Editor’s note: Arachnophonia (“Arachno” = spider / “-phonia” = sound) is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.
All links included in these posts will take you to either the library catalog record for the item in question or to additional relevant information from around the web.
Today’s installment of Arachnophonia is by student assistant Eli (class of 2024) and features Goyescas, a piano suite by Spanish composer Enrique Granados. Thanks, Eli!
Enrique Granados is undoubtedly one of the great ‘what-ifs?’ of classical music. Born in Lleida, Spain in 1867, Pantaleón Enrique Joaquín Granados y Campiñabegan studied music as a teenager, but was unable to attend a formal conservatory. Instead, Granados relied on private lessons and individual practice, eventually exploring composition.
His first real success was the 1898 opera Maria del Carmen, receiving critical acclaim for his composition and conducting. The Spanish King, Alfonso XIII, even attended a performance.
Granados continued composing and performing at a small scale for the next decade, but found his career take off with his piano suite Goyescas which premiered in 1911. Based on the paintings of Fransisco Goya, the works were incredibly popular, leading Granados to compose an opera based on the same themes. This opera became world-renowned after it opened in New York City (the European premiere was canceled due to the outbreak of World War One), and Granados was invited to perform for President Woodrow Wilson.
“A walk in Andalusia” – Francisco Goya (1777)
Unfortunately, Granados perished shortly afterwards, drowning when his boat back to Europe was sunk by a German U-boat. Had Granados stayed in his cabin (half of the ship was untouched) or turned down the New York premiere, his name could have become household in the world of classical music. I highly recommend listening to the Goyescas suite, especially “Quejas o la Maja y el Ruiseñor”, or “Laments, Or the Maiden and the Nightingale.”
Enrique Granados poses with a canine friend