ALBÉNIZ, Isaac
Iberia for solo piano T 105
El Albaicín
Luis Fernando Pérez, guest professor
Izem Gürer, student
Being from Turkey benefits the student due to the influence of folk music similar to Arabic music, since this work is very Moorish. Regarding the pedaling at the beginning, the professor talks about the indication that Albéniz puts. He also talks about Alicia de Larrocha and her indirect relationship with Granados and Albéniz. The beginning has two interpretation options: the traditional one, without pedal or with little, and the other pedaled, as if in a haze. There is an internal rhythm but everything has to be played very evenly, almost without character, so that nothing stands out. Everything is played from the key to be more precise, not from the air, it is like a pinch,
In the theme it is very easy to lose the tempo, to mark more the difference between the dance and the instrumental “noise” (the strumming and so on), almost clusters. Play it more cellularly, like contemporary music. The professor describes the situations of each passage and they work on it. In the verse it is necessary to breathe before and clean the pedal, and always count the rubato through the syncopation. Push the piano, rather than play it, in the passage of transition to the theme. In the rhythmic passages, it should be giustissimo, like Prokofiev. Throughout Iberia we only have two moments of “bell” (tritone) (they say it was Albéniz’s wall clock). Do not lose the melody in the thumbs or the syncopated rhythm with the nerves: control the moments of tension and relaxation. Give it more emotion through harmony, it is the bass that gives the emotion, they are continuous drones and within that bass you have to build the rest. Within the clusters, look for the basic chord to be able to memorize. Later, the professor talks about the Kingdom of Granada and the versions of Iberia: Larrocha, Orozco, Sánchez… Everything that is played has to be very real. In addition to other indications, Professor Luis Fernando Pérez speaks at some point about the concept towards the outside and towards the inside of the piano.
Language: Spanish
