Posts tagged as "alicia-de-larrocha"

Rachmaninov & Khachaturian: Piano Concertos

May 15, 2017

Although Alicia de Larrocha was justly crowned in her own lifetime as the Queen of Spanish piano music, the larger-scale Romantic concertos were also within her repertoire during the first half of her long career until her finger-span could not accommodate the outsize hand-stretches required by Rachmaninov’s music in particular. To such works as Eloquence […]

Alicia De Larrocha – The First Recordings

May 15, 2017

A series of reissues on Eloquence has served to remind listeners around the world of the mastery of Alicia de Larrocha in repertoire ranging far beyond her native Spain, from Bach to Rachmaninov (including the Third Concerto with the LSO and André Previn, available on 482 0725). However, as Fanfare magazine noted in 1990, ‘her dominance […]

Spanish Romances

April 13, 2017

When Pilar Lorengar died, a little over 20 years ago, at the age of 68 in her adopted city of Berlin, the tributes were unanimous for ‘one of the most beautiful voices heard in the post-war era’ (The Independent). She had grown up in Zaragoza and always treasured her introduction to the musical stage, practically […]

Schumann: Piano Works

June 28, 2016

Alicia de Larrocha was, for a long time, an exclusive Decca artist and besides making seminal recordings of Spanish repertoire at which she excelled, she was also a Bach, Mozart, Schubert and Schumann player, par excellence. She recorded Schumann’s ‘Carnaval’ twice for Decca and it’s her earlier (1978) analogue version we release here. Together with […]

Scarlatti & Soler: Keyboard Sonatas

June 22, 2016

Celebrated for her glorious traversals of 19th and 20th-century Spanish piano repertoire, on this recording Alicia de Larrocha harks back to the Baroque, offering a selection of sonatas by Scarlatti as well as the much lesser-known ones of his contemporary (and her compatriot) Soler. Sandwiched between, is her recording of the fifth of Handel’s keyboard suites […]

The Best of Rachmaninov

May 25, 2016

From some of the great Rachmaninoffian moments on Decca comes this compilation presenting the complete symphonic poem ‘The Isle of the Dead’ in a darkly dramatic reading by Ashkenazy (as conductor) and the Concertgebouw plus moments from the Piano Concertos and a selection of preludes with Ashkenazy this time as pianist.

Für Elise – Piano Favourites

May 25, 2016

From Decca’s rich catalogue of piano music comes a generous selection of miniatures for piano, many of them quiet, all of them popular and much sought-after, in the finest of performances, of course.

Aromatherapy – Vol. 2: The Romantic Bach

May 25, 2016

Aromatherapy, the quiet moments of classical music. And in the second volume, Romantic Bach, discover why as a Baroque composer his music transcends time, place and genres. This collection offers the quiet moments of Bach’s music – piano transcriptions of his chorale preludes; slow movements from concertos and beloved moments from his Cantatas.

Aromatherapy – Vol. 1

May 25, 2016

Aromatherapy, the quiet moments of classical music. And the first volume, Music for Relaxation, offers a miscellany of classical pieces from piano (the first movement of Beethoven’s ‘Moonlight’ Sonata) to orchestral music by Grieg, Elgar and Borodin.

Grieg: Piano Sonata. Liszt: Piano Sonata

May 24, 2016

Alicia de Larrocha’s magisterial, sonorous, even coruscating performance of Liszt’s B minor Sonata is here preceded by altogether more genteel repertoire from the 19th century – pairs of pieces by Grieg and Mendelssohn. A rarity – making its first appearance on CD internationally – is Grieg’s only solo piano sonata which was written in eleven days […]

Bach, Mozart, Haydn: Keyboard Concertos

May 24, 2016

In an edition of several releases on Eloquence devoted to the artistry of the great Spanish pianist Alicia de Larrocha’s Decca recordings, comes the first release on CD of her recording with David Zinman, of Mozart’s delectable A major Concerto KV 414. Coupled exactly as per the original LP (SXL 6952), this release offers up […]

Schubert: Piano Sonatas, D.664 & 960

May 24, 2016

This collection brings together all of Alicia de Larrocha’s Schubert recordings for Decca on a single disc with her 1978 account of the A major Sonata, D.664 released internationally on CD for the first time. Opening with one of the most sheerly perfect melodies which Larrocha plays with the utmost elegance, the major work on […]