The name of I. Albeniz is inseparable from the new direction of Spanish music Renasimiento, which arose at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries. The initiator of this movement was F. Pedrel, who advocated the revival of Spanish national culture. The first classical samples of new Spanish music were created by Albeniz and E. Granados, and the work of M. de Falla became the pinnacle of this direction. Renasimiento covered the entire artistic life of the country. It was attended by writers, poets, artists:
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The name of I. Albeniz is inseparable from the new direction of Spanish music Renasimiento, which arose at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries. The initiator of this movement was F. Pedrel, who advocated the revival of Spanish national culture. The first classical samples of new Spanish music were created by Albeniz and E. Granados, and the work of M. de Falla became the pinnacle of this direction. Renasimiento covered the entire artistic life of the country. It was attended by writers, poets, artists: R. Valle-Inclane, X. Jimenez, A. Machado, R. Pidal, M. Unamuno. Albenis was born 10 kilometers from the border with France. His exceptional musical ability allowed him to perform with his older sister Clementina in a public concert in Barcelona at the age of four. It was from his sister that the boy received the first information about music. At the age of 6, Albénis went with his mother to Paris, where he took piano lessons from Professor A. Marmontel. In 1868, the first composition of the young musician was published in Madrid - "Military March" for piano. In 1869, the family moved to Madrid, and the boy entered the conservatory in the class of M. Mendisabal. At the age of 10, in search of adventure, Albénis runs away from home. In Cadiz, he is arrested and sent to his parents, but Albeniz manages to get on a steamer bound for South America. In Buenos Aires, he leads a life of hardship until one of his countrymen organizes several concerts in Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil. After traveling to Cuba and the United States, where Albeniz, in order not to die of hunger, works in the port, the young man comes to Leipzig, where he studies in the conservatory in the class of S. Yadasson (composition) and in the class of K. Reinecke (piano). In the future, he improved at the Brussels Conservatory - one of the best in Europe, in piano class by L. Brassen, and in composition - by F. Gewart. A huge influence on Albeniz had his meeting with F. List in Budapest, where the Spanish musician came. List agreed to lead Albenis, and this alone was a high appreciation of his talent. In the 80s and early 90s. Albenis has an active and successful concert activity, touring in many countries of Europe (Germany, England, France) and America (Mexico, Cuba). His brilliant pianism attracts contemporaries with its colorfulness and virtuoso scope. The Spanish press called him “Spanish Rubinstein.” “Performing his own works, Albénis resembled Rubinstein,” Pedrel wrote. Since 1894, the composer lives in Paris, where he improves in the field of composition with such famous French composers as P. Duke and W. d'Andy. He formed close contacts with K. Debussy, whose creative personality greatly influenced Albéniz, his music of recent years. In the last years of his life, Albenis led the Renasimiento movement, implementing Pedrel’s aesthetic principles in his work. The best compositions of the composer are examples of a truly national and at the same time original style. Albenis turns to popular song and dance genres (Malagenha, Sevillena), recreating in music the characteristic features of various regions of Spain. His music is all imbued with folk vocal and speech intonations. Of the great compositional heritage of Albéniz (comic and lyrical opera, zarzuela, works for orchestra, voices), the most valuable is piano music. The appeal to Spanish musical folklore, these "golden placers of folk art", in the expression of the composer, had a decisive influence on his creative development. In compositions for piano, Albénis widely uses elements of folk music, combining them with modern methods of composer writing. In the piano texture, you can often hear the sound of folk instruments - tambourine, bagpipes, especially guitars. Using the rhythms of the song-dance genres of Castile, Aragon, Basconia and especially often Andalusia, Albénis rarely confines himself to directly quoting folk themes. His best works: "Spanish Suite", suite "Spain" op. 165, cycle "Spanish songs" op. 232, a cycle of 12 plays "Iberia" (1905-07) - samples of professional music of a new direction, where the national basis is organically combined with the achievements of modern musical art.