Isaac Albéniz
Iberia · Fourth Book
With the fourth and last book, our blue Urtext editions of the "Iberia" cycle are now complete. Albéniz had greatly struggled to complete the work because he was very ill. Yet he was able to hand over all of the twelve pieces he had promised to the pianist Joaquin with whom he was friends.
Following the sensuous dance rhythms in “Málaga” and the cheerful and lively “Eritaña”, he succeeded in creating a striking musical portrait of the famous Spanish wine-growing region with “Jerez”. “Music has never achieved such a diverse and colourful form,” was the judgement passed on Albéniz’ late Romantic masterpiece by none other than Claude Debussy.
About the Composer
Isaac Albéniz
He numbers among the most important Spanish composers. His oeuvre consists predominantly of piano music and stage works.
| 1860 | Born in Camprodón (Gerona province) on May 29; soon thereafter his family moves to Barcelona; first piano instruction with his sister at age three and a half, first public performance at age five, subsequent piano studies with Narciso Oliveras. |
| from 1867 | Eventful youth due to concert tours with his father and sister to Paris, the Spanish provinces, then on his own to Puerto Rico and Cuba. |
| 1876–79 | Studies in Brussels. |
| 1883–86 | Studies composition in Barcelona with Felipe Pedrell, who persuades him of the value of Spanish folk music. This results in piano compositions such as “Recuerdos de viaje,” Op. 71 (1886–87); “España: Seis hojas de album,” Op. 165 (1890); “Cantos de España,” Op. 232 (1891–94). |
| 1889 | Breakthrough as a pianist, concertizing in Paris and London. |
| 1890–93 | Engaged in London by the agent Henry Lowenfeld; operetta “The Magic Opal” (premiere 1893). |
| 1893 | Relocation to Paris, studies with Vincent d’Indy and Paul Dukas. |
| 1895/96 | Premieres in Barcelona of his operas “Henry Clifford” (1895) and “Pepita Jiménez” (1896) with Spanish colorings in the libretti and music. |
| 1898–1903 | He plans the trilogy “King Arthur” (“Merlin,” “Lancelot,” “Guenevere”), of which just “Merlin” is completed; concert performance of the original version does not take place until 1998. |
| 1905–08 | Composes “Iberia,” one of his chief works for piano, in which he reworks the sounds and rhythms of Spanish folk music. |
| 1909 | Death in Cambô-les-Bains (Basses-Pyrénées) on May 18. |
About the Authors
Norbert Gertsch (Editor)
Dr. Norbert Gertsch, born in 1967 in Rheinkamp/Moers, studied piano solo at the Mozarteum in Salzburg and read musicology and philosophy at the Paris Lodron University in Salzburg and the Ruperto Carola University Heidelberg on a scholarship from the “Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes”. In 1996 he wrote his doctoral thesis on Ludwig van Beethoven’s Missa solemnis (as part of the New Complete Edition) under Ludwig Finscher.
In the following year, he began to work at G. Henle Publishers, initially as an editor for electronic publishing. After working on a two-year project (1999–2000) sponsored by the German Research Foundation (DFG) preparing a new Beethoven Catalogue of Works, he became a scholarly editor at G. Henle Publishers. In 2003 he became Editor-in-Chief, in 2009 Deputy Managing Director and Head of Publishing. As of 1 January 2024, the Executive Board of the Günter Henle Foundation has appointed Dr. Norbert Gertsch, as the new managing director, succeeding Dr. Wolf-Dieter Seiffert.
Gertsch has published many Urtext editions for G. Henle Publishers, including volumes for a new edition of Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas together with Murray Perahia.
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