Pedro Albéniz y Basanta (14 April 179512 April 1855) was a Spanish

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 ...

and

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 Defi ...

. He was unrelated to

Isaac Albéniz Isaac Manuel Francisco Albéniz y Pascual (; 29 May 1860 – 18 May 1909) was a Spanish virtuoso pianist, composer, and conductor. He is one of the foremost composers of the Post-Romantic era who also had a significant influence on his conte ...

Life

Albéniz was born

Logroño Logroño () is the capital of the province of La Rioja, situated in northern Spain. Traversed in its northern part by the Ebro River, Logroño has historically been a place of passage, such as the Camino de Santiago. Its borders were disputed b ...

La Rioja La Rioja () is an autonomous community and province in Spain, in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. Its capital is Logroño. Other cities and towns in the province include Calahorra, Arnedo, Alfaro, Haro, Santo Domingo de la Calzada, and N� ...

. He began his studies with his father Mateo Albéniz, a notable church musician in Spain. He furthered his education in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, where he was instructed by eminent teachers and received musical advice from

Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards f ...

. Returning to Spain in 1830, he served as

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

at the Church of Santa María in

San Sebastián San Sebastian, officially known as Donostia–San Sebastián (names in both local languages: ''Donostia'' () and ''San Sebastián'' ()) is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality located in the Basque Country (autonomous community), B ...

and then became a professor at the

Madrid Royal Conservatory The Madrid Royal Conservatory ( es, Real Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid) is a music college in Madrid, Spain. History The Royal Conservatory of Music was founded on July 15, 1830, by royal decree, and was originally located in Mosten ...

, organist of the Capilla Real, and the personal piano teacher of

Queen Isabella II Isabella II ( es, Isabel II; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904), was Queen of Spain from 29 September 1833 until 30 September 1868. Shortly before her birth, the King Ferdinand VII of Spain issued a Pragmatic Sanction to ensure the successio ...

. He died in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

. Later in life he neglected his career as a concert pianist and dedicated himself instead to teaching. He left behind many compositions for piano, chamber music and songs, but was subsequently remembered chiefly for his piano

method Method ( grc, μέθοδος, methodos) literally means a pursuit of knowledge, investigation, mode of prosecuting such inquiry, or system. In recent centuries it more often means a prescribed process for completing a task. It may refer to: *Scien ...

, which was studied by all Spanish pianists at the Madrid Conservatory during the mid-19th century.Iglesias, Antonio
"Albéniz y Basanta, Pedro."
''

Grove Music Online ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...

'', 2001. Retrieved on 21 April 2020.

Compositions

Works for concert band

* 1813 ''Himno - cantado en la ciudad de San Sebastián en obsequio a los Reyes N.N.S.S., dedicadoa sus Magestades'', for concert band and great mixed choir * 1833 ''Marcha e himno para la jura de la Princesa de Asturias'', representada por una comparsa de jóvenes de San Sebastián, for concert band * 1833 ''Marcha triunfal, himno y contradanzas de la comparsa alegórica al restablecimiento del Rey N.S. y administración benéfica de S.M. la Reina'', egecutada en San Sebastián con acuerdo de su ayuntamiento el domingo de carnaval de 1833, for concert band

Choral works

* 1841 ''Villancico real al nacimiento de N.S. Jesucristo'', for two soloists, two-voiced choir and piano * 1842 ''Villancico real al nacimiento de N.S. Jesucristo'', for soloist, unison children's choir and piano * 1844 ''Villancico real al nacimiento de N.S. Jesucristo'', for soloists, unison choir and piano * 1845 ''Villancico real al nacimiento de N.S. Jesucristo'', for soloists, mixed choir (STB) and piano

Works for piano

* 1825 ''Rondó brillante a la tirana sobre los temas del "Trípoli y la Cachucha"'', for piano, op. 25 * 1825 ''Variaciones brillantes sobre el "Himno de Riego"'', for piano, op. 28 * 1830 ''Serenata cantada a sos Reyes Nros. Sres. con motivo de su salida de la ciudad de San Sebastián'', for piano * 1831 ''Fantasía elegante sobre motivos escogidos de la ópera "I puritani" de

Vincenzo Bellini Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini (; 3 November 1801 – 23 September 1835) was a Sicilian opera composer, who was known for his long-flowing melodic lines for which he was named "the Swan of Catania". Many years later, in 1898, Giu ...

'', for piano * 1831 ''Variaciones brillantes sobre el tema favorito Mira, oh Norma, ai tuoi ginocchi de

'', for piano, op. 33 * 1843 ''Contradanzas bailadas a presencia de S.S.M.M. por una comparsa de jóvenes distinguidos de San Sebastián'' * 1843 ''Vals no.4'', for piano * 1843 ''Vals no.5'', for piano * 1844 ''Lucia di Lammermoor'', fantasia on a themes from Verdi's opera for piano * 1852 ''Corona musical de canciones populares españolas'' * ''12 estudios melódicos para piano á cuatro manos compuestos espresamente icpara S.M. la Reina Doña Ysabel 2ª'', op. 56 * ''El chiste de Málaga - capricho'', música característica española, op.37 * ''El polo nuevo - capricho'', música característica española, for piano, op. 41 * ''Estudios para piano - antología (siglo XIX)'' * ''Fantasia sobre motivos de la ópera "Nabucco" de

Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

'', for two pianos, op. 36 * ''Fantasía sobre motivos de la ópera "Attila" de

'', for piano four hands * ''Fantasía sobre motivos de la ópera "Ernani" de

'', for piano four hands * ''Fantasía sobre motivos de la ópera "I Lombardi" de

'', for piano four hands * ''Fantasía sobre motivos del "Nabucodonosor" de

'', for two pianos * ''Fantasía sobre un motivo vasco'', for piano * ''Flores melódicas'', for piano, op. 60 * ''La barquilla gaditana - capricho'', música característica española , op.39 * ''La gracia de Córdoba'' música característica española, for two pianos, op. 38 * ''Lied'', for piano, op. 53 * ''Los jardines de Aranjuez'', for two pianos * ''Mi Delicia'', for two pianos, op. 61 * ''Piezas características españolas'', for two pianos * ''Riojanos Ilustres'' * ''Rondino-capricho sobre motivos de "La Violeta"'', for piano, violin, viola, and cello, op. 65

Bibliography

* Santiago de Masarnau Fernández (1805-1882): ''Piano romántico español (Música impresa) Gemma Salas Villar''. Santiago de Masarnau en Pedro Albéniz, Madrid : Instituto Complutense de Ciencias Musicales, 1999. 297 p. * Antonio Gómez y Cros (1808-1863): ''Retrato de Pedro Albeniz Basanta''. Diana en el Estab. Artistico y Literario , ca. 1850.

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Albeniz, Pedro 1795 births 1855 deaths Spanish classical composers Spanish male classical composers Spanish Romantic composers Spanish classical pianists Male classical pianists Spanish classical organists Male classical organists Spanish music educators Piano pedagogues Academic staff of the Madrid Royal Conservatory 19th-century classical composers 19th-century classical pianists 19th-century Spanish male musicians 19th-century organists