The late Montserrat Caballé gets double-smooched by Danny Kaye and Luciano Pavarotti. Caballé, one of the great sopranos, died on Saturday at the age of 85. Tune in to hear her recording of Enrique Granados’ “Canciones amatorias,” settings of Spanish Renaissance love poems, this afternoon in the 4:00 hour EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.
Tag: Enrique Granados
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Ernest Schelling A Jersey Boy’s Dark Legacy
You might say that Ernest Schelling was a Jersey boy made good. He also happened to be responsible, in part, for the death of Enrique Granados.
Schelling, a celebrated pianist who for a period of three years became the exclusive pupil of Ignacy Paderewski, was born in Belvidere on this date in 1876. A child prodigy, he made his debut at Philadelphia’s Academy of Music at the age of 4. At 7, he was admitted to the Paris Conservatory. Among the other notable musicians he worked with were Hans Huber, Moritz Moszkowski, and Theodor Leschetizky. Leschetizky was the pupil of Carl Czerny, who of course studied with Beethoven.
As a conductor, Schelling became music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, which he led from 1935 to 1937. Well before Bernstein, he conducted the New York Philharmonic Young People’s Concerts, beginning in 1924. They were such a success, he took them on tour, with stops in Philadelphia, Los Angeles, London and Rotterdam.
Schelling gave the U.S. premiere of Granados’ piano cycle “Goyescas.” In fact it was he who encouraged the composer to craft the music into an opera. Granados liked the idea, and “Goyescas” was given its first performance at the Metropolitan Opera in 1916. It created such a sensation that Woodrow Wilson invited the composer to the White House, an offer Granados could hardly refuse. He postponed the date of his journey home, and was killed a few weeks later, after his ship, the S.S. Sussex, was torpedoed by a German submarine.
Thanks a lot, Ernest Schelling – and by the way, happy birthday.
Schelling plays Liszt’s Sonata in B minor:
Willem Mengelberg conducts Schelling’s “A Victory Ball:”
A selection from Schelling’s “Suite Fantastique:”
PHOTO: Ernest Schelling (right) with friend. His ship didn’t sink.
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Granados Premiere on WPRB for 150th Year
Plenty of world premiere recordings this morning on WPRB, thanks to the Naxos label, as we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Spanish master Enrique Granados. Right now, we’re listening to his “Suite on Galician Songs,” a 30-minute, folk-inflected work for orchestra. In the 8:00 hour, we’ll hear his “Song of the Stars,” a masterpiece gone missing for nearly a century, scored for piano, organ and three choruses. We’ll also have songs, instrumental music, the complete one-act opera “Goyescas,” and the rarely-heard symphonic poem “Dante,” between now and 11 a.m. EDT. We subscribe to the maxim “No Spain, no gain,” on WPRB 103.3 FM and wprb.com.
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Granados at 150 A Musical Celebration on WPRB
Enrique Granados’ life may have been cut short in 1916, at the age of only 49, but his music continues to age well. Granados is widely celebrated for his evocative aural postcards of his native Spain, most notably his collections of piano miniatures, the “Spanish Dances,” and “Goyescas” (the latter inspired by paintings of Francisco Goya). But there was so much more to this remarkable composer.
Join me this Thursday morning on WPRB, as we celebrate the 150th anniversary of Granados’ birth. We’ll get the day started with a full five hours of his music, including an assortment of his rarely-heard orchestral, choral and chamber works, and, yes, even a recording of his one-act opera “Goyescas,” which the composer cannily adapted from his popular piano pieces.
Performers will include Ataulfa Argenta, the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, Maria Bayo, the Beaux Arts Trio, Montserrat Caballe, Alicia de Larrocha, Victoria de los Angeles, Andres Segovia, Ramón Vargas and Granados himself.
The playlist will also feature the rarely-heard symphonic poem “Dante,” and world premiere recordings of the “Suite on Galician Folk Songs,” “Song of the Stars,” and the lyric poem “Liliana,” as arranged by Granados’ friend and champion Pablo Casals.
If you’re a fan of fandangos with a craving for castanets, you’ll want to join me, this Thursday morning from 6 to 11 EDT, on WPRB 103.3 FM and wprb.com. We’ll do it up grand for Granados, on Classic Ross Amico.
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Granados Casals and Liliana on WPRB
A nice photo of Enrique Granados with his friend Pablo Casals, both evidently (and justifiably) proud of their moustaches. Casals arranged Granados’ lyric poem “Liliana” for concert performance. We’re enjoying it right now, as part of a full morning of Granados’ music, in celebration of the 150th anniversary of his birth, on WPRB 103.3 FM and wprb.com.
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