ALICIA de LARROCHA PLAYS FALLA

ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

Manuel de Falla: Nights in the Gardens of Spain

With Orquesta de Conciertos de Madrid, Jesus Arambarri

Cuatro Piezas Españolas: Aragonesa; Cubana;  Montañesa; Andaluza

La Vida Breve – Danza No.2

El Sombrero de Tres Picos – Danza de los vecinos; Danza de la molinera

El amor brujo – Danza del terror; Danza ritual del fuego

Fantasía Bética

Noches en los Jardines de España – En el Generalife; Danza Lejana; En los Jardines de la Sierra de Córdoba

Alicia de Larrocha (1923–2009) was the greatest Spanish pianist of all time. Her career began in her early twenties. She created for multiple labels many recordings of the music of Granados, Albéniz, Turina and Falla.

Manuel de Falla (1876–1946) was one of the iconic Spanish composers of the 20th century. Falla himself was also a virtuoso pianist, and arranged many of his works for solo piano. A selection of these is presented here, along with Noches en los jardines de España, his great work for orchestra and piano.

Originally released in 1958 and 1959 by Hispavox. Project co-ordinator: Robin Vaughan An ALTO release (https://altocd.com)

A superb re-release digitally restored by Gene Gaudette from high definition analog-to-digital transfers by Harold Tichenor, featuring the incomparable Alicia de Larocha playing both the familiar and the lesser known de Falla, including the Spanish composer’s masterpiece Noches en los jardines de España, with the superb participation of the Orquesta de Conciertos de Madrid, led by Jesus Arambarri.

Rafael de Acha ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

Published by ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

Rafael de Acha has enjoyed a distinguished career in the arts as a performer, stage director, producer, and educator. He was born and grew up in Cuba. At the age of 17 he moved to the United States to study Drama at the University of Minnesota, and later Languages at L.A. City College, Music at the Juilliard School of Music, at the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music, and at the New England Conservatory of Music, from which he received the Master's degree. He has taught courses on the History of Music at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music and at Florida International University, and contributed writings and reviews to Seen and Heard International (www.seenandheard-international.com ) and to this blog. He co-founded the award-winning New Theatre in Coral Gables, Florida, where he produced and staged twenty seasons of classical and contemporary theater, including fifty world premieres of plays that went on to have international and national productions on and off Broadway, including Ana in the Tropics by Nilo Cruz (Pulitzer Prize for Drama 2002 and Tony Nomination 2003.) In 2006 he was presented with a citation from The Dade County Cultural Affairs Council for “trailblazing contributions to the arts in South Florida.”