de la Macarena”.

Turina wrote the three movements that make up El Cristo de la Calavera in 1923/24. This faithful musical adaptation of a Bécquer Leyenda is, according to one of its finest interpreters, pianist Esteban Sánchez, a genuine dramatic triptych “reflected in music of impressive scale”. Turina gives every detail of the action in his score, and uses various onomatopoeic devices, such as the descending glissando that portrays Inés de Tordesillas’s glove falling to the ground—a chance event that leads two friends to profess (unrequited) love for her. The knights Alonso de Carrillo and Lope de Sandoval then try to fight a duel in front of an image of the “Christ of the Skull” in Toledo, but are prevented from hurting one another by the mystical powers of the statue. The work is dedicated to pianist-composer Joaquín Nin, “with a warm embrace from his old friend J. Turina. June 1924”.

The “miracle play in two scenes” Navidad was originally conceived as incidental music for a staged poem by Gregorio Martínez Sierra, and was first performed as such on 21st December 1916 at the Teatro Eslava in Madrid. A few months later, in September 1917, Turina created a piano reduction of the score, substantially revising it in 1927 before submitting it for publication. Once again, the manuscript reveals his powers of description, filled as it is with meticulously detailed stage directions for a drama full of references to and quotations from sacred music, Christmas carols and traditional melodies. While the demanding piano writing includes touches reminiscent of Debussy, Turina’s unmistakable style shines through at all times. Justo Romero

Joaquín Turina (1882-1949)

1    Recuerdos de mi rincón (Memories of my little corner), Op. 14
2-3    La Venta de los Gatos (The Cat's Inn), Op. 32
4-5    Navidad (Christmas), Op. 16
6-8    El Cristo de la Calavera (The Christ of the Skull), Op. 30

Piano – Jordi Masó

XAVIER MONTSALVATGE - Piano Music [NAXOS] V.A. / 4CD

XAVIER MONTSALVATGE [1912-2002]

Xavier Montsalvatge - Piano Music, Vol. 1 [Jordi Masó]

01. 3 Impromptus - No. 1. Molto delicato    [0:02:28.66]

02. 3 Impromptus - No. 2. Semplice    [0:02:17.45]

03. 3 Impromptus - No. 3. Leggero    [0:03:34.48]

04. Siciliana    [0:02:57.05]

05. 3 Divertimentos - No. 1. Con decision    [0:02:28.69]

06. 3 Divertimentos - No. 2. Muy dulce    [0:01:56.73]

07. 3 Divertimentos - No. 3. Vivo    [0:02:11.28]

08. Ritmos    [0:03:26.24]

09. Elegia a Maurice Ravel    [0:02:55.30]

10. Divagacion    [0:03:09.07]

11. Sonatina para Yvette - I. Vivo e spiritoso    [0:03:13.28]

12. Sonatina para Yvette - II. Moderato molto    [0:04:02.20]

13. Sonatina para Yvette - III. Allegretto    [0:02:15.27]

14. Sketch    [0:02:32.48]

15. Recondita Armonia - I. Allegro con brio    [0:07:04.41]

16. Recondita Armonia - II. Andante sostenuto    [0:06:31.36]

17. Recondita Armonia - III. Allegro con brio    [0:01:24.52]

18. Recondita Armonia - IV. Moderato    [0:07:03.36]

Xavier Montsalvatge - Piano Music, Vol. 2 [Jordi Masó]

CD: Xavier Montsalvatge - Piano Music, Vol. 2 [Jordi Masó]

01. Alegoria a la memoria de Joaquin Turina    [0:03:56.42]

02. 3 piezas para la mano izquierda - No. 1. Si, a Mompou    [0:03:23.61]

03. 3 piezas para la mano izquierda - No. 2. Berceuse a la memoria de Oscar Espla    [0:05:21.48]

04. 3 piezas para la mano izquierda - No. 3. Una pagina para Rubinstein    [0:03:51.13]

05. El arca de Noe - I. La oveja    [0:01:22.21]

06. El arca de Noe - II. El gallo    [0:00:32.45]

07. El arca de Noe - III. El elefante    [0:01:24.70]

08. El arca de Noe - IV. La pulga    [0:00:36.23]

09. El arca de Noe - V. El gato    [0:01:29.26]

10. El arca de Noe - VI. El canguro    [0:00:45.45]

11. El arca de Noe - VII. Vals    [0:01:02.65]

12. Schubertiana    [0:02:24.53]

13. Pastoral d'Automne    [0:02:17.66]

14. Milonga    [0:02:14.61]

15. Impromptu en el Generalife    [0:02:10.68]

16. 5 ocells en llibertat - No. 1. El pardal    [0:00:46.46]

17. 5 ocells en llibertat - No. 2. El rossinyol    [0:01:26.56]

18. 5 ocells en llibertat - No. 3. La merla    [0:01:37.67]

19. 5 ocells en llibertat - No. 4. El pinsa    [0:01:34.27]

20. 5 ocells en llibertat - No. 5. El cucut    [0:01:40.30]

21. Bressoleig    [0:01:30.17]

22. Alborada en Aurinx    [0:05:41.31]

23. Improviso epilogal    [0:01:52.56]

24. Concierto de Albayzin - I. Con spirito    [0:06:53.51]

25. Concierto de Albayzin - II. Adagietto    [0:08:26.21]

26. Concierto de Albayzin - III. Moderato - Allegretto    [0:05:00.31]

Xavier Montsalvatge - Music for Two Pianos

[Masó-Villalba]

01. Barcelona Blues    [0:05:17.22]

02. Calidoscopio - I. Aproximacion a la fuga    [0:05:06.62]

03. Calidoscopio - II. Capricho sobre la banalidad camuflada    [0:05:19.32]

04. Calidoscopio - III. Collage para Albeniz    [0:02:49.50]

05. Homenatge    [0:01:59.50]

06. 3 Divertimentos (version for 2 pianos) - No. 1. Deciso    [0:02:29.90]

07. 3 Divertimentos (version for 2 pianos) - No. 2. Dolce    [0:01:52.29]

08. 3 Divertimentos (version for 2 pianos) - No. 3. Vivo    [0:02:16.14]

09. Sum Vermis    [0:15:30.02]

10. 5 invocaciones al Crucificado - No. 1. De passione Christi    [0:04:11.05]

11. 5 invocaciones al Crucificado - No. 2. Pianto della Madonna    [0:04:07.62]

12. 5 invocaciones al Crucificado - No. 3. La Vierge couronnee    [0:03:01.49]

13. 5 invocaciones al Crucificado - No. 4. Lamentatio    [0:06:32.84]

14. 5 invocaciones al Crucificado - No. 5. D'oracio de temps    [0:02:38.42]

Gerhard-Montsalvatge-Cassadó [Piano Trios]

[Trio Arriaga]

01. Gerhard: Piano Trio No. 1 - I. Modere    [0:08:59.48]

02. Gerhard: Piano Trio No. 1 - II. Tres calme    [0:08:37.22]

03. Gerhard: Piano Trio No. 1 - III. Vif    [0:07:07.00]

04. Montsalvatge: Piano Trio - I. Balada a Dulcinea    [0:04:17.64]

05. Montsalvatge: Piano Trio - II. Dialogo con Mompou    [0:04:19.58]

06. Montsalvatge: Piano Trio - III. Ritornello    [0:03:48.76]

07. Cassado: Piano Trio in C major - I. Allegro risoluto    [0:07:10.52]

08. Cassado: Piano Trio in C major - II. Tempo moderato e pesante - Allegro giusto    [0:04:51.00]

09. Cassado: Piano Trio in C major - III. Recitativo: Moderato ed appassionato    [0:04:24.69]

XAVIER MONTSALVATGE [1912-2002]

Complete Piano Woks 

Naxos / 4CD / FLAC

O Púbis da Rosa