Pantaleón Enrique Joaquín Granados y Campiña (27 July 1867 – 24 March 1916), commonly known as Enric Granados in Catalan or Enrique Granados in Spanish, was a

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Def ...

of classical music, and concert

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

from

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the no ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

. His most well-known works include ''

Goyescas ''Goyescas'', Op. 11, subtitled ''Los majos enamorados'' (''The Gallants in Love''), is a piano suite written in 1911 by Spanish composer Enrique Granados. It was inspired by the work of the Spanish artist Francisco Goya. The piano pieces have no ...

'', the ', and '' María del Carmen''.

Life

Enrique Granados Campiña (1867–1916) and De Segurola in 1915

Pantaleón Enrique Joaquín Granados Campiña was born in

Lleida Lleida (, ; Spanish: Lérida ) is a city in the west of Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital city of the province of Lleida. Geographically, it is located in the Catalan Central Depression. It is also the capital city of the Segrià comarca, a ...

, Spain, the son of Calixto José de la Trinidad Granados y Armenteros, a Spanish army captain who was born in Havana, Cuba, and Enriqueta Elvira Campiña de Herrera, from Santander, Spain. As a young man he studied piano in Barcelona, where his teachers included Francisco Jurnet and Joan Baptista Pujol. In 1887 he went to Paris to study. He was unable to become a student at the Paris Conservatoire, but he was able to take private lessons with a conservatoire professor,

Charles-Wilfrid de Bériot Charles-Wilfrid de Bériot (12 February 183322 October 1914) was a French pianist, teacher and composer. He was born in Paris in 1833, the son of the violinist Charles Auguste de Bériot and his then common-law wife, the famed soprano Maria Mali ...

, whose mother, the soprano Maria Malibran, was of Spanish ancestry. Bériot insisted on extreme refinement in tone production, which strongly influenced Granados's teaching of pedal technique. He also fostered Granados's abilities in improvisation. Just as important were his studies with

Felip Pedrell Felip Pedrell Sabaté (Spanish: Felipe) (19 February 1841 – 19 August 1922) was a Catalan composer, guitarist and musicologist. Life Pedrell was born in Tortosa (Catalonia), and sang as a boy soprano at Tortosa Cathedral from age 9, where h ...

. He returned to Barcelona in 1889. His first successes were at the end of the 1890s, with the opera '' María del Carmen'', which attracted the attention of King Alfonso XIII. In 1903, Granados participated in a competition organized by Tomás Bretón of the Madrid Royal Conservatory, which awarded a considerable sum of 500 pesetas for the best "concert allegro" for solo piano. Granados submitted his ''Allegro de concierto'', Op. 46, for which the jury declared him the winner with an almost unanimous vote. The win brought Granados to national attention. In 1911 Granados premiered his suite for piano ''

'', which became his most famous work. It is a set of six pieces based on paintings of

Francisco Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 174616 April 1828) was a Spanish Romanticism, romantic painter and Printmaking, printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His p ...

. Such was the success of this work that he was encouraged to expand it. He wrote an opera based on the subject in 1914, but the outbreak of World War I forced the European premiere to be canceled. It was performed for the first time in New York City on 28 January 1916 and was very well received. Shortly afterwards, he was invited to perform a piano recital for President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

. Before leaving New York, Granados also made live-recorded

player piano A player piano (also known as a pianola) is a self-playing piano containing a pneumatic or electro-mechanical mechanism, that operates the piano action via programmed music recorded on perforated paper or metallic rolls, with more modern im ...

music rolls for the New-York-based Aeolian Company's " Duo-Art" system, all of which survive today and can be heard – his last recordings.

Death

A delay in New York, incurred by accepting a recital invitation, caused him to miss his boat back to Spain. Instead, he took a ship to England, where he boarded the passenger ferry SS ''Sussex'' for Dieppe, France. On the way across the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Ka ...

, the ''Sussex'' was torpedoed by a German

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...

, as part of the German World War I policy of

unrestricted submarine warfare Unrestricted submarine warfare is a type of naval warfare in which submarines sink merchant ships such as freighters and tankers without warning, as opposed to attacks per prize rules (also known as "cruiser rules") that call for warships to s ...

. According to witness Daniel Sargent, Granados's wife, Amparo, was too heavy to get into a lifeboat. Granados refused to leave her and positioned her on a small life raft on which she knelt and he clung. Both then drowned within sight of other passengers. However, according to a different account from another survivor, ""A survivor of the 1916 torpedo attack on a Cross channel ferry, Sussex, recognised Spanish composer Granados in a lifeboat, his wife in the water. Granados dived in to save her and perished."David Walton, ''The Last Journey of Enrique Granados''. Opus Publications p. 71. The ship broke in two parts, and only one sank (along with 80 passengers). Ironically, the part of the vessel that contained his cabin did not sink and was towed to port, with most of the passengers, except for Granados and his wife, who were on the other side of the boat when it was hit. Granados and his wife left six children: Eduard (a musician), Solita, Enrique (a swimming champion), Víctor, Natalia, and Francisco. The personal papers of Enrique Granados are preserved in, among other institutions, the National Library of Catalonia.

Music and influence

Granados wrote piano music,

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small nu ...

(a piano quintet, a piano trio, music for violin and piano), songs,

zarzuela () is a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, the latter incorporating operatic and popular songs, as well as dance. The etymology of the name is uncertain, but some propose it may derive from the name of ...

s, and an orchestral tone poem based on Dante's ''

Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature a ...

''. Many of his piano compositions have been transcribed for the classical guitar; examples include ''Dedicatoria'', ''Danza No. 5'', and ''Goyescas''. His music can be divided into three styles or periods: #A romantic style including such pieces as ''Escenas Románticas'' and ''Escenas Poeticas''. #A more typically nationalist, Spanish style including such pieces as ''Danzas Españolas'' (Spanish Dances), ''6 Piezas sobre cantos populares españoles'' (Six Pieces based on popular Spanish songs). #The Goya (Goyesca) period, which includes the piano suite ''Goyescas'', the opera ''Goyescas'', various ''Tonadillas'' for voice and piano, and other works. Granados was a significant influence on at least two other famous Spanish composers and musicians, Manuel de Falla and

Pablo Casals Pau Casals i Defilló (Catalan: ; 29 December 187622 October 1973), usually known in English by his Castilian Spanish name Pablo Casals,

. He was also the teacher of composer

Rosa García Ascot Rosa García Ascot (8 April 1902 in Madrid – 2 May 2002 in Torrelaguna, Madrid) was a Spanish composer and pianist. She was the only woman in the famed Group of Eight, whose members also included Julián Bautista, Ernesto Halffter and his ...

Some important works

*''12 danzas españolas'' (1890) for piano; Op. 37, H. 142, DLR 1:2. The contents of the four volumes are: Vol. 1: Galante (or

Minuet A minuet (; also spelled menuet) is a social dance of French origin for two people, usually in time. The English word was adapted from the Italian ''minuetto'' and the French ''menuet''. The term also describes the musical form that accomp ...

o), Oriental, Fandango (or

Zarabanda The sarabande (from es, zarabanda) is a dance in triple metre, or the music written for such a dance. History The Sarabande evolved from a Spanish dance with Arab influences, danced by a lively double line of couples with castanets. A dance ca ...

); Vol. 2:

Villanesca In music, a villanella (; plural villanelle) is a form of light Italian secular vocal music which originated in Italy just before the middle of the 16th century. It first appeared in Naples, and influenced the later canzonetta, and from there also ...

; Andaluza (or Playera); Rondalla aragonesa (or

Jota Jota may refer to: __NOTOC__ * Iota (Ι, ι), the name of the 9th letter in the Greek alphabet; * (figuratively) ''Something very small'', based on the fact that the letter Iota (lat. i) is the smallest character in the alphabet; * The name of t ...

); Vol. 3: Valenciana; Sardana (or Asturiana); Romántica (or Mazurca); Vol. 4: Melancólica (or Danza Triste); Zambra; Arabesca. *'' María del Carmen'' (1898), opera * ''Allegro de concierto'' (1904) *''Escenas románticas'' (1903) for piano. The individual "scenes" are: Mazurca; Berceuse; Allegretto; Mazurka; Allegro appassionato; Epílogo *''Dante'' (1908),

symphonic poem A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music, usually in a single continuous movement, which illustrates or evokes the content of a poem, short story, novel, painting, landscape, or other (non-musical) source. The German term ''T ...

*''Tonadillas al estilo antiguo, H136'' (1910) for voice and piano, settings of a group of poems by . Titles of individual songs in the collection are: "Amor y odio"; "Callejeo"; "El majo discreto"; "El majo olvidado"; "El majo tímido"; "El mirar de la maja"; "El tra-la-la y el punteado"; "La maja de Goya"; "La maja dolorosa I (Oh muerte cruel!), II (Ay majo de mi vida!), and III (De aquel majo amante)"; "La currutacas modestas" (duet). *''Canciones españolas'' for voice and piano. Titles of individual songs in the collection are: "Yo no tengo quien me llore"; "Cantar I"; "Por una mirada, un mundo"; "Si al retiro me llevas..."; "Canción"; "Serenata"; "Canto gitano". *''Cançons catalanas'' for voice and piano. Titles of individual songs in the collection are: "L'ocell profeta"; "Elegía eterna"; "Cançó de Gener"; "Cançó d'amor"; "Cançoneta"; "La boira". *''

'' (1911), suite for piano, subtitled "Los majos enamorados". It consists of six pieces in two books. Movements are: Book 1: "Los requiebros"; "Coloquio en la reja"; "El fandango de candil"; "Quejas o La maja y el ruiseñor"; Book 2: "El amor y la muerte"; "Epílogo (Serenata del espectro)". "El pelele", although not published as part of the ''Goyescas'', is usually appended to it. In performance it is played as the seventh and last piece. It is based on the music of the opening scene of Granados's opera ''Goyescas'', in which a "pelele" is being tossed in the air by the "majas". *''Bocetos'' (1912) which contains: "Despertar del cazador"; "El hada y el niño"; "Vals muy lento"; "La campana de la tarde". *''Colección de canciones amatorias'' (1915) for voice and piano. Titles of individual songs in the collection are: "Descúbrase el pensamiento de mi secreto cuidado"; "Mañanica era"; "Llorad, corazón, que tenéis razón 'Lloraba la niña'"; "Mira que soy niña"; "No lloréis, ojuelos"; "Iban al pinar 'Serranas de Cuenca'"; "Gracia mía". *''

'', opera, 1916 *''6 Estudios expresivos'' *''6 Piezas sobre cantos populares españoles'', which include: "Añoranza"; "Ecos de la parranda"; "Vascongada"; "Marcha oriental"; "Zambra"; "Zapateado" *''Madrigal'', for cello and piano *''8 Valses Poéticos'', for piano, including No 6 "Vals Poético" *''Trío'', for piano, violin, and cello *"Military March", for piano, Op.38

Media

References

Notes

Sources and further reading

* * * * * San-Juan, Pablo Vila: ''Papeles íntimos de Enrique Granados''. Amigos de Granados, 1966. * Perandones, Miriam: "El compositor catalán Enrique Granados Análisis de tres canciones de concierto: ''La boyra'' (1900), ''Cansó d’amor'' (1902) y ''Elegia eterna'' (1912)". ''Recerca musicològica,'' nos. 20–21, 2013–2014, pp. 277–304 * Perandones, Miriam: "La canción de Enrique Granados: un microcosmos estilístico", ''Cuadernos de música iberoamericana'', Vol. 22, 2011, pp. 151–186 * Perandones, Miriam: "Enrique Granados en París: la construcción de un icono español en el ámbito musical internacional", ''Revista de Musicología'', Vol. 34, Nº 1, 2011, págs. 203–232. * Perandones, Miriam: "Estancia y recepción de Enrique Granados en Nueva York (1915–1916) desde la perspectiva de su epistolario inédito", ''Revista de Musicología'', Vol. 32, Nº 1, 2009, pp. 281–295. * ''Comentaris a la gravació de la suite "Goyescas" per a piano''. Joaquín Achúcarro, RCA Records, Madrid, 1980. D.L. M 8232-80 * ''Historia de la Música Española. Siglo XIX''. Carlos Gómez Amat, Alianza Música, 1984. * ''Enrique Granados (su obra para piano)''. 2 vols. Antonio Iglesias, Editorial Alpuerto, 1985–1986. i 84-3810101-1 * ''Granados''. Antoni Carreras i Granados, Nou Art Thor, 1988. .

Recordings

Goyescas, Part 1, Los Requiebros
as recorded by Granados on piano roll, c. 1913, Paris
Info
*''L'escola pianística catalana (Enregistraments històrics) '

*''Enrique Granados today playing his 1913 interpretations''
The Welte Mignon Mystery Vol. I)
*''Enrique Granados: Composer as Pianist''
Pierian Recording Society
PIR0002) *''Masters of the Piano Roll: Granados Plays Granados''

*''The Catalan Piano Tradition''

*''Rollos de Pianola (Obras de Albéniz, Granados, Turina, Ocón, Chapí, Alonso y Otros)''
Almaviva, DS – 0141

The Reproducing Piano Roll Foundation

External links

www.kreusch-sheet-music.net
– Free Scores by Granados
Personal papers of Enric Granados in the Biblioteca de Catalunya
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Granados, Enrique 1867 births 1916 deaths 19th-century classical composers 19th-century classical pianists 19th-century Spanish composers 19th-century Spanish male musicians 20th-century classical composers 20th-century classical pianists 20th-century Spanish composers 20th-century Spanish male musicians Civilians killed in World War I Deaths by drowning Classical composers from Catalonia Composers for piano Male classical pianists People from Lleida People who died at sea Spanish classical composers Spanish classical pianists Spanish male classical composers Spanish people of World War I Spanish Romantic composers