Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
iv
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .............................................................................................. lxiii
The Rapid Incorporation of Goyescas into the International Piano Repertoire ................ 26
Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 41
Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 50
Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 69
v
BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................. 71
vi
TRANSLATOR’S PREFACE
vii
TRANSLATOR’S PREFACE
I. Introduction
from the Graduate Program in Translation at the University of Puerto Rico, I have
important events concerning the life of Spanish classical pianist and composer Enrique
Forging of a Spanish Icon in the International Music Scene), was published in Revista de
Musicología, 34, no. 1 (2011): 203–32. The second, “Estancia y recepción de Enrique
(Enrique Granados’s Visit to and Reception in New York [1915–1916], Viewed from the
the occurrence of events in the composer’s life, rather than the order in which they were
published. Material from the first article, which covers the composer’s formative years in
Paris, provides background information that enables the reader to better appreciate the
events recounted in the second article concerning the composer’s successful opera
premieres and piano performances in New York, which concluded just weeks prior to
viii
Granados’s tragic death.
For the sake of brevity, I will refer to the first article, “Enrique Granados en París:
the second article, “Estancia y recepción de Enrique Granados en Nueva York (1915–
composer of piano solos, art songs, chamber music pieces, and operas. His compositions
have been categorized as late Romantic, and compared favorably to the music of Frédéric
the late nineteenth century. Called “the apostle of nationalism in Spain,” 1 Pedrell believed
that a nation’s music should be based on its native musical traditions. 2 His 1891
Spanish folk music and resist the temptation to mimic the styles of foreign composers. 3
Granados was, in turn, an important influence upon at least two other important Spanish
composers and musicians, Manuel de Falla (1876–1946) and Pablo Casals (1876–1972).
1
Walter Aaron Clark, Enrique Granados: Poet of the Piano (New York: Oxford University Press,
2006), 28.
2
Michael Kennedy, Joyce Kennedy, and Tim Rutherford-Johnson, Oxford Dictionary of Music, 6th
ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012).
3
Felipe Pedrell, Por nuestra música (Barcelona: Henrich, 1891).
ix
Granados spent most of his adult life in Barcelona during the height of the
international artistic and cultural movement called modernisme. In the United States and
France, the movement was known as “art nouveau” or “modern style.” 4 In Catalonia, it
was characterized by a search for Catalan national identity, reflected in the paintings of
Ramón Casas and Santiago Rusiñol, and in the early architecture of Antoni Gaudí. 5
endeavor, such as painting, into their fields. Along with his contemporaries Isaac Albéniz
(1860–1909), Falla, and Casals, Granados promoted Spanish nationalism, but was open
contemporaries, and, as the translated articles illustrate, led to success in France and the
United States.
Granados studied, composed, and performed in Paris (1887–89, 1909, 1911, and
1914), but his most important overseas visit was to New York and Washington, DC
(December 1915–March 1916). During that trip, he garnered critical acclaim and further
developed an international audience due to the successful premiere of his opera Goyescas
o Los majos enamorados (Pieces in the Style of Goya or The Majos in Love). While in
New York, Granados made piano roll recordings of several of his compositions at a time
4
Clark, 77–78.
5
Encyclopaedia Britannica Online, s.v. “Catalan literature,” accessed November 13, 2012,
http://0-www.britannica.com.mylibraryus.fmwr.net/EBchecked/topic/99052/Catalan-literature.
6
Clark, 79.
x
when the technology was newly emerging. These performances are available in modern
Granados wrote poems in Spanish, French, and Catalan, and composed a number
of songs based on his poetry, ranging from salon pieces in the zarzuela style, tonadillas
written “in the ancient style,” to the elaborate Goyescas suite (1911–13), a musical
chamber piece inspired by the tapestries and paintings of Francisco de Goya. Granados
eventually developed Goyescas into the opera that premiered in New York on January 28,
1916, just two months before his death aboard the SS Sussex, a channel ferry that was
accounts, Granados jumped from his lifeboat as the ship was sinking, in an attempt to
save his wife Amparo Gal. Tragically, both Granados and his wife perished during the
attack.
music school, Academia Granados, that still operates today as Academia Marshall, in
honor of Frank Marshall, the director who led the school to prominence after Granados’s
death. One of the academy’s alumnae, Alicia de Larrocha (1923–2009), who was
considered one of the premier pianists of the last half century, became the academy’s
director after Marshall passed away in 1959. De Larrocha enjoyed a stellar international
concert and recording career. In 2006, she wrote the forward to Walter Aaron Clark’s
book, Enrique Granados: Poet of the Piano, which has been a valuable resource
throughout this project. Danzas españolas and Goyescas remain among Granados’s most
xi
enduring and widely performed compositions, but their recognition outside of Spain has
been limited.
I researched Granados’s life and gave a presentation on Granados’s life and compositions.
Granados was completely new to just about everyone I encountered, except my piano
teacher and mentor, Tibor Szász, himself a renowned performer and musicologist. He
observed that Granados had been widely ignored by scholars and performers, yet was one
of the most significant composers of the Romantic period. I performed two of the twelve
musicologists publishing in Spanish and Catalan, with two notable exceptions: Carol
Walter Aaron Clark’s Enrique Granados: Poet of the Piano (New York: Oxford, 2006).
These are the only book-length biographies published on Granados, in any language,
during the past fifty years; the last significant project was Antonio Fernández-Cid’s 1956
Spanish language biography, Granados (Madrid: Samarán, 1956). The Hess and Clark
books are thorough academic research projects written in an accessible historical style
xii
and are significant contributions both to musicologists and to a broad English-speaking
audience. Both authors agree that Granados’s influence on the Romantic period was
noteworthy, that his life and music merit further study, and that his music should continue
to be performed. Clark conducted extensive research, using many texts available only in
Department of Art History and Musicology since 2008. She has specialized in Granados’s
life and music, with particular emphasis on Granados’s art songs, on which she focused
her 2008 doctoral thesis, “La canción lírica de Enrique Granados (1867–1916):
collection of letters). Perandones went further than Clark did in her use of Granados’s
Granados (1928–2012). Perandones first presented the material in her dissertation and
integrated her discoveries into seven subsequently published articles in which she
presented new insights into important formative experiences of the artist’s life. Professor
Perandones has also presented academic papers at musicological symposia, where she has
compared and contrasted Granados’s compositions and performance style to those of his
xiii
VI. The Translated Articles
Other than the books by Hess and Clark, little has been published in English about
Granados, including Perandones’s articles, which have never been translated. I contacted
Professor Perandones by telephone and email, and she granted permission to translate
In EGP, Perandones observes that Granados was not recognized by the French
musical press until 1909, despite his growing international reputation and 1887–1889
residency in that country. Unlike Spanish contemporaries Ricardo Viñes and Pablo
Casals, Granados was timid and insecure, slow to learn the French language, and
reluctant to network. Perandones reviews press reports published during Granados’s time
in France, examines Granados’s relationship with his piano instructor Charles de Bériot
(1833–1914), and describes how Granados finally obtained recognition in France, first as
Granados’s initial mentions in the French musical press coincided with the
faction was the Société Nationale (SN), a movement aligned with formal Germanic
compositional technique. An opposing faction, the “innovators,” broke off to form the
Société Musicale Indépendante (SMI). The group was led by a new generation of
composers that included Maurice Ravel (1875–1937) and Claude Debussy (1862–1918).
7
Miriam Perandones Lozano, pers. comm. via email, October 16, 2012.
xiv
The SMI was influenced by the impressionist movement and rejected conventional
The SMI supported an important 1914 Granados concert in Paris and convinced
well-known artists to attend. This impressed music critics and helped bolster Granados’s
credibility as a serious performer and composer. The SMI considered Granados’s music a
welcome foreign influence and judged it to be distinct from the compositions of his
Spanish contemporaries. One French writer observed that Granados’s music presented a
“new Spain” to French listeners, a style that did not overly rely upon the dominance of
Arabic elements, which were common in other Spanish music of the era.
Goyescas from the perspectives of Granados, his wife Amparo Gal, and pianist and friend
published by the American media. As in EGP, Perandones observes that 1909 was a
pivotal year in Granados’s life, when the composer began receiving correspondence from
prominent foreigners, an occurrence that continued unabated until the time of his death,
discovered that the composer suffered from nervous exhaustion from the moment he
arrived in New York, and that this ailment prevented him from performing in a number of
xv
The article also reveals the extent to which Granados’s wife astutely observed the
complex series of events surrounding the New York visit. Through several of her letters
that are quoted and examined, the author shows that Gal maintained a consistently
positive outlook on the couple’s prospects, despite notable setbacks that occurred during
the short visit. Her letters also suggest that she was influential in Granados’s career
decisions and recognized that the New York premiere represented a milestone in
Woodrow Wilson to perform at the White House on March 7, 1916. The performance was
“a brilliant success,” 8 taking place just seventeen days before the tragic deaths of the
keyword lists of both articles (EGP, 203, 226; EGNY, 1, 13, 16). A synonym, nuevo
casticismo (EGP, 229), and a related term, españolista (EGP, 226, 232; EGNY, 15), are
also significant.
In EGP, the author explains that Granados brought a Spanish influence to French
music. It is the essence of this Spanish musical influence that the author later terms
españolismo, a noun defined by the Real Academia Española (RAE) as: 1. m. Amor o
8
Clark, 162.
xvi
apego a las cosas características o típicas de España. 2. m. hispanismo. 3. m. Carácter
genuinamente español. (1. n., m. Love or fondness toward those things that characterize
character.).
On page 229 of EGP, the author explains that Granados opened a historicist
channel in musical composition in what has now been termed nuevo casticismo. The
context suggests this to be a synonym for nuevo españolismo, which I confirmed with the
author.
In his 1895 essay “En torno al casticismo” (“On ‘Casticism’”), Miguel de Unamuno, one of
the leading writers of the Generation of ’98, found a solution that came to exercise a profound
influence on artists and intellectuals in the wake of the Spanish-American War. Casticsmo means
“genuine Spanishness,” the pure spirit of the nation, implying a reverence for tradition. Such a
term, of course, is slippery enough to be capable of almost any definition, and some used it as a
9
shibboleth in denouncing foreign ideas and trends.
9
Ibid, 110.
xvii
Spain and Spanish music, I could not find the term in any academic journals dealing with
caste systems. 10 Furthermore, I could not find the term in any dictionaries, so it is apt to
cause confusion.
several English language scholarly publications that discuss Spanish history and
culture. 11 Though not listed in Webster’s, “Spanishness” is listed under the entry for
of being Spanish.” The entry adds two usage quotations, the first, from a 1960 New York
the second, from the 1977 book Gentle Barbarian: “Her Spanishness had its Islamic
10
S.K. Panigrih, Casticism Politics in India (New Delhi: Cyber Tech Publications, 2008); N.
Jayapalan, Problems of Indian Education (New Delhi: Atlantic, 2001); Jai Narain Sharma, The Political
Thought of Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak (New Delhi: Concept, 2009).
11
Clark; Michael Thompson, Performing Spanishness–History, Cultural Identity and Censorship
in the Theatre of José María Rodríguez Méndez (Chicago: University of Chicago, 2007); Núria Triana-
Toribio, Spanish National Cinema (New York: Routledge, 2003); Susan Larson and Eva Woods, eds.,
Visualizing Spanish Modernity (New York: Berg, 2005); others.
12
Oxford English Dictionary Online, s.v. “Spanishness,” in “Spanish” entry, accessed December 8,
2013, http://www.oed.com/.
13
WordReference.com, s.v. “Spanishness,” tab marked Collins Spanish Dictionary – Complete and
Unabridged, 8th Ed., accessed December 8, 2013, http://www.wordreference.com/es/translation.asp?
tranword=spanishness.
xviii
Since the term to translate is nuevo casticismo, “new” was added to reflect the
EGP: oriente, exotismo, orientalismo, as well as the use of oriental in naming Granados’s
the piece as evoking the minor scales and chromatic inflections of Middle-Eastern and/or
Gypsy music. The higher octaves of the piece simulate Middle Eastern cymbals and
composers often relied on Gypsy and Moorish codes and markers to identify certain
[‘Oriental’] . . . was code for the Gypsy/Moorish South [of Spain].”14 Clark’s assertion is
Since the piano solo “Oriental” references Middle Eastern and Gypsy/Moorish
southern Spain, the initial tendency was to translate oriente as “Arabic” or “Middle
Eastern.” However, the context in which oriente appears is not as a music term, but a
geographic one:
14
Clark, 32.
xix
Chabrier, Fauré y Debussy […] utilizan sobre todo dos fuentes de renovación:
antigua, del folclore y del jazz (Chabrier, Fauré, and Debussy . . . utilized two sources of
renewal: exoticism and folklore. Exoticism drew its roots from Spain, from oriente,
Este (punto cardinal). 2. m. Asia y las regions inmediatas a ella de Europa y África (1. n.,
m. east [cardinal point]. 2. n., m. Asia and its European and African border regions). I
next proceeded to search for an appropriate term that would best communicate “Asia and
its European and African border regions.” Two promising possibilities were “the Orient”
Webster’s Geographical Dictionary, which defines “the Orient” as “the eastern regions or
countries of the world . . . formerly understood to include regions (such as the Middle
East) lying to the east and southeast of southern Europe but now usually understood to
refer to regions and countries of eastern Asia [emphasis added].” 15 The evolving
Western Conceptions of the Orient, where he explains that “the Orient,” to Americans, “is
15
Merriam-Webster’s Geographical Dictionary, 3rd ed. (Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster,
1997): 877.
xx
likely to be associated . . . with the Far East (China and Japan, mainly).” 16 Given these
of Asia and of the Asian archipelagoes [emphasis added]; the countries east of Europe;
The Orient.” This is a very close equivalent to the DRAE’s definition. Oxford Music
originating “from Turkey and the Arab world, Central Asia, and South and East Asia.” 17
What is most appealing about selecting “the East” as the best translation for
oriente is that, not only does the Merriam-Webster’s definition coincide closely with the
DRAE, but the Oxford Music Online’s definition of “exoticism” closely parallels the
entire Perandones passage, which is a discussion of the origins of exoticism itself. In light
of this discussion, the translated passage reads: “Exoticism drew its roots from Spain, the
Oxford Music Online was also helpful in confirming the use of the cognate
16
5th ed. (New Delhi: Penguin Books India, 2001): 1. Said explains that Europeans view the
Orient more broadly than Americans do, as “the place of Europe’s greatest and richest and oldest colonies,
the source of its civilizations and languages, its cultural contestant, and one of its deepest and most
recurring images of the Other.”
17
Oxford Music Online, s.v. “Exoticism,” by Ralph P. Locke, last modified July 25, 2013, http://
www.oxfordmusiconline.com/.
xxi
different from the “castanets” and Orientalism that had influenced this music throughout
within Western art music that evoke the East or the Orient.” 18 Echoing Clark, Oxford
continues, “The ‘Orient’ in the term ‘Orientalism’ is generally taken to mean either the
Islamic Middle East (e.g., North Africa, Turkey, Arabia, Persia), or East and South Asia
(the ‘Far East,’ e.g., India, Indochina, China, Japan), or all of these together.”
Other Challenges
A number of minor lexical challenges emerged throughout the texts, such as the
following from EGP: charranada (digámoslo así) (214) (double dealing, as we shall call
it), la raza pura (228) (‘pure’ national culture), and from EGNY: jugarreta del destino (9)
pletórica (11) (overjoyed), volcara (16) (becoming enthralled with). These posed no
special problems with the assistance of standard dictionaries and research tools. What
was far more challenging was applying the most appropriate English lexicon and syntax
EGNY contains a quote from Granados’s wife Amparo Gal: Amparo afirma que
“viste el visitarnos” y describe una agitada agenda social: (EGNY, 11). I consulted with
Professor Perandones, and she provided a precise explanation: viste is the third person
18
Ibid, s.v. “Orientalism,” by Ralph P. Locke, last modified May 26, 2010..
xxii
singular conjugation of the verb vestir, used in the context of definition 11 of the DRAE:
11. intr. Dicho de una cosa: Ser elegante, estar de moda, o ser a propósito para el
lucimiento y la elegancia. (“El color negro viste mucho.”) (11. v., intr. Said of a thing: to
be elegant, in style, or opportune for show and elegance. [“Black goes with everything.”])
Professor Perandones went on to explain that Amparo was telling her friends that a visit
to see the Granados couple in New York queda bien (suits you) or está de moda (is in
style). Given these factors, I concluded that viste el visitarnos could best be translated as
recommends that authors and editors refer to Writing About Music: A Style Sheet, 2nd ed.
In the section on composers’ names, this reference states that “transliterated, American
English names” of composers should be used, 19 and provides four pages of discussion
and examples. This reference also directs writers to the “Biographical Names” section of
“an authoritative guide for well-known persons long deceased.” 20 Finally, CMOS and
Writing About Music strongly recommend Oxford Music Online. This methodology
19
D. Kern Holoman, Writing about Music: A Style Sheet, 2nd ed. (Berkeley: University of
California, 2008), 7.
20
University of Chicago Press, The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS), 16th ed. (Chicago:
University of Chicago, 2010), 16.71.
xxiii
quickly yielded the proper spelling for Igor Strawinsky (EGP, 224, 228): Writing about
Music and Oxford agree that “Stravinsky” is the proper English spelling. Writing about
Music views this as an example of the so-called “Russian Problem,” and recommends
“[using] the spellings with v, not w” for names of Russian composers. 21 Similar
resolution was achieved for the spelling of the name of Polish pianist and composer Ignaz
Paderewski (EGP, 213; EGNY, 10) and Padereweski (EGNY, 3), revealing “Ignacy
In the case of influential French composer Vincent D’Indy, there was disagreement
among the referenced texts. CMOS sets forth guidance for the use of the particle d’ in
followed by Merriam-Webster, and four out of seven Oxford Music Online entries. Three
Oxford entries prefer the uppercase D’ in “D’Indy.” Writing About Music specifically
addresses this dilemma and 50 others, in section 1.24: “List of names that pose
difficulties of one sort or another, with their hyphenations.” 23 The entry for this composer
reads “D’Indy (uppercase D).” I opted to follow Writing About Music’s guidance.
names, they did not address whether, or when a music author should identify composers
and other historical figures by their full names, or whether it might sometimes be
21
Holoman, Writing about Music, 8.
22
CMOS, 8.7.
23
Holoman, 9.
xxiv
appropriate to refer to an individual by their last name alone. Throughout academic
In the case of the translation of an academic text, the translator must not merely
transpose the text into the target language, but must take into account the cultural context
and potential readers. In the cases of EGP and EGNY, the source language texts deal with
several Spanish and French musical historical figures, and the author often refers to
individuals by last name only. While it is plausible that many, or most of these historical
figures are known to European musicologists and/or learned readers, it is less clear that
the same level of detailed background knowledge would be shared by a similarly erudite
American readership who may not have specialized knowledge of French and Spanish
Romantic period composers. Views on this issue vary widely among translators and
identifying historical figures in a translated text, resulting in several first names being
added, in brackets. Other translators favor strictly mirroring the source text, under the
premise that the author’s omission of the historical figure’s first name should be
I researched this question but found no guidance in CMOS. I did, however, review
several musicology journal articles, and reviewed the guidelines for authors published by
The journals varied widely in their use of full names (in the first mention) versus
last names only. In the case of translated articles, there were, indeed, some examples of
xxv
first names added by the translator, in brackets. However, I was unable to find any
translated musicology journal articles in which all or almost all of the historical figures
There was no guidance provided by the journal editorial boards on the use of
composers’ and/or historical figures’ full names in the first mention, with one notable
emphasis on this and four other points in its “Special Concerns” section in its guidelines
for writing abstracts: “Give full names for lesser-known persons or ones who might be
confused with a more famous person with the same last name (e.g., Leopold Mozart).” 24
This guidance confirmed what appears to have been the methodology employed in the
translator neither ignores the need to specify the first name of some historical figures, nor
indiscriminately adds first names to all persons, a practice that could be unnecessary
and/or patronizing. I followed this guidance because it came from a reputable source, and
because it appears to be widely practiced. For the definition of what constitutes a “lesser-
24
Répertoire International de Littérature Musicale (RILM), “Writing Abstracts,”2. http://www.
rilm.org/submissions/pdf/Guidelines_AbstractStyle.pdf. RILM publishes a comprehensive bibliography of
writings on music serving the global music research community. Its RILM Abstracts of Music Literature is
produced under the joint auspices of the International Musicological Society and the International
Association of Music Libraries, Archives, and Documentation Centres at the RILM International Center at
the City University of New York. On its “Submissions” page, the website implores, “The section called
Specific concerns —only 113 words —is required reading!”
xxvi
methodology consisting of using Oxford Music Online, recommended by CMOS. With
Enrique Granados as a starting point for a lesser-known person, I noted that Oxford
published just eight publications that reference this composer, whereas, for a well-known
composer such as Maurice Ravel, the same site offers thirty-two references. For Claude
Debussy, there are forty mentions, and Igor Stravinsky has ninety-nine. Experimenting
intuitive sense for who was a well-known or lesser-known composer, and the numbers of
references offered.
first name was added in brackets to indicate material added by the translator. The
methodology resulted in neither too many first names added, nor too few: of the thirty-
four last-name-only references throughout both source language texts, this methodology
resulted in adding just eleven first names in brackets. Thus, Florent Schmitt (EGP, p. 225)
“Mme. De Serres” (EGP, p. 208), who had no references in Oxford, was presented as
“Mme. [Caroline] de Serres” in the target language text. Similarly, composer Arcangelo
Corelli (EGP, p. 211) was left as “Corelli” (eighteen references). The well-known family
name “Scarlatti” (EGP, 210; EGNY, 14), however, could be identified with several
members of the Scarlatti family who are considered important to the world of music:
xxvii
and Tommaso: “[Domenico] Scarlatti” appropriately specified which Scarlatti was being
referenced, and was thus added in this manner in both translated texts.
were instances in which I moved the original text’s full name reference from the point at
which it originally appeared, to the very first mention of the individual in the translated
article. I took this step in order to follow the CMOS convention of using a person’s full
name in the first mention. Writing under different guidelines, the author undertook an
approach contrary to CMOS in this regard: in several instances, the author referred to a
composer by last name only in the first mention, and then followed with a full name
reference, as in EGP, 212: “ . . . Granados had been invited by Fauré to serve as a member
of the judges’ panel, . . .” which was followed in the very next paragraph by “. . . one of
the most influential composers and personalities of Paris, Gabriel Fauré, might have
invited . . .”; in another example, Francis Planté (who only has one entry in Oxford Music
Online) is referred to by his last name only (EGP, 213), but nine pages later, his full name
appears (EGP, 222). In other cases, the full name appears in footnotes, but only the last
name appears throughout the article text; in these cases, the full name was added in the
translated article text, without brackets, because the author clearly intended for the reader
to have the benefit of the individual’s full name; this is another example of modifying the
In the case of footnotes, the volume of last name-only references was unwieldy,
and therefore, the above-described methodology could not be employed. In fact, some
xxviii
individuals in the footnotes, as well as in the article text, were so obscure, or their
reference so vague, that they could not be fully identified, as in the case of “. . . joining
Granados on the panel of Prix Diémer judges were . . . Chevillard, Rosenthal, . . . Leroux,
Lavignac, Vidal, A. de Greef, H. Bauer, A. Pierret, and Batalla” (EGP, 212, footnote 38).
identifying them, as well as their inclusion in footnotes rather than in the main text, also
implies that their fully being identified is not critical to the appreciation of the article.
Therefore, they could comfortably remain unmodified in the target language text.
IX. Geography
CMOS also offers guidance on geographical names. The most accessible principal
geographical references in the texts and for the background notes at the end of this
section. For example, the Polish city “Kraków,” though commonly spelled without an
accent, was found in both Merriam-Webster’s references to contain the accent on the “ó”
birthplace, Merriam-Webster’s accepts either the Spanish “Lérida” (with accent), or the
EGP contained demonyms with no English equivalents, such as: este intérprete
leridano (“the Lérida-born performer,” 204), el periódico gijonés (the Gijón newspaper,
xxix
composer from Gerona,” 218, 230). In the case of pedrelliano (EGNY, 13), I found the
works influenced by Felipe Pedrell, despite its absence from Webster’s. In other cases,
where adjectives had been coined in Spanish to refer to the followers of certain styles or
ceñudo, ni un debussysta afila las uñas (EGP, 217) (Not a single D'Indy disciple frowned,
nor did the Debussy-ites file their nails), estilo albeniciano (EGP, 231) (in the Albéniz
Following the CMOS convention for running text, translations following a foreign
word, phrase, or title were placed in parentheses, 25 not brackets. If the foreign word,
phrase, or title was previously published in the target language, then it appears in
quotation marks or italics, depending on the CMOS convention for the type of work (e.g.,
operas and other long works: italics; songs: quotation marks, etc.). If the foreign word,
phrase, or title has not been published, then the English is capitalized sentence-style,
neither in quotation marks nor italics. 26 All such translations appearing in the articles, in
25
CMOS, 7.50.
26
Ibid, 11.6.
xxx
this format, are my own. Additionally, in accordance with academic convention, if the
foreign word, phrase or title is a cognate easily discernible by the reader (e.g., Le Guide
CMOS also specifies the use of brackets to enclose a foreign word or phrase in
order to avoid ambiguity. Using this guidance, I explained the use of the words cuaderno
(notebook) when the first use of “tableau” (artistic grouping; representation of the action
at some stage in a play, created by the actors suddenly holding their positions) was made
to designate each of the three sections of the Goyescas opera: “. . . and the first notebook
[cuaderno], or tableau of Goyescas” (EGP, 217); “. . . the 1911 premiere of the first
notebook [cuaderno], or tableau of the Goyescas opera” (EGNY, 3). “Tableau” and
when the Goyescas score was published in the United States as Goyescas: An Opera in
Three Tableaux.
author or editor, it follows the original title and is enclosed in brackets, without italics or
followed. 27
In its guidelines for writing abstracts, RILM also directs authors to “give true
titles in the original language, followed by a parenthetical translation if most RILM users
27
Ibid, 14.108
xxxi
are unlikely to know the original.” 28 I followed this guidance in CMOS style for works
published in the target language, as in Le sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring) (EGP,
224), for the benefit of readers unfamiliar with French and/or the original title. In the case
of the Sociedad de Conciertos Clásicos (EGP, 209), this guidance was especially helpful.
This title was written in Spanish in the source text, referring to Granados’s Barcelona-
based subscription series for the promotion of symphonic and chamber music, under
whose auspices Granados’s own orchestra performed. Upon researching the organization,
I discovered that the series title was originally established in the Catalan language, as
Societat de Concerts Clàssics. I thus followed the RILM guidance of employing true
titles in the original language, omitting the English translation because the title was easily
understood as a cognate.
Similarly, RILM directs authors to “give all societies, institutions, and other
organizations their full names in their original language.” 29 This led to the replacement of
A number of Granados song titles appear in the texts. Some, but not all, have been
previously translated. Jacqueline Cockburn and Richard Stokes’s The Spanish Song
28
RILM, “Writing Abstracts,”2.
29
Ibid.
xxxii
Companion 30 was especially helpful. These authors’ translations were the same ones used
in one or more other texts, such as “Gracia Mía” (“My Graceful One”), which was
published with the same song title in several books. However, in some cases, a judgment
call was required, where a commonly employed, yet imprecise song title had been
repeatedly published. In the case of “Mañanica Era,” The Song Companion translated the
title as “Daybreak,” while the more precise translation would have been “It Was
Daybreak.” Indeed, I found both “Daybreak” and the better alternative “It Was
30
Jacqueline Cockburn and Richard Stokes, The Spanish Song Companion (Lanham, MD:
Scarecrow Press, 2006).
31
REC Music Foundation Online, s.v. “Mañanica era,” last modified September 2013, http://
www.recmusic.org/lieder/get_text.html?TextId=1082.
32
Maurice Hinson, Guide to the Pianist’s Repertoire, 3rd ed. (Bloomington, IN: Indiana
University Press, 2000), 348; James Friskin and Irwin Freundlich, Music for the Piano (New York: Dover,
1973), 124.
33
Clark, 121.
34
Last.FM, s.v. “No. 2. Coloquio en la Reja (Conversation at the Window),” accessed November
24, 2014, http://www.lastfm.fr/music/Enrique+Granados/_/No.+2.+Coloquio+en+la+Reja+(Conversation+
at+the+Window).
35
Oxford, s.v. “Goyescas,” accessed November 24, 2013.
36
Ritmic, s.v. “Coloquio en la reja,” accessed November 24, 2013, http://www.ritmic.com/ralph-
votapek-121562/ii-coloquio-reja-conversation-through-the-bars-25055711.html.
xxxiii
In an article in the musical journal Diagonal,
“Coloquio en la Reja.”
maja, a dialogue taking place through an iron grating. According to Clark (who translated
the title as “Dialogue at the Window”), “ornamented iron grills [emphasis added] were
placed in doors or walls, and it was through these that majos carried on their courtship
with the majas.” 39 Riva translated the song title similarly: “Dialogue Through the Grill
cooking utensil on which food is exposed to red heat, . . .” while a “grille” is “1a: a
grating (as of wrought iron, bronze, or wood) forming an often elaborate openwork
barrier, screen, or cover as to a door, window, or other opening); 1b: an opening covered
37
Spotify, s.v. “Granados: Goyescas,” accessed November 24, 2013, https://play.spotify.com/
album/06Zv5VLPFIDsC85sontSCp; Grooveshark, s.v. “Izumi Tateno Goyescas – Los majos enamorados,”
accessed November 24, 2013, http://grooveshark.com/#!/album/Granados+Goyescas/8065458.
38
Douglas Riva, “Apuntes Para Mis Obras: Granados’ Most Personal Manuscript and What It
Reveals.” Diagonal: Journal of the Center for Iberian and Latin American Music, Proceedings of the
Conference “Music in the Time of Goya, and Goya in the Time of Granados” held at the University of
California, Riverside, February 25, 2005, as part of “Encuentros 2005.” Accessed August 13, 2013. http://
www.cilam.ucr.edu/diagonal/issues/2005/riva.html.
39
Clark, 129.
xxxiv
with a grille: such as (1) : a window for the sale of tickets.” 40 Though Merriam-Webster’s
admits both the spellings “grill” and “grille” in the context described above, “grille” is
The DRAE defines a coloquio as 1. m. conversación entre dos o más personas. (1.
preferred to follow Clark’s and Rivas’s preference for “dialogue,” concluding with
The articles contain references to the proper names of several musical works. For the
most part, these were straightforward, such as Chopin’s Rondó en Do mayor (EGP, 208).
Following CMOS and Writing About Music conventions concerning the capitalization of
keys and the proper use or omission of hyphens, the translation became “Rondo in C
sharp Minor; Polonesa n° 2 became “Polonaise No. 2 in E-flat Minor,” and Balada n° 3
40
Merriam-Webster Unabridged Online, s.vv. “grille” and “grill,” accessed November 24, 2013,
http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/grille, and http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/
unabridged/grill.
xxxv
Cognates generally provided the most appropriate translations for music
Online, The Harvard Dictionary of Music, and Diccionario técnico Akal de términos
acentos locales local color The context suggests that acento in this
en las Goyescas dominan el the Goyescas were instance means: 8. m. Importancia o relieve
ritmo y los acentos locales dominated by rhythm and especial que se concede a determinadas
(EGP, 218) local color ideas, palabras, hechos, fines, etc. (8. n., m.,
The importance or special prominence
conferred upon ideas, words, facts, aims,
etc.). 42 Acentos locales suggests
regionalism, as in “local color,” defined by
Merriam-Webster as: “Color (i.e., character,
complexion, tone, quality, nature) . . .
derived from the presentation of the features
and peculiarities of a particular locality and
its inhabitants.” 43
41
Oxford, s.v. “accentuation,” by Matthias Thiemel, last modified July 25, 2013.
42
DRAE Online, s.v. “acento,” accessed November 24, 2013, http://lema.rae.es/drae/?val=acento.
43
Merriam-Webster Unabridged Online, s.vv. “color” and “local color,” accessed November 24,
2013, http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/color, and http://unabridged.merriam-webster.
com/unabridged/local%20color.
xxxvi
canción lírica art song An “art song” is a song intended for the
tesis doctoral La canción doctoral dissertation, . . . concert repertoire, as opposed to a
lírica de Enrique Granados (The art songs of Enrique traditional or popular song. The term is
(EGP, 204; EGNY, 4, 15) Granados) more often applied to solo, rather than
polyphonic songs. During the eighteenth
century, “art song” came to have its
predominant modern meaning of secular
solo song with an independent keyboard
accompaniment. 44 There are English-
language academic texts on the subject of
Spanish art songs. 45 In Chapter 1 of Art
Song Composers of Spain, the author writes
that she intends to provide a teaching tool
that explains “the complexities of the
canción lírica, Spanish art song.” Chapter
29 of her book is devoted exclusively to the
art songs of Enrique Granados. 46
color, coloreado, colorista color, tone color, colored, “Color,” “tone color,” “tone quality,” or
colorful, flavor “timbre” refers to that which distinguishes
sus adorables piezas de his lovely piano pieces, the quality of tone of one instrument or
piano, tan coloristas, tan which are so colorful, singer from another. Its perception is a
originales, y tan original, and picturesque. synthesis of several factors, and is a more
pintorescas» (EGP, 215) complex attribute than pitch or loudness,
Granados tiene un «color» Granados played with a tone which can be represented by a one-
de sonido que le es propio. “color” that was uniquely dimensional scale. 47 In music it is
(EGP, 216) his own. customary to speak of “coloring” or “tone
color” where variations of “timbre” or
Coloreado de preciosas colored with gorgeous “tone” are produced by different intensities
armonías (EGP, 218–19) harmonies of the overtones of sounds. 48
la receta para la the formula for composing
composición de las Goyescas consisted of a In the case of el color nacional (EGP, 219),
Goyescas es el color nationalist flavor combined the context showed this to be a non-musical
nacional unido al lirismo y with lyricism, while the use of color, referring instead to “a
el todo coloreado… (EGP, assembled whole remained nationalist flavor.”
219) colorful . . .
44
Oxford, s.v. “art song,” by Peter Dickinson, et al, last modified July 25, 2013.
45
Suzanne Rhodes Draayer, Art Song Composers of Spain: An Encyclopedia (Lanham, MD:
Scarecrow Press, 2009); Jacqueline Cockburn and Richard Stokes, The Spanish Song Companion (Lanham,
MD: Scarecrow Press, 2006); John H. Baron, ed., Spanish Art Song in the Seventeenth Century (Madison,
WI: A-R Editions, 1985).
46
Rhodes Draayer, 1, 267.
47
Oxford, s.vv. “timbre,” “colour (Tone-colour),” and “sound” by Charles Taylor and Murray
Campbell, accessed November 24, 2013.
48
Don Michael Randel, ed., The Harvard Dictionary of Music, 4th ed. (Cambridge, MA: Belknap
of Harvard, 2003), 893.
xxxvii
Su color, su acento, vibrante, Their tone color and
y su aspecto elegante, accentuation are vibrant,
seductor, lánguido elegant, seductive, or
si se da el caso (EGP, 222) languid if need be . . .
49
Oxford, s.v. “Avignon,” by Marcel Frémiot and Charles Pitt, accessed August 18, 2013.
50
Harvard Dictionary of Music, 306–8.
51
Ibid, 522–24.
xxxviii
orientalismo Orientalism “Orientalism” refers to the dialects of
alejada de las «castañuelas» quite different from the musical exoticism within Western art music
y el orientalismo que “castanets” and Orientalism that evoke the East or the Orient. The
predominó en el siglo XIX. that had influenced this “Orient” in Orientalism is generally taken to
(EGP, 231) music throughout the mean the Islamic East, Middle East, South
nineteenth century. Asia, or all of these together. In Spanish
music, “Oriental” is often regarded as “code
for the Gypsy/Moorish South [of Spain].” 52
scholista a graduate of the Schola Scholista is not in the DRAE or any other
Cantorum dictionary. Its meaning was determined
ni la crítica de partidos se or the relentless criticism through its contextual use in the article.
ha ensañado con él como from parties who take issue Musicians who studied at the Schola
suele acontecer a un with him, as they tend to do Cantorum in Paris received instruction in
scholista (EGP, 217) with graduates of the Schola compositional techniques that emphasized
Cantorum cyclic form. They were subjected to
la formación scholista de Turina's musical education criticism for allegedly possessing a narrow
Turina, basada en la at the Schola Cantorum, range of skills. 55
observancia de la forma, which emphasized the
influyó negativamente (EGP, observance of structure,
229) negatively influenced
52
Oxford, s.v. “Orientalism,” by Ralph P. Locke, last modified May 26, 2010; Clark, 32.
53
Harvard Dictionary of Music, 617.
54
Oxford, s.v. “polyphony,” by Wolf Frobenius, et al, accessed November 24, 2013.
55
Ibid, s.v. “Avignon,” by Marcel Frémiot and Charles Pitt, accessed August 18, 2013.
xxxix
sonido tone quality “Tone quality,” “tone color,” “color,” or
destaca en una de las his unforgettable tone “timbre” is that which distinguishes the
cualidades francesas por quality, the French virtue quality of tone of one instrument or singer
excelencia, el sonido, (EGP, par excellence; from another. Its perception is a synthesis of
216) several factors, and is a more complex
attribute than pitch or loudness, which can
be represented by a one-dimensional scale. 56
publications, Catalan song titles, and Catalan sayings. Where possible, the original
French text was found, and a direct translation from French to English undertaken. EGP
includes two quotes from Michel Duchesneau’s book, L'avant-garde musicale et ses
sociétés à Paris de 1871 à 1939. I was able to locate the original French text and
translated the originals directly into English with guidance from my advisor. The original
In the case of phrases encountered in Catalan, I used online tools to arrive at close
English approximations, but had to contact the author for further assistance. In the case of
the Catalan song titles in footnote 62, EGP (221), Professor Perandones explained that the
56
Ibid, s.vv. “timbre,” “colour (Tone-colour),” and “sound” by Charles Taylor and Murray
Campbell, accessed November 24, 2013.
57
Harvard Dictionary of Music, 898.
xl
song titles were written in what Professor Perandones termed “prenormative” Catalan,
XIV. Abstracts
Both original EGP and EGNY articles contained abstracts in English, provided by
the author. I modified both in order to bring consistency to the writing styles, since the
Journals set forth widely diverging guidance as to the word counts required of
abstracts. Some require abstracts as short as 100 words, and others allow as many as 300.
Therefore, both abstracts may need to be lengthened, shortened, and/or modified before
being published in an English language journal. EGP’s translated abstract is presently 257
xli
XV. Errata to “Enrique Granados en París” (EGP)
The original version of EGP included errata, provided by the author, listing
typographical errors and other minor corrections. I incorporated the revisions, listed
below, into a new Spanish language PDF of the article, which is provided as an appendix,
xlii
XVI. Background Notes on Composers and Historical Figures
and composers, with the notable exception of footnote 67 in EGP on Arthur Rubinstein.
This is most likely due to the fact that both articles were published for a readership who
In order to assist the reader, I have prepared the following notes, listed in their
order of appearance in the translated articles, providing context for many of the
xliii
Background Notes for “Enrique Granados in Paris” (EGP)
Historical Page Background
Figure/Term
Hopkins, accessed August 11, 2013).
Charles de 8 Charles de Bériot (1833–1914): French pianist and pupil of Austrian pianist and
Bériot composer Sigismond Thalberg. In 1887 he was appointed to the piano faculty of
the Paris Conservatoire, where he taught for many years, counting among his
pupils Maurice Ravel, Enrique Granados, and many other notable pianists and
composers. Among Bériot’s works are four piano concertos, chamber music, and
various orchestral and vocal compositions (Oxford, s.v. “Charles de Bériot,” by
Boris Schwarz, accessed August 11, 2013).
Gaspar Villate 8 Gaspar Villate (1851–1891): Cuban composer who produced abundant and wide-
ranging work, mostly centered on opera. He spent much of his life in Europe,
especially Paris, but also wrote the creole works La virgen tropical and Adios a
Cuba. His eight waltzes, Soirées cubaines, and romances were appreciated in
Parisian salons. He died in Paris (Alejo Carpentier, Music in Cuba [Minneapolis:
University of Minnesota Press, 2001], 239-42).
Jules Massenet 8 Jules Massenet (1842–1912): French composer. He was the leading opera
composer in late nineteenth-century France, and his operas have remained in the
repertoire. He started giving composition classes at the Paris Conservatoire at the
age of 18. He composed prolifically and in the mid-1860s turned his attention to
the stage. He served in the National Guard in the Franco-Prussian War, alongside
his friend, composer Georges Bizet (Oxford, s.v. “Jules Massenet,” by Richard
Langham Smith, accessed August 11, 2013).
Ravel 9 Maurice Ravel (1875–1937): French composer. He is considered one of the most
original and sophisticated musicians of the early twentieth century. His
instrumental writing—whether for solo piano, for ensemble or for orchestra—
reflected a fascination with the past and with the exotic, resulting in music of a
distinctively French sensibility and refinement. He studied at the Paris
Conservatoire under Charles de Bériot and others (Oxford, s.v. “Maurice Ravel,”
by Barbara L. Kelly, accessed August 11, 2013).
Montmartrism 9 Montmartre is a 425-foot hill in the northern Paris district of the same name. As a
term apparently invented by Viñes in the context of a personal letter,
Montmartrismo is translated as “Montmartrism,” implying that Granados became
infatuated and distracted by the artistic activity in the Montmartre district, which
was, at the end of the nineteenth century, the principal artistic center of Paris
(Encyclopædia Britannica Online, s.v. “Montmartre,” accessed August 12, 2013,
http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/391015/Montmartre).
Premier prix 10 The Premier prix was awarded to those select graduates of the Paris Conservatoire
who attained top honors. The Premier prix could be awarded to more than one
student per year (Sax on the Web; “First Prize” at Paris Conservatory – What Is
It?,” last modified May 25, 2007, http://forum.saxontheweb.net/archive/index.php/
t-59947.html).
Jenö Hubay 10 Jenö Hubay (1858–1937): Hungarian violinist and composer. Robert Volkmann
and Franz Liszt played important roles in his development. He gave recitals with
Liszt in Budapest on several occasions, and in 1878, on Liszt’s advice, he
travelled to Paris, where he soon became a favored guest at music salons.
Subsequently, he gave highly successful concerts in France, England, and
Belgium (Oxford, s.v. “Jenö Hubay,” by László Gombos, accessed August 11,
xliv
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2013).
Mme. 10 Caroline de Serres (1843–1913): French pianist, who studied at the Paris
[Caroline] de Conservatoire with Le Couppey. She made successful concert tours throughout
Serres Europe and often played Camille Saint-Saëns’s two-piano compositions with him
(Sabina Teller Ratner, Camille Saint-Saëns, 1835–1921: The Instrumental Works
[New York: Oxford University Press, 2002], 61).
Jules Delsart 10 Jules Delsart (1844–1900): French cellist and violin player. He studied at the Paris
Conservatoire, graduating with the Premier prix in 1866 and returning later as a
professor. Delsart was said to be one of the foremost French cellists of the period,
with faultless technique, a precise bow, and a sweet, though not large, tone. He
owned the handsome 1689 “Archinto” Stradivari (Oxford, s.v. “Jules Delsart,” by
Lynda MacGregor, accessed August 11, 2013).
León Moreau 11 León Moreau (1870–1946): French pianist and composer. Despite winning the
Grand Prix de Rome in 1899, he is now considered a composer of minor
importance. He became famous in 1925 for storming out of a Ravel concert in the
United States sponsored by Mrs. Calvin Coolidge, shouting in the concert hall that
he objected to the anti-colonial lyrics of the song “Aoua!” which allegedly
insulted the French troops fighting in Morocco (though the lyrics predated the
French Revolution) (Arbie Orenstein, Ravel: Man and Musician [New York:
Columbia University Press, 1975]).
Henri Duparc 13 Henri Duparc (1848–1933): French composer, educated at the Jesuit College at
Vaugirard, where he showed little inclination for music, but César Franck was a
visiting piano teacher at the college, and it was with him that Duparc studied
composition. The sixteen solo songs and one duet on which his reputation rests
were written between 1868 and 1884. In 1871 Duparc joined Saint-Saëns and
Romain Bussine in founding the Société Nationale de Musique (SNM), with the
aim of promoting contemporary French music, and he was a strong proponent of
Richard Wagner’s music and compositional techniques (Oxford, s.v. “Henri
Duparc,” by Martin Cooper, accessed August 11, 2013).
Albéniz 13 Isaac Albéniz (1860–1909): Spanish pianist and composer of over 250 works
which employed Spanish rhythmic and melodic idioms. He also wrote operettas,
songs, orchestral works, and piano sonatas. He studied with Felipe Pedrell, who
guided him towards composing (Oxford, s.v. “Isaac Albéniz,” by Frances
Barulich, accessed August 11, 2013.
Marie Panthés 13 Marie Panthés: According to at least one source, she was one of the most brilliant
pianists of her day, but additional biographical material could not be found
(Pierrette Hissarlian-Lagoutte, Style et technique des grands maîtres du piano
[Paris: Ed. Henn-Edmond Cross, 1948], 49).
[Domenico] 13 Domenico Scarlatti (1685–1757): This eighteenth-century Italian harpsichord
Scarlatti virtuoso and prolific composer exercised a profound influence on Enrique
Granados. Scarlatti spent the final twenty-eight years of his life in Madrid and
became enamored of Castilian folk music and dance, which he evoked in many of
his sonatas. Granados transcribed a total of twenty-six purportedly Scarlatti
sonatas he found in a manuscript in Barcelona, but scholars have confirmed that
two of these sonatas in the collection are not by Scarlatti (Clark, 114).
Corelli 13 Arcangelo Corelli (1653–1713): Italian violinist and composer. He joined the
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court of Queen Christina from 1679–86. He lived in Cardinal Ottoboni’s palace,
and died a rich man with a fine art collection. His importance as a composer lies
in his Sonatas da camera and concerti grossi from which the solo sonata and the
orchestral concerts of Handel and Bach evolved (Oxford, s.v. “Arcangelo Corelli,”
by Michael Talbot, accessed August 11, 2013).
César Franck 13 César Franck (1822–1890): Belgian-born composer. He studied at the Paris
Conservatoire from 1837 to 1842. His compositions were ignored by the general
public until his pupils, led by Vincent D’Indy, organized a concert of his works in
1887, and the composer subsequently wrote three of his finest works. His
compositions played an important role in restoring French taste for “pure music,”
thereby opening the way for Debussy, Ravel, and others (Oxford, s.v. “César
Franck,” by John Trevitt and Joël-Marie Fauquet, accessed August 11, 2013).
Edouard Risler 14 Edouard Risler (1873–1929): French pianist, teacher, and conductor. He entered
the Paris Conservatoire and studied there with Louis Diémer, winning a Premier
prix in 1889, and later taught at the Paris Conservatoire. Revered by his
colleagues, he achieved status as an interpreter of Beethoven that has remained
unmatched by any other French pianist (Oxford, s.v. “Edouard Risler,” by James
Methuen-Campbell, accessed August 11, 2013).
Jean Huré 14 Jean Huré (1877–1930): French composer, organist, pianist, and teacher. He was
on the founding committee of the Société Musicale Indépendante (SMI) in 1910
with Ravel, Koechlin, Fauré, and Vuillermoz. A supporter of Debussy, his Dogmes
musicaux (1904–07) reflected the aesthetic divide between the SMI and the
Société Nationale de Musique (SNM). He argued for a French music free from
foreign influence and revealed an interest in Celtic French identity (Oxford, s.v.
“Jean Huré,” by Barbara L. Kelly, accessed August 12, 2013).
Jacques 15 Jacques Thibaud (1880–1953): French violinist. He studied at the Paris
Thibaud Conservatoire, where he graduated with a Premier prix in 1896. He toured widely
in Europe, and made frequent appearances in Britain and the United States in
1903. Thibaud was distinguished by the silvery purity of his tone and the exquisite
polish of his technique, which he combined with instinctive warmth of expression
in performances that were refined, rather than robust. He excelled in Mozart and
in works from the French Romantic school (Oxford, s.v. “Jacques Thibaud,” by W.
W. Cobbett and Noël Goodwin, accessed August 11, 2013).
Gabriel Fauré 16 Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924): French composer, teacher, pianist, and organist. He
was considered the most advanced composer of his generation in France, where he
developed a personal style that had considerable influence on many early
twentieth-century composers. His harmonic and melodic innovations also affected
the teaching of harmony for later generations (Oxford, s.v. “Gabriel Fauré,” by
Jean-Michel Nectoux, accessed August 11, 2013).
Prix Diémer 15 Louis Diémer (1843–1919): French pianist and composer. At the Paris
Conservatoire he won Premiers Prix in piano, harmony, accompaniment,
counterpoint, and fugue, as well as a Second Prix in organ. He steadily gained a
reputation as a virtuoso. In 1902 he established a trust fund for a triennial
competition, with a prize of 4,000 Francs, open to male pianists who had won a
Premier prix for piano in the preceding ten years. The competition became known
as the Prix Diémer (Oxford, s.v. “Louis Diémer,” by Elisabeth Bernard and
xlvi
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Charles Timbrell, accessed August 12, 2013).
Dubois 16 Théodore Dubois (1837–1924): French composer, organist, and teacher. Dubois is
perhaps best known for his religious works, some of which have remained in the
repertoire of French churches for decades. His music was admired for its French
character and solid construction, elegance and charm, purity of style and
sentiment (Oxford, s.v. “Théodore Dubois,” by Jann Pasler, accessed August 11,
2013).
Paderewski 16 Ignacy Jan Paderewski (1860–1941): Polish pianist, composer, and statesman. He
became one of the most famous international pianists of his time. In 1910, he
spoke at the unveiling of a monument in Kraków, and thereafter symbolized
Polish aspirations. During World War I he worked ceaselessly for the Polish cause.
When Poland became an independent nation in 1919, he became Prime Minister
and Foreign Minister of the first government, but retired a year later after
disagreement with other politicians. In 1922 he resumed his recitals, raising large
amounts of money for war victims (Oxford, s.v. “Ignacy Jan Paderewski,” by Jim
Samson, accessed August 11, 2013).
Francis Planté 16 Francis (François) Planté (1839–1934): French pianist. He made his début at the
age of seven and won a Premier prix at the Paris Conservatoire in 1850. After
performing Beethoven's Concerto No. 5 at the Société des Concerts du
Conservatoire in 1861, he retired to the Pyrénées for ten years. He resumed his
career in 1872, and from then on, he was recognized as one of the greatest French
pianists of the century. His concerts could last from three to six hours, and he
would sometimes discuss the music with members of the audience seated nearest
him (Oxford, s.v. “François Planté,” by Charles Timbrell, accessed August 11,
2013).
Raoul Pugno 16 Raoul Pugno (1852–1914): French pianist, teacher, and composer. From 1866 to
1869 he was a student at the Paris Conservatoire, where he won a Premier prix for
piano (1866), harmony (1867), and the organ (1869), and a Première Médaille for
solfège (1867), an elaborate, systematic regimen in basic musicianship. He was
soon recognized as perhaps the leading French pianist of the time. An early
exponent of Wagner in France, he and Debussy provided the two-piano
accompaniment for a famous concert performance of parts of Das Rheingold on 6
May 1893. His stage works and salon music are now forgotten, but he created a
more lasting influence through his many piano pupils (Oxford, s.v. “Raoul
Pugno,” by Guy Bourligueux, accessed August 11, 2013, and s.v. “Solfeggio,” by
Owen Jander, accessed October 27, 2013).
Saint-Saëns 16 Camille Saint-Saëns (1835–1921): French composer, pianist, and organist. He
entered the Paris Conservatoire in 1848 and became friends with Franz Liszt, by
whom he was much influenced. In 1871, he was co-founder of the Société
Nationale de Musique (SNM), formed to encourage development of a French
instructor’s school. Elegance of form and line, beautiful harmonies, and chords
were more important to him than emotional feeling or technical adventure, and his
music has therefore been condemned for its superficiality and facility.
Nevertheless, these very qualities, to which may be added graceful melodic
invention, have ensured the survival of a large amount of his work. It is significant
that he was admired by Ravel, another emotionally undemonstrative composer
xlvii
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(Oxford, s.v. “Camille Saint-Saëns,” by Daniel M. Fallon and Sabina Teller
Ratner, accessed August 11, 2013).
André 17 André Mangeot (1883–1970): British violinist and impresario of French birth. He
Mangeot studied at the Paris Conservatoire and later headed the Paris-based Le Monde
Musical. He settled in London after World War I, where his main career was in
chamber music. In 1948 he formed the André Mangeot Quartet and taught the
violin and chamber music at Oxford and Cambridge Universities (Oxford, s.v.
“André Mangeot,” by Lynda MacGregor, accessed August 12, 2013).
parranda 18 The parranda is a festive dance originating from the southeastern Spanish region
of Murcia. (Clark, 41). Parranda means “party,” which helps explain why “Ecos
de la parranda” is usually published in English as “Echoes of Revelry.”
“Oriental” and 18 “Oriental” (Danza española No. 2) evokes the minor scales and chromatic
“Jota” inflections of Middle-Eastern and/or Gypsy music; the piece simulates Middle
Eastern instruments such as cymbals and double-reed or plucked-string
instruments. “Rondalla aragonesa” (Danza española No. 6) is also known as “Jota
aragonesa,” or “Jota,” as referenced in the text. The piece evokes the Aragonese
jota, a lively dance in triple time from northern Spain, typically accompanied by
guitar and castanets (Clark, Enrique Granados, 32, 35; Oxford, s.v. “Jota,”
accessed September 25, 2013).
Casals 18 Pablo Casals (1876–1973): Catalan cellist, conductor, pianist, and composer. As a
performer, he joined a piano trio with the Belgian violinist Crickboom and
Granados, and later a string quartet led by Crickboom. His artistry led to a new
appreciation of the cello and its repertoire. He directed later festivals at Perpignan
and in Puerto Rico, where he finally settled in 1956. In 1957 he married Puerto
Rican cellist Marta Montañez. Among his honors were the French Légion
d’honneur, an honorary doctorate from the University of Edinburgh, the Royal
Philharmonic Society’s gold medal, and the United Nations Peace Prize (Oxford,
s.v. “Pablo Casals,” by Robert Anderson, accessed August 11, 2013).
Alfred Cortot 22 Alfred Cortot (1877–1962): Swiss-born pianist and conductor, and long-time
resident in France. From 1905, he played in a celebrated piano trio with French
violinist Jacques Thibaud and Spanish cellist and pianist Pablo Casals (Oxford,
s.v. “Alfred Cortot,” by Martin Cooper and Charles Timbrell, accessed August 18,
2013).
Wanda 22 Wanda Landowska (1879–1959): Polish keyboard player and composer. She was a
Landowska champion of seventeenth and eighteenth-century music and the leading figure in
the twentieth-century revival of the harpsichord (Oxford, s.v. “Wanda
Landowska,” by Lionel Salter, accessed August 11, 2013).
Lazare-Lévy 22 Lazare-Lévy (1882–1964): French pianist and teacher. He studied with Diémer at
the Paris Conservatoire, where he received a Premier prix in 1898. As a performer,
he was especially noted for his cultivated performances of Schumann and Mozart,
whose works he recorded; Lazare-Lévy was also an early champion of Albéniz,
whose Iberia he played in 1911. As a distinguished professor of piano at the Paris
Conservatoire, he was considered the successor to Alfred Cortot (Oxford, s.v.
“Lazare Lévy,” by Charles Timbrell, accessed August 12, 2013).
poulailler 22 Poulailler (Fr.), literally “henhouse,” refers pejoratively to the audience seated in
the elevated theater gallery, visually the worst seats in the house, and often the
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least expensive (Larousse Online, s.v. “poulailler,” accessed August 18, 2013:
http://www.larousse.fr/encyclopedie/divers/poulailler/81903 and http://www.
larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais/poulailler/63074).
graduates of 22 Scholista and conservatorial were translated as “graduates of the Schola
the Schola Cantorum or the Paris Conservatoire.” Musicians who graduated from these
Cantorum or institutes received instruction in compositional techniques that emphasized cyclic
the Paris form. They were subjected to criticism for allegedly possessing a narrow range of
Conservatoire skills (Oxford, s.v. “Avignon,” by Marcel Frémiot and Charles Pitt, accessed
August 18, 2013).
D'Indy 22 Vincent D'Indy (1851–1931): French composer and teacher. He helped found the
Schola Cantorum for the study of church music, where he became sole director in
1911. He was an enthusiast for German composer Richard Wagner and French
composer Claude Debussy, helping to revive the music of Claudio Monteverdi,
Jean-Philippe Rameau, Christoph Willibald von Gluck, and Johann Sebastian
Bach (Oxford, s.v. “Vincent D’Indy,” by Andrew Thomson, accessed October 27,
2013).
majos 25 Majo and maja (Spanish dandy or belle of the lower class, respectively) refer to
the nineteenth century bohemian inhabitants of one of Madrid's working-class
neighborhoods. In Enrique Granados, Clark elaborated: “The real-life majo cut a
dashing figure, with his large wig, lace-trimmed cape, velvet vest, silk stockings,
hat, and sash in which he carried a knife. The maja, his female counterpoint, was
brazen and streetwise, and also carried a knife, hidden under her skirt. Lengthy
courtships between majo and maja were the norm.” Majo endures in Spanish
colloquial language as an adjective used to characterize something as attractive, or
to describe someone as a good person (Clark, 112; Diccionario del español
colloquial, accessed October 12, 2013, http://www.coloquial.es/es/diccionario-del-
espanol-coloquial/buscador/?q=majo).
Enrique 27 Enrique Montoriol Tarrés (1876–?): Catalan pianist and piano teacher. He gave his
Montoriol first public concert at the age of sixteen and moved to Paris in 1896 to continue
Tarrés his piano studies. Throughout his career, he performed principally in Spain and
France. Following Enrique Granados’s death, Montoriol published an article on
Granados in Revista Musical Catalana. In his will, he left all of his earthly
possessions to his piano (Joaquín Gironella, “Personajes Figuerenses, Tocats de la
Tramuntana” [Distinguished people of Figueres, touched by the cold northerly
wind], Revista Girona (n.d.): 78).
Harold Bauer 27 Harold Bauer (1873–1951): English-born American pianist. After studying with
Ignacy Paderewski, he performed throughout Europe and the United States, and
settled in New York. Known principally as a Beethoven interpreter, he also earned
recognition for his interpretation of French piano compositions by Claude
Debussy, Maurice Ravel, and César Franck (Oxford, s.v. “Harold Bauer,” by
Charles Hopkins, accessed October 27, 2013).
. . . Paris, [?], 28 Original text: …París, Jebe, Lausanne,… Neither the translator nor the author
Lausanne, . . . could confirm “Jebe” to be an actual city or geographical reference. Professor
Perandones attempted to locate the original letter, which could possibly have
provided clarification, but was ultimately unable.
[Jacques] 30 Jacques Rouché: managing director of the Opéra de Paris from 1915–39 (Oxford,
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Rouché s.v. “Claude Debussy,” by François Lesure, accessed October 27, 2013).
Émile 30 Émile Vuillermoz (1878–1960): French music critic. He studied at the Paris
Vuillermoz Conservatoire and achieved moderate success before abandoning composition for
criticism. In 1909 he played a key role, along with Fauré, in setting up the Société
Musicale Indépendante (SMI). He became editor in chief of the Revue Musicale
(1911) and contributed prolifically to several prominent publications. He was a
conspicuous figure in French cultural life for more than half a century on account
of the bulk and scope of his journalism and his efforts on behalf of contemporary
music (Oxford, s.v. “Émile Vuillermoz,” by John Trevitt, accessed August 12,
2013).
Falla 31 Manuel de Falla (1876–1946): Spanish composer. He studied piano at the Madrid
Conservatory, but of much greater importance to his development was his
friendship with Felipe Pedrell, from whom he took composition lessons between
1901 and 1904. Pedrell, who was working his way towards a specifically Spanish
style based on folk music, introduced Falla to the polyphonic music of Spain's
golden age. Pedrell’s influence was decisive. The fact that Falla's reputation today
continues to grow, in spite of the limited size of his published output, testifies to
the quality and diversity of his creative work (Oxford, s.v. “Manuel de Falla,” by
Carol A. Hess, accessed October 27, 2013).
Stravinsky 32 Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971): Russian-born composer, conductor, pianist, and
writer. The premiere of his ballet Le sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring)
(1913) famously caused a riot in Paris because every aspect of the production
flouted the conventions of ballet, and the choreography purposefully contradicted
the basic techniques of classical ballet. He is considered a seminal figure in
twentieth-century music (Oxford, s.v. “Igor Stravinsky,” by Stephen Walsh,
accessed October 27, 2013).
Jules 32 Jules Écorcheville (1872–1915): French musicologist who founded the publication
Écorcheville Revue Musical SIM (Larousse Online, s.v. “Jules Écorcheville,” accessed July 20,
2013, http://www.larousse.fr/encyclopedie/musdico/Écorcheville/167407).
Légion 32 The Légion d’honneur is the highest national decoration in France. In existence
d’honneur since the French Revolution, it rewards the outstanding merits of citizens in all
walks of life, regardless of social, economic or hereditary backgrounds. There are
three award classes: Knight, Officer, and Commander (Grande Chancellerie de la
Légion d’honneur, accessed August 4, 2013, http://www.legiondhonneur.fr/index_
en.html).
Michel 33 Michel Duchesneau: Chairman of the Department of Musicology at the University
Duchesneau of Montreal. He is the author and editor of numerous musicology books and
scholarly articles (University of Montreal, accessed August 4, 2013, http://www.
musique.umontreal.ca/personnel/duchesneau_m.html).
Original 33 Mais il est indéniable que l’importance primordial accordée aux formes
Duchesneau traditionnelles et aux techniques de composition héritées du XIXe siècle constitue
text l’essence de la création musicale chez d’Indy.
Louis Aubert 34 Louis Aubert (1877–1968): French composer. He entered the Paris Conservatoire
in 1887 and became a pupil of Marmontel, Lavignac, Diémer, and subsequently
Fauré. Aubert wrote songs and piano music, as well as several ballets and
incidental music, but left only one opera, La forêt bleue (The Blue Forest), a fairy-
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tale piece with a happy ending which engagingly depicts Pérrault’s original
characters (Oxford, s.v. “Louis Aubert,” by Richard Langham Smith, accessed
August 12, 2013).
[Jean] Roger- 34 Jean Roger-Ducasse (1873–1954): French composer and teacher. A student at the
Ducasse Paris Conservatoire from 1892, he studied composition with Fauré, counterpoint
with Gédalge, harmony with Pessard, and piano with Charles de Bériot. He was a
founding member of the Société Musicale Indépendante (SMI) (1909), along with
Ravel, Vuillermoz, and Koechlin. His compositions blurred the boundaries
between ballet, opera, and oratorio (Oxford, s.v. “Jean Roger-Ducasse,” by
Barbara L. Kelly, accessed August 12, 2013).
[Charles] 34 Charles Koechlin (1867–1950). French composer, teacher, and musicologist. He
Koechlin entered the Paris Conservatoire in October 1890. His music was characterized by
energy, naïvety, and an absolute, simple sincerity that lies at the heart of his music
and character. Until the late 1920s, Koechlin was at the forefront of Parisian
musical life. With fellow Conservatoire pupils Ravel and Schmitt, and with the
backing of Fauré, he founded the Société Musicale Indépendante (SMI) in 1909 to
promote new music, in opposition to the Société Nationale de Musique (SNM),
which was controlled by D’Indy and the Schola Cantorum (Oxford, s.v. “Charles
Koechlin,” by Robert Orledge, accessed August 12, 2013).
Schmitt 34 Florent Schmitt (1870–1958): French composer, pianist, and critic. Throughout his
life, Schmitt was valued for his independent spirit and refusal to be identified with
any school or group. In a time when many composers embraced impressionism,
Schmitt’s music, albeit influenced by Debussy, was admired for its energy,
dynamism, grandeur, and virility, for its union of French clarity and German
strength. Between 1894 and 1900, Schmitt had vocal, piano, and chamber music
performed at eight concerts of the Société Nationale de Musique (SNM) (Oxford,
s.v. “Florent Schmitt,” by Jann Pasler (with Jerry Rife), accessed August 12,
2013).
Debussy 34 Claude Debussy (1862–1918): French composer. One of the most important
musicians of his time, his harmonic innovations had a profound influence on
generations of composers. He made a decisive move away from Wagnerism in his
only complete opera, Pelléas et Mélisande, and in his works for piano and
orchestra he created new genres and revealed a range of timbre and color which
indicated a highly original musical aesthetic (Oxford, s.v. “Claude Debussy,” by
François Lesure, accessed August 12, 2013).
[Emmanuel] 34 Emmanuel Chabrier (1841–1894): French composer. Chabrier principally wrote
Chabrier songs, piano pieces, and stage works. Though he composed a relatively small
body of work, it was of consistently high quality and very influential on French
composers in the first quarter of the twentieth century (Oxford, s.v. “Emmanuel
Chabrier,” by Steven Huebner, accessed August 12, 2013).
Original 35 …ouvrent la voie à une nouvelle musique française qui doit une bonne part de
Duchesneau l’éclosion de sa sensibilité musicale à ces influences extérieures.
text
Schoenberg 35 Arnold Schoenberg (1874–1951): Austrian-born composer, conductor, and teacher
(Oxford, s.v. “Arnold Schoenberg,” by O. W. Neighbour, accessed August 12,
2013).
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Zoltán Kodály 35 Zoltán Kodály (1882–1967): Hungarian composer and teacher, who was a
proponent of folk music as a basis of national culture. He is remembered for
developing the Kodály Method, a popular and well-known approach to music
education (Oxford, s.v. “Zoltán Kodály,” by László Eősze and Mícheál Houlahan,
Philip Tacka, and s.v. “Solfeggio,” by Owen Jander, accessed October 27, 2013).
Casella 35 Alfredo Casella (1883–1947): Italian composer, conductor, pianist, and author. His
early works were influenced by Mahler, whose music he conducted. After 1920 he
identified himself with Neo-Classicism (Oxford, s.v. “Alfredo Casella,” by John
C.G. Waterhouse and Virgilio Bernardoni, accessed October 27, 2013).
Tonadillas 36 The Spanish tonadilla (diminutive of tonada [folksong]) was a type of short,
single-act comic opera that flourished in Spain from the mid-eighteenth to the
early nineteenth century. It was originally performed in sections between the acts
of a play as a kind of intermezzo or opera. The tonadilla dealt mainly with lower-
class characters (e.g., peasants, innkeepers, gypsies, and barbers), and its music
consisted mostly of vocal solos in aria form. Enrique Granados’s Tonadillas
(1912–13) are a collection of twelve songs written in collaboration with librettist
Fernando Periquet in the style of the traditional tonadilla. The verses of the
Granados Tonadillas are in a popular and accessible style, “frothy and lighthearted
evocations of majo/a joys and sorrows, avoiding anything psycho-metaphysical.”
(Oxford, s.v. “tonadillas,” by Roger Alier, accessed October 7, 2013; Clark, 116).
Ernest 38 Ernest (Henry) Schelling (1876–1936): American pianist, composer, and
Schelling conductor. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire (1882–5), and later with Moritz
Moszkowski and other notable instructors, including Ignacy Paderewski (1898–
1902). Many believe he was motivated to serve as a United States Army
Intelligence Officer in World War I by the 1916 sinking of the SS Sussex by a
German U-boat which killed Enrique Granados, his wife Amparo Gal, and
seventy-eight others (Oxford, s.v. “Ernest Schelling,” by Katherine K. Preston and
Michael Meckna, accessed August 11, 2013; “Ernest Schelling’s Papers and
Memorabilia Come to Hoover,” Hoover Institution, last modified June 18, 2012,
http://www.hoover.org/library-and-archives/acquisitions/120346).
“Generation of 38 The “Generation of ’98” refers to the novelists, poets, essayists, and thinkers
’98” active at the time of the Spanish-American War. This particular group of artists is
credited with restoring Spain to a position of intellectual and literary dominance it
had not held for centuries (Encyclopædia Britannica Online, s.v. “Generation of
1898,” accessed November 12, 2012, http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/
topic/415672/Generation-of-1898/).
Felipe Pedrell 39 Felipe Pedrell (1841–1922): Spanish Catalan composer, musicologist, and teacher.
His church and chamber music, cantatas, songs, orchestral and stage works,
including an ambitious operatic trilogy beginning with Los Pirineos (1890–91),
are seldom played; however, his rediscovery of sixteenth-century Iberian music,
especially the works of Victoria, was vital to the development of the new national
music, as was his revival of Spanish folksong. His influence was felt most keenly
through his many pupils, who included Isaac Albéniz, Enrique Granados, Manuel
de Falla, Federico Moreno Tórroba, and Roberto Gerhard (Oxford, s.v. “Felipe
Pedrell,” by Walter Aaron Clark, accessed October 7, 2013).
“new, genuine 40 The term used in the original text was nuevo casticismo, referring to a fresh
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Spanishness” approach to authentic Spanish nationalism. For casticismo, “genuine Spanishness”
[nuevo is the accepted translation in at least three English language publications that
casticismo] discuss Spanish history and culture (Clark; Núria Triana-Toribio, Spanish
National Cinema [New York: Routledge, 2003]; and Susan Larson and Eva
Woods, eds., Visualizing Spanish Modernity [New York: Berg, 2005]). Since the
term to translate is nuevo casticismo, “new” was added to reflect the notion of a
“new, genuine Spanishness,” while maintaining consistency with publications
from similar genres.
Orientalism 44 Orientalism refers to the dialects of musical exoticism within Western art music
that evoke the East or the Orient. The “Orient” in Orientalism is generally taken to
mean the Islamic East, Middle East, South Asia, or all of these together. In
Spanish music, “Oriental” is often regarded as “code for the Gypsy/Moorish South
[of Spain].” (Oxford, s.v. “Orientalism,” by Ralph P. Locke, last modified May 26,
2010; Clark, 32)
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[May/June 1998], 249).
Sophie Braslau 56 Sophie Braslau (1892–1935): American contralto. In a career that lasted 21 years,
Sophie Braslau spoke and sang fluently in seven languages. She frequently
performed at the Metropolitan Opera and drew high acclaim in concert tours
throughout the United States and Europe. By 1930, she had become famous
singing live on newly-established CBS Radio and through her commercial
recordings (Chaim Leib Weinberg, Forty Years in the Struggle: The Memoirs of a
Jewish Anarchist [Duluth, MN: Litwin Books, 2001], 192-3).
Emilio de 56 Emilio de Gogorza (1874–1949): American baritone of Spanish descent. He spent
Gogorza his youth in Spain, France, and England, where he sang as a boy soprano. He
returned to New York and was very active in various recording studios, ultimately
becoming one of the most successful and prolific Victor Red Seal artists. He was
master of many styles, especially admired in music of the French and Spanish
schools (Oxford, s.v. “Emilio de Gogorza,” by Philip L. Miller, accessed August
18, 2013).
Antonia Mercé 56 Antonia Mercé (1888–1936): Spanish dancer. “La Argentina,” as she was
generally known, was the most celebrated Spanish dancer of the early twentieth
century. Although she was taken to Spain at the age of two, she adopted the
country of her birth as her professional name. Mercé’s modernism was shaped by
three colossal forces: Paris and its avant-garde art world, Spain’s Gypsy past, and
European Romantic neoprimitivism (Ninotchka Devorah Bennahum, Antonia
Merce,́ "La Argentina": Flamenco and the Spanish Avant-Garde [Middletown:
Wesleyan University Press, 2000], 1).
Joaquín Nin 56 Joaquín Nin (1879–1949): Cuban composer and pianist. He emigrated to Spain as
a child and studied in Barcelona and Paris (1902), where he taught piano at the
Schola Cantorum (1905–8). He revisited Havana in 1910 and left Europe for good
in 1939. As a performer, he was a noted exponent of the Spanish Baroque and
French Impressionist repertories. He wrote quantities of folk-based vocal and
piano music, of which he is best remembered for his Veinte cantos populares
españoles [Twenty Spanish folk songs] (1923) and Danza ibérica (1926) (Oxford,
s.v. “Joaquín Nin,” by Carol A. Hess, accessed August 18, 2013).
Miguel Llobet 56 Miguel Llobet (1878–1938): Spanish guitarist, composer, and arranger. His friend
Ricardo Viñes, the noted pianist and Debussy interpreter, presented him in Paris
for Llobet’s 1904 foreign debut. He was one of the most important mentors to
Andrés Segovia. Llobet is credited with introducing the classical guitar into the
modern musical world of international concert tours (Oxford, s.v. “Miguel
Llobet,” by Ronald C. Purcell, accessed August 18, 2013).
Gabriel Miró 57 Gabriel Miró (1879–1930): Spanish novelist. As one of the leading authors in
Barcelona, Gabriel Miró developed a friendship with Enrique Granados, as they
“were very similar: quiet family men, solidly bourgeois, apolitical and
sympathetic to the Church, [and] devoted to technical perfection in their
respective arts . . . Miró was as seriously interested in music as Granados was in
literature” (Clark, 146).
Las cerezas 57 Las cerezas del cementerio [The cherries in the cemetery]: Spanish writer Gabriel
[del Miró's 1910 novel presented “a love triangle accompanied by the pains and
cementerio] passions of erotic entanglements” (Maureen Ihrie and Salvador A. Oropesa, World
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Literature in Spanish: an Encyclopedia [Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2011], 635).
María Gay 57 María Gay (1879–1943): Catalan mezzo-soprano. She was considered one of the
best interpreters of Carmen of her era (Nancy Toff, Monarch of the Flute: The Life
of Georges Barrere [New York: Oxford University Press, 2005], 71-2).
Fernando 57 Fernando Periquet (1873–1940): Spanish writer and opera librettist. In Madrid he
Periquet joined the offices of the weekly periodical El Clamor (1893). His article “Apuntes
para la historia de la canción española” [Notations on the history of Spanish song]
was required reading at the Madrid Conservatory. In 1916, he saw the premiere of
his Opera Goyescas at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, written in partnership
with Enrique Granados. His reputation ultimately rested on the words he wrote for
songs and tonadillas (intermezzos sung between acts of a play or opera),
reminiscent of the time of Goya, whom he helped to rediscover (Spain is Culture
website, accessed August 13, 2013, http://www.spainisculture.com/en/artistas
_creadores/fernando_periquet.html).
. . . leave 60 Original text: …nos quedamos unos días más para dejarlo todo a [?] y clan.
everything Professor Perandones explained that clan was an informal reference to the Catalan
squared away expression tancar una cosa amb pany i clau, which literally means “to store under
lock and key,” translated as “squared away.”
Eduardo 61 Eduardo Granados (1894–1928): Enrique Granados's eldest son and family head
Granados following Enrique Granados’s death, as well as a composer and orchestral
conductor in his own right. According to Clark, Eduardo mismanaged Enrique
Granados’s collected works following the composer’s death, causing his
compositions to be rarely performed, and they fell into neglect (176).
Malvina 61 Malvina Hoffman (1887–1966): Accomplished sculptress who studied under
Hoffman Auguste Rodin (Marianne Kinkel, Races of Mankind: The Sculptures of Malvina
Hoffman [Champaign: University of Illinois Press, 2011]). While in New York,
Granados practiced on Hoffman’s piano, which had belonged to her late father
Richard, a concert pianist (Clark, 233).
Anna Fitziu 62 Anna Fitziu (1887–1967): American soprano who enjoyed a prolific international
opera career during the early part of the twentieth century (Jesse Russel and
Ronald Cohn, Anna Fitziu [Stoughton, WI: Books on Demand Publishers, 2013]).
Enrico Caruso 62 Enrico Caruso (1873–1921): Italian tenor, regarded as one of the greatest of all
time. He sang thirty-six roles and appeared over 600 times at the New York
Metropolitan Opera (Oxford, s.v. “Enrico Caruso,” by Rodolfo Celetti and Alan
Blyth, accessed August 13, 2013).
Georges Bizet 63 Georges Bizet (1838–1875): French composer. He studied at the Paris
Conservatoire and composed several operas, but none of this early work enjoyed
much success. In 1873, he began work on the opéra comique Carmen, which was
at first coolly received; however, it has since become one of the most popular
operas ever written. A brilliant pianist, Bizet also composed for the piano, and his
songs and church music are considered to be of high quality. Though Bizet's fame
rests largely on Carmen, “all of his published work has color, melody, and brilliant
aptness of orchestration” (Oxford, s.v. “Georges Bizet,” by Hugh Macdonald, last
modified May 16, 2009).
Tomás Luis de 65 Tomás Luis de Victoria (1548–1611): Spanish Renaissance composer, organist,
Victoria and choirmaster. He is regarded as one of the supreme contrapuntists of his age.
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Between 1902–13, Felipe Pedrell published a complete, updated edition of
Victoria’s works (Oxford, s.v. “Tomás Luis de Victoria,” by Robert Stevenson,
accessed October 27, 2013).
Cristóbal de 65 Cristóbal de Morales (c. 1500–1553): Spanish Renaissance composer. His church
Morales music ranks him with Tomás Luis de Victoria and Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
as a master of polyphony (Oxford, s.v. “Cristóbal de Morales,” by Robert
Stevenson and Alejandro Enrique Planchart, accessed October 27, 2013).
“new, genuine 65 The term used in the original text was nuevo españolismo, which the author
Spanishness” confirmed to be a synonym of nuevo casticismo in this context. Both terms refer
[nuevo to a fresh approach to authentic Spanish nationalism.
españolismo]
“La tirana del 65 The tirana was an Andalusian dance-song, popular in Spain throughout the
Trípili” eighteenth century, usually performed in 6/8 time with syncopated rhythms; the
trípili was a type of tonadilla performed during the last third of the eighteenth
century. Granados based the opening of “Los requiebros” (“The Flirtations”) on
“La tirana del Trípili” in an attempt to recreate the urban folkstyle of the
eighteenth-century tonadilla (Oxford, s.v. “tirana,” and “Enrique Granados,” by
Mark Larrad, accessed October 7, 2013; Spanish Theater Songs: Baroque and
Classical Eras, ed. Carol Mikkelsen [Van Nuys, CA: Alfred Music, 1998], 46).
Blas de 65 Blas de Laserna (1751–1816): Prolific, popular Spanish composer of sainetes
Laserna (short theatrical pieces performed between acts), melólogos (short musical
melodramas accompanying the spoken word), instrumental pieces, prologues, and
at least 700 tonadillas (intermezzos sung between acts of a play or opera). As an
educator, he championed traditional Spanish musical forms (The Norton/Grove
Concise Encyclopedia of Music, ed. Stanley Sadie [New York: Norton, 2001]).
Francesc 65 Francesc d’Assis Bonastre i Bertran (b. 1944): Catalan musicologist and composer
Bonastre who focused mainly on studies of Hispanic Baroque music and has made
important contributions to the rediscovery of the music of several Catalan
composers (Vilaweb, El Punt Digital, last modified March 18, 2006, http://www.
vilaweb.cat/www/elpunt/noticia?p_idcmp=1793673).
Julia Culp 66 Julia Bertha Culp (1880–1970): “The Dutch Nightingale,” internationally-
acclaimed mezzo-soprano (Evi, “Facts about Julia Culp,” accessed July 29, 2013,
http://www.evi.com/q/facts_about_julia_culp/).
salon style 68 “Salon style” refers to music composed specifically for performance in a domestic
context rather than in a concert hall, church, or theatre. In its widest sense, “salon
style” includes most solo and chamber music, but usually denotes undemanding
compositions (particularly those of the nineteenth and twentienth centuries) of a
lightweight character and designed for private amusement (Oxford, s.v. “salon
music,” by Jane Bellingham, accessed October 7, 2013).
Spanish Civil 68 The Spanish Civil War (1936–39) erupted after decades of polarization in Spanish
War life and politics between Left and Right political factions. Republican forces in
control of the government—a left-wing coalition of secular Anarcho-syndicalists,
Socialists, and Trotskyists—were supported by urban and agricultural workers and
the educated middle class. The Republicans received logistical aid from the Soviet
Union and assistance from volunteer combatants from Europe and the United
States. The opposing Nationalist right-wing rebel forces included the army and
lvi
Background Notes for “Enrique Granados in New York” (EGNY)
Historical Page Background
Figure/Term
police, and were supported by the landed aristocracy, the Roman Catholic Church,
and the business class. Nationalist forces also received troop support and military
equipment from Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany. In 1939, the Republicans
surrendered to the Nationalists, whose leader Francisco Franco ruled as dictator
until his death in 1975 (Encyclopedia Britannica, 1967 ed., s.v. “Spanish Civil
War;” Encyclopædia Britannica Online, s.v. “Spanish Civil War,” accessed
October 9, 2013, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/558032/Spanish-
Civil-War/).
Spanish 68 Spanish nationalism—usually considered distinct from the right-wing Nationalist
nationalist cause of the Spanish Civil War—refers to a collective identity that developed and
ideal evolved within the Iberian Peninsula centered upon a Castilian-based culture.
Spanish nationalism has generally implied loyalty to the Spanish Crown and
Empire, and adherence to the Catholic religion; its definition has continually
evolved throughout the nation’s history (José Álvarez-Junco, Spanish Identity in
the Age of Nations [Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2011]).
lvii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
lxiii
Acknowledgments
I wish to thank the dedicated professors and staff of the Graduate Program in
Translation, from whom I have had the pleasure of taking courses throughout my years of
study in the program. Almost without exception, the knowledge acquired in each course
has contributed in some manner to the decisions made throughout the completion of this
thesis.
I would like to thank Professor Miriam Perandones Lozano, not only for granting
permission to translate her articles, but for her thorough and helpful replies to the
numerous questions I posed during the project. I would also like to thank my thesis
readers, Professors Robert Dupey and Luis García Nevares, for their instrumental roles in
my graduate coursework, and in particular, for the significant time and effort they have
dedicated to reviewing and providing thoughtful comments and suggestions on the thesis.
Finally, I wish to thank Professor Margaret Charlotte Ward for her invaluable role
library, which will be an invaluable future resource. Finally, and most importantly,
way of her insightful explanations that logically and fully described the reasons for every
lxiii
ENRIQUE GRANADOS IN PARIS: THE FORGING OF A SPANISH ICON IN THE
INTERNATIONAL MUSIC SCENE
Revista de Musicología, 34, no. 1 (2011): 203–32
Miriam Perandones Lozano
Universidad de Oviedo
several unresolved issues surrounding the composer’s connection with Paris. Contrary to
what one might expect, references to Granados in the French musical press do not appear
until the final years of his life, while other Spanish performers, such as Granados’s close
friends Ricardo Viñes and Pablo Casals, were already acknowledged performers who, by
In view of this situation, a question immediately arises: Why was Granados, one
of the universal figures of Spanish nationalism, along with Isaac Albéniz and Manuel de
Falla, absent from the Parisian specialized press until 1909, just seven years before his
death?
The objectives of this article are to describe Granados’s relationship with Paris
and explain why his international success came so late in his career, while the city
nonetheless managed to transform him into a Spanish nationalist and universal icon. This
study is based on a systematic compilation of the press 1 as a means to identify the reasons
for Granados’s introduction to the Parisian music scene, and to recognize the manner in
1
Transcriptions of some article excerpts may be found in Enrique Granados: Algunas opiniones
de prensa sobre sus conciertos [Some opinions in the press on Enrique Granados’s concerts] (Barcelona:
Musicografía Wagner, La Moderna), 191.
2
which his work was received in France. The article closes with a review of Granados’s
The composer lived in Paris for almost two years between 1887 and 1889 as a
pupil of the prominent piano instructor Charles de Bériot. Twenty years later, in search of
3
Paris Residency and Piano Studies (1887–89) 2
yet many of its aspects remained unclear because the episode was principally known
through a single source, Ricardo Viñes's detailed account, published in Revista Musical
Hispano-Americana. 3 In the present study I have concluded the biography of the Lérida-
born performer, starting at the point left off by Nina Gubisch's doctoral dissertation based
on Granados’s diary, 4 and supplemented with a review of official documents from the
Paris Conservatoire.
Granados is one of the many young music students who, throughout the
nineteenth century, decided to leave their homes to study in Paris, adding to the long list
of Spanish and Catalan pianists who sought to further their performance studies in the
French capital. According to Montserrat Bergadà, 5 the influx began in the wake of
2
A more detailed study is available in my doctoral dissertation, “La canción lírica de Enrique
Granados (1867–1916): microcosmos estilístico elaborado a partir de un nuevo epistolario” [The art songs
of Enrique Granados (1867–1916): a stylized microcosm emerging from a newly discovered collection of
letters]. (PhD diss., Universidad de Oviedo, Department of Art History and Musicology, 2008).
3
Ricardo Viñes, “Granados íntimo o Recuerdos de su estancia en París,” [Granados up-close, or
Memories of his stay in Paris] Revista Musical Hispano-Americana 7 (July 31, 1916): 2–6.
4
Nina Gubisch-Viñes, “Ricardo Viñes à travers son journal et sa correspondance: contribution à
l'histoire des relations franco-espagnoles à l'aube du XX siêcle” [Ricardo Viñes through his journal and
correspondence: a contribution to the history of Franco-Spanish relations at the dawn of the twentieth
century]. (Diss., Paris, 1977).
5
Montserrat Bergadà, “Les pianistes espagnols au Conservatoire de Paris au XIXe siècle”
[Nineteenth-century Spanish pianists of the Paris Conservatoire] (Échanges musicaux franco-espagnols,
XVIIe–XIXe siècles. Actes des Rencontres de Villecroze (15 au 17 octobre 1998) rèunis par François Lesure
4
Ferdinand VII's restoration to the Spanish throne, when a number of important artists
took refuge in the neighboring country. Among the pianists who traveled to Paris during
this first wave were Santiago de Masarnau and Pedro Pérez Albéniz, and later in the
century, Granados’s close friends Joaquín Malats and Ricardo Viñes. The precise date of
the composer's arrival in Paris is unknown. According to Granados’s diary, 6 he may have
arrived there in 1885. However, researchers believe the date to be closer to 1887, 7
although some suggest 1888. Carol Hess 8 and Walter Clark, 9 the researchers of reference
in this field, favor 1887, a date I can confirm. They base their findings on the testimony
of Ricardo Viñes, the composer's close friend from the time the two were in Paris; Viñes
Americana. Viñes used precise dates to narrate the vicissitudes of his friendship with the
5
concerns his access to the Paris Conservatoire. According to Granados himself, at the
time of the Conservatory entrance exam, he was suffering from a high fever and remained
unconscious in the hospital for some fifteen to twenty days. He later remained
convalescent for weeks, and was therefore unable to take the November 7th exam:
The first thing that occurred upon my arrival in Paris was that I got lost for half an hour,
wandering in circles around the hotel Cologne et d'Espagne where I had checked in. . . . A terrible
illness slowly threatened to end my life. One night, I was driven by car from the hotel to the
Maison de la Santé. . . . My convalescence lasted over three months, during which time I lost the
right to enroll at the Conservatory because I missed the deadline by exceeding the maximum age
of admission; I was thus unable to take the entrance exam. 11
Viñes's account corroborates the fact that Granados convalesced upon his arrival
in the city: “. . . Twenty-eight and a half years ago, when the poor man was just beginning
to recover from a grave illness—a malignant typhus—that, upon his arrival from
Barcelona, had him wavering between life and death for weeks . . . At the time, Enrique
contradictions that do not help resolve the question as to why he never enrolled in the
Conservatory as a student. As we have just seen, Granados exceeded the age required for
admittance by having his birthday while he was ill. However, the maximum age allowed
11
Vila San-Juan, Papeles íntimos de Enrique Granados, 69–70.
12
This paragraph, in the article previously cited from Revista Musical Hispano-Americana, might
appear a bit vague by citing “twenty-eight and a half years ago.” However, this time period appears to be
completely accurate: according to Viñes's diary, he arrived in Paris October 13, 1887, and on October 17 he
registered at the Hôtel de Cologne et d’Espagne on rue de Trévise. Precisely twenty-eight years, six months
later, Viñes would write his memoirs concerning both composers' stays in Paris. Although the article
provides as its only reference “the spring of 1916,” we can speculate that it was written in April, the month
in which we know Granados and his wife perished.
6
for admittance to the Paris Conservatoire was twenty-two, 13 while Granados was just
twenty, as Viñes affirmed. According to Bergadà and Hess, the real reason Granados did
not attend was because the Conservatory only accepted two foreign students per class, 14
and Granados simply was not among the foreigners admitted; according to his diary,
Viñes was also denied enrollment for the same reason. 15 Based upon a review of
Conservatory documents, it is known that Granados indeed never took the entrance
exam, 16 likely because the places reserved for foreigners were already filled, and not due
Throughout 1888–89 there was no way for Granados to take classes at the
Conservatory because additional slots were not made available to piano students that
year, 18 though Granados prepared intensively throughout 1888 for the admissions test,
13
When Granados attempted to gain admittance to the Paris Conservatoire in 1887, the institution
was governed by the Règlements généraux of 1878, which, in Chapter II [Des Éleves, de leur admission, de
leur droits et de leurs devoirs) [Students, their admission, their rights and duties], Article 39, establishes
twenty-two as the maximum age for admittance.
14
This was a permanent rule modification to the Règlements généraux, implemented August 6,
1894.
15
Elayne Brody, The Musical Kaleidoscope, 1870–1915 (New York: Braziller, 1987), 170.
16
Granados’s name appears neither in the Paris Conservatoire archives (AJ/37), nor in the list of
student applicants (AJ/37/329/2). The November 13 Le Ménestrel [The minstrel] published a list of
admitted applicants in which Edouard Risler's name appeared, and in the preparatory classes, Raoul
Laparra’s and Alfred Cortot’s names were listed. Granados would later share close relationships with these
three pianists, especially with Risler and Cortot.
17
The Granados biography published June 30, 1914 by Le Monde Musical also discussed his
illness. This excuse, presented by Granados, provided French society an elegant face-saving explanation for
their “lack of courtesy.”
18
Le Ménestrel announced that the Conservatory presumably would not offer additional
placements, thus making it impossible for Granados to compete again to become an official student. A
review of the Conservatory archive (AJ/37/333/1) confirmed that in 1888 there were no admissions exams
offered for regular piano students.
7
according to Bergadà. 19
Viñes and Granados audited classes at the Conservatory, and there is little doubt
on this point, thanks to Viñes's account. Still, Granados’s name is absent from the official
roster of class auditors. Viñes asserts that Professor Charles de Bériot taught Viñes and
Granados at the Paris Conservatoire, at the Cours Schaller, 20 and at the professor’s own
home. The following year, having surpassed the age permitting access to Conservatory
harmony classes, 21 but it is unknown with whom he studied. The classes could possibly
have been with Viñes's own instructor Gaspard Villate, though this is mere speculation.
Although Rafael Mitjana wrote that Granados studied piano with Bériot, and composition
under Jules Massenet, 22 the latter assertion is inaccurate. On November 15, 1888, Ricardo
Viñes wrote in his diary that Granados had an appointment with Massenet (“This
morning, Granados came to see us and said he would later go to Massenet's house”). Yet
at this point in time the two did not know one another, because in a July 15, 1896, letter
to Granados, Massenet wrote that he still hoped to meet Granados personally (“I’d be so
19
Bergadà based his assertion on an excerpt from the musicology chronicle of the Paris
Conservatoire (1971) prepared by Nina Gubisch-Viñes, entitled Les années de jeunesse d'un pianiste
espagnol en France (1887–1900): Journal et correspondance de Ricardo Viñes [The youthful years of a
Spanish pianist in France (1887–1900): the diary and correspondence of Ricardo Viñes].
20
The Cours Schaller was a private school. The November 4, 1888 issue of Le Ménestrel reported
on the re-opening of schools and their professors, including Cours Schaller (5, rue Geoffroy-Marie), where
Bériot gave piano lessons.
21
Viñes, “Granados íntimo,” 5.
22
Rafael Mitjana, “Pro Patria,” La Dinastía (July 10, 1894).
8
thrilled to meet an artist in person, a maestro such as yourself!”).
Ravel also took lessons with Bériot, and it is for this reason that Gubisch, in her
dissertation, asks whether Granados and Ravel might have shared a friendship. In “Le
unpublished diary [Ravel, Debussy, and Duparc]), 23 Nina Gubisch notes that on Thursday,
April 11, 1889, Granados, Viñes, and Malats were together at Ravel's mother's house.
Even if this were the case, to presume that a relationship existed between Granados and
It is known that Granados lived on Rue de Trèvise during his first year in Paris,
very near the Conservatory, and according to Viñes, the following year he suffered a
“crisis of ‘Montmartrism’” and moved to 48, rue Fontaine in the Montmartre district. The
neighborhood's fame was at its peak, and given the city's allure, the cultural and social
movement surrounding it was probably difficult for a young twenty year-old in Paris to
resist.
As Granados himself wrote in his diary, he did not understand French before he
moved to Paris, and this is an interesting point Gubisch makes in her dissertation. Even as
the Spanish colony grew, it was closed off to Parisian society. Coupled with the fact that
Granados was timid and insecure, this caused him to miss out on opportunities in Paris to
make friends in French music society, although he did attend concerts and listen to the
23
Revue Internationale de Musique Française 2 (June 1980): 154–248.
9
great pianists of the day who had earned a Premier prix at the Conservatory. 24
With respect to the concerts that Granados may have offered in Paris during that
time, we are left only with Viñes's account, because there are no other references to
the Salle Érard on May 24, 1888, where both Granados and Viñes played Chopin's Rondo
Jenö Hubay (Budapest 1858–Vienna 1937), but this performance appears not to have
taken place. The May 12th edition of Le Ménestrel reported that the other performers
joining Hubay were Mme. [Caroline] de Serres and M. Jules Delsart, with no mention of
Granados.
From the time of Granados’s return to Spain in 1889, until 1905, there are
indications that the composer made very short trips to Paris, but these cannot be
confirmed. According to a letter written by Granados to Viñes on January 15, 1894, the
composer indicated that he had been in Paris to meet with Bériot (probably at the end of
1893 or the beginning of 1894), but Granados did not find him. Perhaps Granados
intended to show Bériot his latest Danzas españolas music notebook, since his former
24
For example: On February 28, 1888, Viñes and Granados together attended a concert by M.
Isidore Philipp (Premier prix at the Paris Conservatoire), who later would become an admirer of Granados’s
work, as evidenced in the letter archive. In a postcard, possibly dated 1912, Philipp reported that he had
included Granados’s Allegro de concierto in the concert program he performed in Holland.
10
teacher had already evaluated one of his Danzas albums during the summer of 1892.
Judging from Granados’s letter to Viñes, Granados was thinking of returning to Paris in
October 1894, but he changed his plans because in September he moved to Madrid,
where he took exams in competition for a position as piano instructor at the Real
in which he premiered an orchestral work called Desolació, but there are no preserved
corroborate this claim. Finally, according to Joaquín Nin in “Evocaciones sobre Enrique
and presented his opera Follet to French composer León Moreau. Granados knew
Moreau because the French composer had directed Granados’s orchestra at the Societat
performed some of Granados’s Danzas in Paris. This is all that is known about the
25
Joan Borrás de Palau, “Enrique Granados,” La Ilustración Musical Hispano-Americana (June
1899).
26
Joaquin Nin, “Evocaciones sobre Enrique Granados,” Revista Musical Hispano-Americana 5
(May 31, 1916): 2–5.
11
Granados’s Reception in Paris as a Performer-Composer, from the Perspective of
contemporary music publications until 1909. Until this time, only a few pianists included
Granados’s compositions in their repertoires, and these were always limited to pieces
from his signature work Danzas, until Goyescas o Los majos enamorados (Pieces in the
According to Bergadà, 27 Joaquín Malats was the first pianist to play a Granados
Granados in a letter to Viñes on January 15, 1894, it is quite possible that Malats also
1913 his repertoire remained limited to just one selection from this piano suite.
Some Danzas españolas were performed at Catalan music festivals of the Schola
Cantorum between 1900 and 1905. 28 On Tuesday, December 11, 1900, the Schola
27
Montserrat Bergadà, “Les pianistes catalans à Paris entre 1875 et 1925: Contribution à l’étude
des relations musicales entre la France et l’Espagne” [Catalan pianists in Paris (1875–1925): a contribution
to the study of musical relations between France and Spain] (Diss., Tours: Université de Tours, 1997);
Second part: “Les pianistas catalans à Paris (1895–1925)”; Third part: “Les trois figures de prouve” [The
top three personages], Chapter 11. “Enrique Granados”; 2. “Diffusion de l‘œuvre en France” [Distribution
of the work in France].
28
In 1905, Blanche Selva performed Albéniz's “Cantos de España” [Songs of Spain] and Vega;
Viñes played two Granados Danzas, as well as the Albéniz pieces “Torre Bermeja” [Crimson tower] and
Sevillana; also, María Gay sang popular songs and lieders by Joan Gay and J. Civil “with a consistently
marvelous voice.” Guitarist Llobet also participated, and received glowing acclaim (“. . . tonal intensity and
12
Cantorum offered its first-ever foreign music concert dedicated to Catalonian music, in
which Henri Duparc performed pieces by Granados and Albéniz. Viñes also performed
Danzas 1, 2, 5, and 6 at the Salle Érard on January 9, 1904, under the auspices of the
Société Nationale de Musique (SNM). León Moreau also introduced Granados’s Danzas
españolas in Paris, as he gave a concert that included four pieces from the suite in 1901;
On March 31, 1905, Granados performed his first confirmed Paris concert at the
Salle Pleyel with Belgian violinist Mathieu Crickboom. 29 Granados performed six self-
(Nocturne in C-sharp Minor, Polonaise No. 2 in E-flat Minor, and Ballade No. 3 in A-flat
Major). Granados and Crickboom performed the La Follia sonata by Corelli, and another
sonata by César Franck. For the encores, Granados performed two original compositions:
expresivos en forma de piezas fáciles] and one of the Danzas españolas, while Le Guide
diversity,” “utterly prodigious and exciting to the ultimate degree; we surely wish to see Llobet undertake
formal studies in France”). Le Ménestrel (May 5, 1905).
29
The Belgian violinist Mathieu Crickboom (Hodimont [Liège] 1871–Brussels 1847) was a
disciple of Eugène Ysaÿe, for whose quartet he played second violin until 1894, when he went on to play
first violin for the Quartet of the Société Nationale de Musique (SNM). After a trip to Barcelona in 1895,
he settled there, and in 1897 founded the Sociedad Filarmónica; according to Enrique Granados’s
unpublished correspondence, Granados and Crickboom joined Pablo Casals in establishing the Academia
de la Sociedad Filarmónica. That same year, they toured as a trio throughout northern Spain. Despite
13
In his March 31, 1905, diary entry, Ricardo Viñes wrote that “Granados played
very well; his performance was a tremendous success.” In a letter to Granados in 1905,
Edouard Risler was enthusiastic: “At long last, an artist, after so many show-offs and
nobodies! It's been a long time since I've been so impressed. Your Scarlattis and Chopins
were unforgettable.” 32
The review published in Le Monde Musical by Jean Huré continued along the
same lines:
Enrique Granados, one of the most delightful composers of all time . . . performed as a
pianist at the Salle Pleyel. He unquestionably matches the Greats with his bold, elegant
virtuosity—always impeccable, sometimes frenzied . . . and, thanks to his extraordinary
individuality, he surpasses virtually all to whom I have listened, all the while respecting the work
being performed.
stressed that “he honors the French school,” thanks to his studies with Bériot. The journal
Granados’s split from the group in 1900 in order to establish his own Academy, the two were able to
reconcile their differences and they maintained a professional relationship for the remainder of their lives.
30
Jean Huré, “Salles Pleyel. Concert Granados-Crickboom,” Le Monde Musical (April 15, 1905).
Part of this article is translated into Spanish in Enrique Granados: Algunas opiniones de prensa, 4–5.
31
T. [Julien Tiersot?], Le Guide Musical (April 9, 1905).
32
Luis Villalba, Enrique Granados. Semblanza y biografía [Enrique Granados: a biographical
sketch] (Madrid: Imprenta Helénica, 1916). The letter was published in Revista Musical Catalana in 1905:
“Una carta d'en Risler a n'en Granados” [A letter from Risler to Granados] 109, cited by Clark in Enrique
Granados, 221.
33
Jean Huré, “Salles Pleyel. Concert Granados-Crickboom,” Le Monde Musical (April 15, 1905).
14
We search in vain for the qualities he lacks, for he has them all: strength and delicacy of
tone, precision in tempo, and steadiness and breadth of style. His self-control provides him with
confidence in the auditorium and with his performance. . . . [Granados] was capable of performing
the Nocturne with such grace that is only possible just short of being in direct communication with
Chopin himself. 34
Granados presented himself to the French public as a pianist because, even though
reviews he received merely addressed his interpretative skills. Only the two cited
publications mentioned the concert. As such, and despite the favorable reviews and
success mentioned by Viñes and documented by the Le Guide critic, the concert barely
made an impact. 36
performed with violinist Jacques Thibaud in early June at the Salle des Agriculteurs. 37
Previously, Granados had been invited by Gabriel Fauré to serve as a member of the
judges’ panel for the prestigious Prix Diémer at the start of May, where he hobnobbed
34
T. [Julien Tiersot?]
35
Hess, Enrique Granados, 24.
36
The March 15 Le Courrier Musical, for example, announced the Crickboom-Granados concert,
but later failed to follow up with information on the concert in subsequent issues. The publication did,
nonetheless, report on Viñes, who was presenting a series of four keyboard concerts, March 27 to April 17,
that featured ancient music through contemporary works. The Crickboom-Granados program was not
publicized, and accordingly, there was no concert review.
37
At the June 2nd concert Granados performed Bach's Sonata No. 3 in E-Major, Beethoven's
Sonata in C-Minor, and Schumann's Sonata in D-Minor; at the June 9th concert, he performed Mozart's
Sonata in B-flat major, César Franck's Sonata for violin and piano, and Beethoven's Kreutzer Sonata.
15
with great contemporary pianists. 38 Granados would again be invited to serve as a judge
for the same competition, which took place May 1st and 2nd, 1909. Additionally, on an
undetermined date in 1910, he was named faculty judge for the doctorat degree in piano
at the Paris Conservatoire, 39 along with Dubois, Fauré, Paderewski, Francis Planté, Raoul
Pugno, and Saint-Saëns. This official tribute stimulated a widespread positive reaction
throughout Spain, from the Gijón newspaper El Noreoeste, to the Ilustración Artística
(Artistic enlightenment).
This considerable activity in Paris starkly contrasted with events that occurred
prior to 1909, leading one to wonder why one of the most influential composers and
pianist to form part of the judges’ panel for a prestigious prize. The most plausible answer
seems to be that the French composer met Granados during a visit to Barcelona in March
of the same year when he participated in the third and fourth concerts of Lent, and gave a
private performance there (March 11, 12, and 14, 1909). The two composers had
38
Joining Granados on the panel of Prix Diémer judges were Fauré, Raoul Pugno, Chevillard,
Rosenthal, Moszkowski, Leroux, Lavignac, Vidal, A. de Greef, H. Bauer, A. Pierret, and Batalla. On April
30, 1909, Le Monde Musical reported: “For the third time, we will enjoy the Diémer competition scheduled
at the Paris Conservatoire Theatre, May 3 and 4 at 9am, which is reserved, as we know, for Conservatory
Premier prix titleholders from the previous ten years.” The second time he was invited to participate, in
1912, panel members included Gabriel Fauré, Lavignac, Chevillard, Risler, Moszkowski, Emil Sauer,
Pierret, De Greef, Granados, Staven-Hagen, Lortat, and Bourgeta, once again, as secretary.
39
According to Fernando Periquet, in a 1910 article on the Prix Diémer: “Soon thereafter, he
joined the doctorat piano faculty, which was founded by the Société des musiciens français. (Fernando
Periquet, “Granados, y el premio Diémer,” El Imparcial [December 16, 1910]). According to Juan Riera
(Enrique Granados (Estudio) [Lleida: Instituto de Estudios Ilerdenses, 1967]), Granados was named a
permanent panel judge for the Paris Conservatoire. The only reference that can be found on this subject in
the composer's collected letters is a card Granados sent to Joan Borrás de Palau, undated, on which was
inscribed, “From the Paris examination committee for piano instruction and the doctorat in music degree.
From the panel of judges for the great Prix Diémer of the Paris Conservatoire.
16
previously been in contact, thanks to their mutual friend Isaac Albéniz, and also because
could be that Granados established contact with Saint-Saëns during their joint concert at
collaborated with Jacques Thibaud, also in Barcelona, on November 8 of the same year.
The concurrence of the three great musicians in Barcelona, coupled with Granados’s
fortuitous presence, might have led to Granados’s invitation the following year, first as a
panel judge, and later as a performer. As André Mangeot wrote in Le Monde Musical on
June 15, 1909, “Mr. Granados would not have dared perform in such a concert unless his
most trusted advisors, especially Saint-Saëns, had not pushed him. Today we can attest to
Spain, it was not until 1908 that he truly began to know Granados as a performer and
evidently was going to premiere at the Associació Musical de Barcelona. However, the
concert never took place due to problems he had with the Association. 41
This French support was due, in large part, to expectations that prevailed in Paris
music society, following the death of Albéniz, that Granados should replace him as the
40
“The key point was that I simply had to play Fauré's Balada, and it indeed was one of the
proudest moments of my life. However, due to serious differences I had with this Association, I deemed it
inappropriate to present myself in public while receiving their support.” (Letter from Enrique Granados to
Isaac Albéniz. Barcelona: January 15, 1909).
41
“I was composing a concerto for piano and orchestra that I was going to premiere, and, as you
can well imagine, I was filled with high expectations at the prospect. But in light of their 'double dealing,'
as we shall call it, I declined to participate in any more of their concerts.” Ibid.
17
preeminent Spanish composer. In June 1909, Mangeot went straight to the point: “Shall
we talk of the composer? He is one of the most engaging of the young Spaniards, and is
now the successor in Paris to the position of Spanish composer that was vacated on
account of Albéniz's tragic death.” 42 Granados appeared on the cover, together with the
recently deceased Albéniz. Beneath Granados appeared the caption, “Spanish pianist-
composer, who recently performed two concerts with Jacques Thibaud,” and for the first
time, a Granados review was published that discussed works other than Danzas
españolas:
Twelve exquisite Danzas españolas, one Álbum consisting of six pieces: “Preludio,” “Ecos
de la parranda” (“Echoes of Revelry”), etc., . . . one Álbum de la juventud (“Album of Youth”),
worthy of comparison with Schumann, six easy Estudios expresivos, the Valses poéticos, one
Allegro de concierto approved by the Conservatorio de Madrid and used in exams given in piano
classes, Escenas Románticas, and the concert pieces “Oriental” and “Jota.” Pianists will discover
true gems among these compositions, which should become widely known in Paris. . . . There are
great works here: a sonata for piano and violin, a concerto for piano and orchestra, and four
dramatic works: María del Carmen (three acts), Follet (two acts), Petrarca (one act), Gaziel (one
act), as well as two symphonic poems: Dante (in two parts), and Romeo y Julieta. 43
The music critics who reviewed Thibaud for the same publication reported
similarly. Upon praising both performances, especially Granados’s, the writer sought to
Words are barely sufficient to describe the powerful emotions evoked by these two
remarkable performers! . . . Though Thibaud may have grown accustomed to the limelight, it must
be said that his artistry has never been so grand, so pure, or more sublime. Granados is of the stock
of great musicians, one of those stunning performers, like an Albéniz, Casals, Malats, or Viñes,
who has, like the last two, been schooled by Bériot. 44
The same article first labels Granados a musician, yet urges him to present
42
André Mangeot, “Enrique Granados,” Le Monde Musical (June 15, 1909).
43
Ibid.
44
L.R., “MM. Jacques Thibaud et Granados,” Le Monde Musical (April 15, 1909).
18
himself as a composer in the future: “The thunderous ovations he received . . . should
The reviews of the Salle des Agriculteurs concerts and those in Le Monde Musical
were echoed in the June 15, 1909, Le Courrier Musical, in the June 4, 7, and 11
Comœdia, and in the June 27 issue of Le Guide Musical. 45 There was consensus among
the praises bestowed upon both performers, and with the exception of this last magazine,
the others expressed their “surprise” at discovering a star like Granados within the Paris
music scene. Paul De Stoecklin wrote, “I'm pleased to note Granados’s tremendous
success. It's not every day that one sees a pianist perform chamber music before an
Mr. Granados, really, has rapidly acquired well-deserved prominence. This pianist, who, for
my part, I had not yet had the chance to hear, may be compared with the most renowned pianists
of the day, as he plays with great virtuosity and the quality of his tone is very beautiful. It has been
said that Mr. Granados is widely regarded in Spain as a composer, and he has indeed composed
many pieces for the piano . . . (as well as) dramatic works. . . . We can see that Granados has an
interesting personality. We hope to see him as a composer in Paris someday soon. 47
this assertion does not seem altogether true in light of comments by the critics, as we
have just seen. Similarly, in a June 1909 letter, J. Saint-Jean affirms that “until now, Mr.
Granados was not known in our home as anything other than a composer; all French
musicians, in essence, know and appreciate his lovely piano pieces, which are so colorful,
45
Oddly enough, nothing appears in the Bulletin Français de la SIM, which was the same
publication that, in 1914, would extol Granados as one of the greatest composers of all time.
46
Paul De Stoecklin, “MM. Granados et Jacques Thibaud,” Le Courrier Musical (June 15, 1909).
47
L.V., “2º Séance Jacques Thibaud-Granados,” Comœdia (June 11, 1909).
19
original, and picturesque,” evidently referring to Danzas. He continues:
We had known, only by reputation, of his talent as a piano virtuoso. Some time ago, Mr.
Granados was chosen by Gabriel Fauré, along with the most distinguished piano masters, to form
part of the judges' panel for the Prix Diémer, and this attracted the attention of the Parisian music
community. The announcement of his concerts with Jacques Thibaud piqued curiosity, because
Thibaud had the reputation of surrounding himself only with artists equal to him in musical
stature.
Accordingly, the fact that Granados was invited by Fauré to form part of the
judges' panel and performed in a concert with Thibaud focused the attention of the music
In his letter, Saint-Jean wrote that “all the prominent Paris musicians sparkled in
the front row. The public was rewarded for its wait, as Mr. Granados not only lived up to,
but surpassed his tremendous reputation. . . . We wish to see him again soon among us.”
composer, who would turn out to be Granados, could not have been better. His
performances were impressive, but they were made more so by his unforgettable tone
quality, the French virtue par excellence; 48 this trait helped to underscore his French
piano pedigree originating from his studies with Bériot. Granados was now ready to be
48
Le Guide Musical stressed the quality of his “subtle nuances,” and Stoeklin, in Le Courrier,
pointed out that Granados “is an impressive pianist who doesn't pound the keys.” For his part, Jean Huré,
writing enthusiastically about Granados’s performance in Le Monde Musical, mentioned that Granados
played with a tone “color” that was uniquely his own.
20
Acceptance by Paris Society as Composer: the 1911 Concert
Gerona-born composer Isaac Albéniz, and decided to reorient his professional life based
on the final words of advice he received from the deceased composer. During the summer
of 1909 Granados began composing Goyescas, a work that he would perform at the Salle
Pleyel in Paris on April 1, 1911. Goyescas would validate his worth as a composer and
fulfill the expectations placed upon him, affirming Granados as Albéniz's successor and
Spain's musical future. This concert consolidated his reputation and marked his entry into
(Tiles), a transcription of a Scarlatti sonata, and the first notebook [cuaderno], or tableau
present Granados’s works to the French public in a manner that showcased the
composer's artistic evolution, from his earliest works to the culmination of his talents,
epitomized by Goyescas.
(“Rarely had so many artists attended a concert at the Salle Pleyel, and rarely had the
49
Alfonso Albéniz, Revista Musical Hispano-Americana 4 (April 30, 1916): 7.
21
auditorium been more vibrant or enthusiastic. The audience was completely transported
by this great Barcelona artist”). 50 It appeared that a great number of artists desired to
support Granados’s future success, and at his concert, the various Parisian musical
[The concert was] a smashing success: universal enthusiasm, a full house, and unanimous
praise from virtuosos (Alfred Cortot, Wanda Landowska, Lazare-Lévy, Viñes, etc.). . . . This
composer is so fortunate that the entire musical world accepts him just the way he is, without over-
analyzing or engaging in illintentioned critiques of his work. He has not had to endure, as has
Malats, neither the envious whistling from the poulailler, nor the relentless criticism from parties
who take issue with him, as they tend to do with graduates of the Schola Cantorum or the Paris
Conservatoire. Granados began playing his Danza española in E Minor, and you should have seen
the faces in the auditorium! Not a single D'Indy disciple frowned, nor did the Debussy-ites file
their nails. All appeared deeply satisfied. . . . 51
pianist and composer.” 52 Goyescas gained acceptance as “the most important chamber
53
music work that Spain has ever produced,” and another wrote that “there is no doubt
that this may be considered modern Spanish style.” 54 Comœdia considered that, among
the works of young Spanish composers, Goyescas “deserves special mention for its
The concert was supported by critics from most of the specialized press, a factor
50
André Mangeot, “M. E. Granados,” Le Monde Musical (April 15, 1911).
51
Joaquín Turina, Joaquín Turina: corresponsal en París y otros artículos de prensa. Escritos de
un músico [Joaquín Turina: Paris correspondent, and other articles in the press. The writings of a musician]
(Granada: Junta de Andalucía, 2002), 44.
52
Mangeot, “M. E. Granados.”
53
J. M. [Jules Maurel?], “Las Goyescas d'Enrique Granados,” Le Monde Musical (June 30, 1912).
54
F. Guerillot, Revue musical mensuelle SIM (April 15, 1911): 89.
55
Enrique Granados: Algunas opiniones de prensa, 7, 8.
22
that evidently contributed to the performance's success. In the first group of publications
that initially reported on the concert (Le Monde Musical, Le Guide Musical, Le Courrier
Musical, Revue Musicale SIM, Le Guide du Concert, and Comœdia), there are three
a point which Bergadà noted in his dissertation and Turina mentioned (“in Goyescas we
conspicuously promoted, evidenced by the fact that he included Azulejos in the program,
the ill-fated composer. “(Granados) should become the justified successor of the dearly
missed Albéniz.” 57 “Goyescas (is) a singularly attractive work that is on a par with
Albéniz’s Iberia.” 58 “In Goyescas, Granados evokes memories of Albéniz, and though he
influence, one could say . . . But [Granados] is more elegant, more aristocratic, . . . more
The concert reviews focused on Goyescas. According to Clark, one of the reasons
the piece was so well-received was due to a French fascination with Goya, which had
commenced at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The current research confirms that
56
Turina, Corresponsal, 44.
57
Ch. C. [Charles Cornet?], Le Guide Musical (April 9, 1911): 287.
58
[Maurel?], “Las Goyescas d'Enrique Granados”
59
Ibid.
23
one of the key reasons for Goyescas' warm reception was because the Parisian public
found in this work the picturesque quality they sought from a Spanish composer. Spanish
nationalism is the second aspect to point out in the reception of Granados’s work. The
direct link to Albéniz is one such proof of this. However, in Granados’s compositions the
French critics discovered Spanish music that bore different characteristics from those of
the composer from Gerona. According to the Le Guide Musical critic, the Goyescas were
dominated by rhythm and local color. He further described the piece as a delicate fantasia
Goyescas to be the end result of a technical evolution that took place throughout the
composer's lifetime, but one which preserved the picturesque essence from his earliest
works, that is to say, from Danzas. Nevertheless, as the same correspondent pointed out,
while Danzas lacked ornamentation, Goyescas’ writing was “polyphonic, solid, robust,
. . . and colored with gorgeous harmonies. It was at once tonal and modulating, . . . and
“Barcelona” (Revue Musicale SIM, July 1911) by mentioning the premiere of Goyescas
and Cant de les estrelles (Song of the stars). According to Lliurat, the formula for
composing Goyescas consisted of a nationalist flavor combined with lyricism, while the
The third common thread seen in reviews of Goyescas was its “narrative” form.
60
Ibid.
24
All of the publications, with the exception of the Revue Musicale SIM, published the
same description, confirming that the verbiage had been provided by the composer
himself: The Goyescas represented a sort of painting of Spanish life during the time of
. . . they evoke the love between two majos: the majo following the maja along the narrow
streets of Madrid, muttering “Los requiebros” (“The Flirtations”): one-thousand discrete, delicate,
amorous compliments, a cadence that would fill anyone with joy. In continuation, the love duet
“Coloquio en la reja” (Dialogue through the grille) follows, which presents a painful love, one
filled with ominous premonitions. The complaints of the maja continue, as she is abandoned, but
the nightingale answers her call in the midst of a peaceful, mysterious nightfall. “El fandango [de
candil]” (“Fandango by Candelight”) ends this first part. 61
Le Guide du Concert also portends the plot of the second tableau of Goyescas,
which is not included in the program: “In the second tableau, the majo dies following a
party, and we learn in the concluding epilogue that his spirit returns to serenade the
abandoned maja.” One should recall that Goyescas’ second tableau is made up of two
works, “El amor y la muerte” (“Love and Death”) and the “Serenata del espectro” (“The
Ghost's Serenade”).
During the same year, as a result of the interest garnered by the composer, two
music periodicals, Le Guide Musical and Le Monde Musical, made reference to the
lyrical stage work Liliana, which premiered in Barcelona in September 1911. Le Monde
Musical even dedicated an entire article to the piece, based on information supplied by
61
“Oeuvre de M. Granados,” Le Guide du Concert (April 1, 1911).
62
In an October 3, 1911 letter to Granados, André Mangeot requested information from the
composer concerning Liliana. New York's Morgan Library & Museum has preserved Granados’s October
25
Granados hastily left Paris following his 1911 concert. 63 Wanda Landowska's
letter confirms this, and demonstrates the tremendous attention Granados had attracted
there:
You left us so suddenly! We were quite worried. All of our friends have been excited by your
art, and by you. Here are two letters I have just received: Mr. and Mrs. Pollet, who frequently offer
lengthy musical sessions at their home, invite you to dinner on Sunday. Count Béranger de
Miramon wants you to play at his in-laws’—and they pay artists quite well. Do you intend to
return to Paris? Most importantly, please keep us apprised of the status of your health. You are
very dear to us. 64
concert reviews were invariable in their descriptions of the impact of Granados’s concert:
“Everyone speaks of nothing but you, and they all look forward to summer, when they
can begin working on your pieces. We'll see who will be the first to convey them to our
ears.” As it appears, Cortot was the artist most impressed by Granados’s work, and
22, 1911, reply. Granados supplied a detailed description of the piece, which is transcribed almost word for
word in a Le Monde Musical article (“Siliana [sic] de Granados à Barcelona.” September 15, 1911). In the
article, Paul Martineau transcribes virtually all of the musical examples Granados provided, except for brief
excerpts concerning the sung portions: "Per qu'ills aucells refilan" [To the one for whom the birds sing],
excerpt from "Per qui les flors esclatan" [To the one for whom the flowers bloom], and "Mes enllá de la
selva, mes enllá" [(Tell me, sun, what is) farther away, beyond the mountains?].
63
According to an April 5, 1911, letter written by the then-young pianist José Iturbi to López-
Chavarri, Granados departed suddenly due to an illness: epistle number 262 transcribed in Eduardo López-
Chavarri Marco: Correspondencia, eds. Rafael Gómez and Vicente Galbis López. (Valencia: Edición
Generalitat Valenciana, 1996).
64
Letter from Wanda Landowska to Granados, Paris. Circa April 7, 1911. Following is the original
text: Vous nous avez quitté si brusquement! Nous en étions très inquiets. Tous nos amis ont été
enthousiasmés de votre art et de vous. Voici deux lettres que je viens de recevoir: M. et Mme. Pollet qui
donnent souvent de grandes séances musicales chez eux, vous invitent á dîner pour Dimanche. Le Comte
Béranger de Miramon voudrait que vous jouiez chez ses beaux-parents, qui payent très bien les artistes.
Avez-vous l’intention de revenir à Paris? Et surtout tenez nous au courant de votre santé qui nous est très
chère.
65
The individual in question is believed to have been Lluís Millet.
26
Thibaud echoed this sentiment in a letter dated May 5, 1911 (“By every measure you
enjoyed tremendous success in Paris! Everyone I know who was there has been
dedicated “Serenata del espectro,” was one of the first pianists to perform Goyescas in
Paris. According to Bergadà, Cortot and Enrique Montoriol Tarrés were the only other
correspondence provides new evidence that demonstrates that the most important
contemporary pianists of the day, not just in France, but throughout the world, began to
include Goyescas in their repertoires immediately after this concert for their
performances throughout Europe, the United States, and Russia, starting in 1912, the year
when the Goyescas were first published. Additionally, by 1911, Granados had begun to
establish regular contact with pianists of international stature who began to practice and
Harold Bauer was another pianist who studied the Goyescas and performed them
demonstrate that Bauer requested Granados’s permission to do so, and that Granados
granted it. 66 Granados dedicated “El amor y la muerte” and “Rapsodia aragonesa” from
66
Letter from Harold Bauer to Granados, written in Switzerland, July 1, 1912: “For the past
fifteen days I have been working on your Goyescas, which I find exquisite, and I wish to add them to my
repertoire in order to perform them everywhere, and often. However, . . . I find them too long (I speak only
27
Goyescas to Bauer. In his April 12, 1913, letter to Granados, Bauer expressed his
gratitude and informed Granados that he was performing Goyescas at his concerts: “It is
with great pleasure that I learned that you dedicated the epilogue of your lovely Goyescas
to me. I suppose that it's ‘El amor y la muerte,’ about which we spoke some time ago, and
it is with much anticipation that I await it! I performed ‘El fandango [de candil]’ and
‘[Quejas o La maja y el] ruiseñor’ (“Complaints, or The Maja and the Nightingale”) quite
a lot last winter, and I expect to play them in America next season.”
Granados on April 22, 1912, to confirm that he indeed was including Goyescas in his
concert repertoire: “Please examine the enclosed program, which I will perform next year
in Paris, [?], Lausanne, Lyon, Bordeaux, and Madrid (Sociedad Filarmónica Madrileña).
You will find that the program includes your Goyescas (complete), which is a piece I
enjoy immensely.” The relationship that Granados maintained with this pianist predated
1912, a fact evidenced by other letters in the archive. These pianists performed together
concert at the Academia Granados, thanks to a sponsor’s support. This great pianist also
formed part of the judges’ panel for the Academia Granados piano competition in 1911.
Arthur Rubinstein also performed Goyescas soon after their publication. In two
letters to Granados from Pablo Casals, written between 1913 and 1914, Casals mentioned
of the first three; the fourth is a perfect gem), and I ask whether there might be room to make some cuts. Of
course, I will not make the slightest change without your authorization and full approval.”
28
that the great Polish pianist was performing Goyescas in his concerts. 67 The French
pianist Francis Planté praised Goyescas, despite his withdrawal from public life between
I just received a visit from our friend Mr. Moullé, and, in order to best honor you and
musically celebrate your presence with us, I thought that nothing would be better than to have him
listen to “Los requiebros” and “El fandango de candil” from your marvelous Goyescas collection.
. . . Their tone color and accentuation are vibrant, elegant, seductive, or languid if need be . . .
(Mont-de-Marsan, March 27, 1913).
It was the same Édouard Moullé, cited in Planté’s letter, who was present when
Planté had expressed his preference for Goyescas “over” Albéniz’s Iberia. In a July 18,
1912, letter to Granados from Planté, written in Paris, Planté displayed his inclination
toward the composer from Lérida (“While we listened to recordings of Albéniz, I must
say that his music did not much impress me, or the other listeners present, and the piece
generally failed to cause much of a reaction. But yet Iberia was played. There is much
affectation in that work. It was a real disappointment to us all. We would very much have
Among the pianists who incorporated Goyescas into their repertoires, Enrique
Montoriol Tarrés would play a pivotal role in influencing the reception of Granados’s
67
Arthur Rubinstein (Lodz 1887–Geneva 1982): Polish pianist who later became a naturalized
American citizen. He debuted with Casals in London at Queen’s Hall, 1912. He was an enthusiast for the
works of Granados, Falla, Albéniz, and Villa-Lobos. As we can see, he performed Goyescas in Russia in
1913, and in Paris in 1914. According to Antonio Fernández-Cid, in 1916, on the day before the news of
Granados’s death reached Barcelona, the pianist Rubinstein performed “La maja y el ruiseñor” at the Palau
de la Música (see Granados [Madrid: Samarán, 1956], 53).
29
music in Paris. On May 3, 1913, this pianist performed “La maja y el ruiseñor” and
“[Los] requiebros” at the Société des Concerts hall (previously the Conservatoire) in
Le Guide Musical.
(“À Barcelona: Une visite à Granados”) that portrayed the composer at his home and
emphasized his austere lifestyle, which contrasted sharply with the great importance of
his work. In 1914, during the last two weeks of March, shortly before Granados’s Paris
concert, Montoriol Tarrés performed Goyescas at the Salle Érard. According to the Revue
preparing the audience for the Granados performance. Just a few days later, Granados
granted an interview before the concert, with Montoriol Tarrés as presenter. The concert
received extensive coverage from Jacques Pillois in the Revue Musicale SIM (“Un
entretien avec Granados” [An interview with Granados]), published April 15, 1914.
[Jacques] Rouché, during his first visit in 1914. In a letter to his wife on April 5,
Granados affirmed: “Tomorrow I will meet at Montoriol’s home with the director of the
Opéra for him to listen to what I have completed so far of the Majos. There is intense
68
Enrique Montoriol Tarrés, “Enric Granados,” Revista Musical Catalana 13, vol. 150 (June
1916): 195.
30
Goyescas to Paris. Impressed by the quality of the work, he contacted Émile Vuillermoz,
editor in chief of the Revue Musicale SIM, in order for him to appreciate the importance
of the composition in Paris. Until that date, Montoriol Tarrés confessed that he had been
Even though the concert may have been brought to fruition in the manner
described above, Vuillermoz was not necessarily completely unfamiliar with Granados’s
work. From the moment the Société Internationale de Musicologie (SIM) magazine
contacted Granados in 1911, Vuillermoz had secured a copy of Granados’s score, and, by
extension, so had the Société Musicale Indépendante (SMI), under whose auspices
Granados performed in Paris for the first time. A letter preserved in the family archives
from the Revue Musicale SIM, dated October 30, 1911, requested a copy of Goyescas
Montoriol Tarrés. A brief report on his first Paris concert appears in the March 30, 1898
Le Monde Musical. From Nin’s article, “Evocaciones,” we learn that he was married to
the French painter Isabel Beaubois de Montoriol, and the April 1915 Revista Musical
Catalana revealed that he moved to Barcelona on account of the outbreak of World War
I. 69 In April 1914, both Montoriol and Granados were present at Nin’s Paris residence for
a music session with Falla, where Granados performed a portion of his opera, and Falla
69
Ibid, 12, vol. 136 (April 1915): 116.
31
performed his recently premiered La Vie Brève (“Life Is Short”). Bergadà authored a brief
which he neither explained nor identified the pianist’s relationships or artistic tendencies
in Paris. However, through this brief anecdote we can infer that Montoriol was aligned
more closely with the innovative faction that began forming in 1910 than to the faction
Vuillermoz, editor in chief of the Revue Musicale SIM, took the lead in promoting
even in his own publication) that compared Granados to Stravinsky, who was in Paris for
the premiere of Le sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring). For this reason, it does not
seem unusual that one person—possibly Jules Écorcheville—from the Revue Musicale
SIM, in a letter dated July 1, 1914, requested that Granados publicly recognize the
support he received from Vuillermoz, the editor of the French publication. The letter even
suggested that Granados should be awarded the French Légion d’honneur, thanks, in part,
to Vuillermoz. 70
At his April 4, 1914, concert, Granados played under the auspices of the Société
Musicale Indépendante (SMI), an association that split from the Société Nationale de
70
“You have been received and honored at the Opéra, all this thanks to the excitement we
generated on your behalf, and the efforts of our esteemed Vuillermoz. I know he would be most gratified if
he could be compensated for his troubles, that is to say, if you could write a few brief words that he could
rush to publication in our SIM. . . . Vuillermoz is very discrete, and I know that he would never ask for
anything; it is for this reason that his director writes on his behalf.” (Paris, July 1, 1914).
32
Musique (SNM). SMI embraced Granados and invited him to perform at a concert in
which he played the second tableau of Goyescas. André Mangeot, who headed Le Monde
Musical, appeared to be Granados’s principal supporter in Paris up until this time, yet he
ultimately failed to support Granados in future years. Nonetheless, the reviews of the
1914 concert were quite favorable, along the same lines as the reviews and articles
Starting in 1909, the classical music scene in Paris had been divided into two
factions: the conservatives and the innovators. The division was caused by a split in 1909
within the Société Nationale de Musique (SNM) that resulted in the establishment of the
SNM, was headed by Vincent D'Indy, founder in 1896 of the Schola Cantorum, who had
effectively turned the Société Nationale de Musique (SNM) into a branch of his own
music school. This development was criticized by the new generation of composers,
especially by Ravel, who condemned the systematic obstruction of works that deviated
from the compositional techniques celebrated by the Schola. As a result of the internal
dissent, Ravel resigned in 1909, and the SMI was subsequently established. The SNM
and the SMI would coexist from 1909 until 1935, when the SMI was dissolved. 71
71
The SNM would maintain a regular concert schedule and continued to wield influence over the
music scene. The activities of both associations, however, as well as those of other Paris musical societies,
ceased between 1914 and 1917, due to the war.
33
Michel Duchesneau, “The essence of D’Indy’s compositions undeniably resulted from
the primordial importance he placed upon the observance of traditional musical forms,
and compositional techniques inherited from the nineteenth century.” 72 The founding
committee of the SMI included Louis Aubert, André Chalet, [Jean] Roger-Ducasse, Jean
Huré, [Charles] Koechlin, Ravel, Schmitt, and Vuillermoz, who, as we have just seen,
played an essential role in the positive reception that Granados’s last concert received in
Paris. [Albert] Mathot was secretary, and Fauré the president, but the latter did not return
to the meetings, although he did publicly support the institution in its apparently justified
act of defiance. Debussy chose not to take sides, but thanks to Fauré’s intervention,
Debussy also provided pieces to premiere through the institution. These were the primary
differences between these associations from 1910 to 1914, and it was rare for composers
schedule in which chamber music and piano music dominated, as did also quartets,
quintets, and mélodies for voice and solo instruments (piano). The SMI's aesthetic
Fauré, and Debussy, based on new themes and formality, and upon a renewed harmony.
Above all, they utilized two sources of renewal: exoticism and folklore. Exoticism drew
72
Michel Duchesneau, L'avant-garde musicale et ses sociétés à Paris de 1871 à 1939 (Brussels:
Mardaga, 1997), 36.
34
its roots from Spain, the East, ancient French music, folklore, and jazz. 73
presentation of Granados’s concert. In the first place, the SMI sanctioned compositions
by foreign composers, but it was not quite this simple at the Société Nationale de
Musique (SNM), which also presented such concerts, but did not officially endorse them.
In second place, the SMI promoted foreign works that did not necessarily fit within the
criteria established for classical music. The new society thus made it possible for
judged to be exceptional, due to either their deviation from language or genre, or because
artist who composed nationalistic Spanish works, and who employed unconventional
of Granados, “opened the way for the development of a new French music that owed a
large part of the formation of its musical sensibility to external influences.” 74 We should
no doubt, to Goyescas—influenced French composers; we can thus name him, along with
Schoenberg, Kodály, and Casella, among those composers who influenced French music
73
The SNM also used regional French folklore, but the other organizations did not.
74
L'avant-garde musicale, 155.
35
somewhat exaggerated, so it would be appropriate to find a contrasting opinion, but
especially in the piano repertoire. Granados’s “adoption” by the SMI also demonstrated
Through these questions, we may deduce that the concertgoers who enjoyed the
second tableau of Goyescas were different from the audience that had embraced
French music society present at the concert—and for this reason Granados was likely
The Spanish Ambassador was present throughout the concert, applauding enthusiastically.
The concert hall was packed, and all the big names of Paris were there: Strawinsky (sic), (?),
Smith, Huré, Casella, Lazare-Lévy, Écorcheville, Vuillermoz, and so many others that I can't even
name them all now.
After yesterday’s concert, more than sixty artists accompanied me to the café, and they
stayed with me until 2am. (Paris, April 5, 1914)
The “Festival Granados” concert at the Salle Pleyel could not have been better
received. Granados presented the second tableau of Goyescas, two Danzas españolas, the
Serenata for two violins and piano (with Costa and Zighera), and Tonadillas, performed
Le Monde Musical, the only publication consulted which depended neither on the
75
A.G., “Festival Granados,” Le Monde Musical (April 15, 1914).
36
SIM nor the Société Musicale Indépendante (SMI), reported that Granados was a
“renowned” composer. In other words, the publication once again affirmed Granados’s
musical similarities with Granados’s works. The review of Tonadillas, which “rejuvenates
the classical Spanish song,” reported that Madame Polack found it necessary to repeat
“Las currutacas modestas” (“The Modest Belles”), but Granados wrote in the same letter,
“Despite the fact that the Tonadillas were dreadfully sung, the audience enjoyed them
very much, especially the “Dolorosas” [“La maja dolorosa” (The grieving maja)], and the
“Currutacas,” which were encored. I found it necessary to perform two additional pieces
that were not part of the program, and I had to return to the stage ten or twelve times. It
In the supplement to the Revue Musicale SIM, Pillois reported that the original
Tonadillas were like “a fresh and inexhaustible fountain, and we consider that Granados
should be quite proud.” In the talk he gave as a preview to his concert, Granados
performed some of these pieces, all the while humming along, and announcing the
emotions of each one: languid or earnest, passionate or nostalgic. The piano sounded like
“a distant guitar, or like a song strummed by an invisible bow,” and Pillois compared
these pieces to the simplicity of the Schubert lieders, writing that the songs were “along
ideal . . . melodic lines,” with “their supporting harmonies deliberately free of all excess;
it’s truly remarkable.” They reminded him of “Schubert, and at his status,” although the
37
comparisons to which he was actually referring were to Schumann’s Frauenliebe und
leben (A Woman’s Life and Love) and Dichterliebe (A Poet’s Love) song cycles.
Another interesting remark in this review was what Pillois described as the
“delicate point” in the piece, having to do with tempo. According to Granados, regional
melody. He provided two examples on the piano, demonstrating how a Bretonic dance, at
Granados returned to Paris in June 1914, where he was awarded the medal of the
French Légion d’honneur. He gave his final interview to M. Rouché on June 15, at which
On June 16, Granados wrote to his family and explained that, thanks to American
pianist Ernest Schelling, he had finally managed to introduce Goyescas to the Opéra de
Paris. He also announced another possible premiere in Boston, though nothing more is
across the Iberian Peninsula. Granados explained that prevailing winds traverse the whole
of Spain: northerly winds, as well as southerly sirocco winds from North Africa.
Montoriol concluded the analysis of the composer, describing three prevailing musical
tendencies: the northern (Asturias, Galicia, and Catalonia), the Hispano-Arabic (Murcia,
38
Valencia, and Andalusia), and the Castillian: pure, truly Iberian, and “untainted.” The
latter was the one Granados embraced and utilized to express himself. This idea was
clearly tied to the “Generation of '98.” In the same article, Pillois pointed out that Castile
This vision of Spain and its music was recounted in all of the French music
journals. This leads one to ask whether it might have been possible for Granados to
believe Castile was the only place in Spain where “purity” could be found in its songs.
The issue becomes more complicated if we believe that the Tonadillas were not based on
popular songs per se, but on the Spanish tonadilla, which Granados’s teacher Felipe
the application of Pedrellian theories and the supposed Spanish purity described herein.
In his country, Enrique Granados represents the embodiment of “pure” national culture. He is
the creator who awakens the consciousness of his people. . . . However, Spanish music does not
exclusively originate from unmixed heritage. Disregarding the diverse waves of European
immigrants who settled throughout Catalonia and the Basque Country, . . . we observe that the
dominant arts of Andalusia, Murcia, and Valencia are the only ones worthy of export. Thus, we
[French] only perceive the melodies of these particular regions as authentic Spanish music—their
foreign character derives from provincially assimilated Arabic and Moorish influences. Indeed,
Castile and Aragon are the only regions of Spain capable of evoking authentic Iberian musicality.
land of his birth, and each highlighted the boldness of his own language, despite the
obvious differences between them. He stressed the sensitivity of Granados’s work, which
39
Granados’s “Modern” Style
Generally speaking, French music society appreciated the modern Spanish style
and vocal international tendencies—that is to say, those unassociated with the opera
genre—into compositions for piano and concert song, as opposed to salon-style songs.
of structure, a trait viewed as a weakness. Accordingly, in his review of the April 1911
concert in the Revista Musical of Bilbao, Joaquín Turina reported along these lines,
writing that the Goyescas “lack structure, as well as a thematic argument; they have few
into account that Turina's musical education at the Schola Cantorum, which emphasized
the observance of structure, negatively influenced his ability to evaluate Goyescas. This
same opinion was repeated by Frenchman Henri Collet in his monograph on Albéniz and
Granados. This remained one of the most important reference works for subsequent
Spanish biographers who, to a large extent, did not study Granados by directly examining
the scores of his pieces (or, perhaps, had weak musical training themselves). Instead, they
derived their opinions from those of the Frenchman, repeating them to such an extent that
76
45.
40
they became a common starting point for evaluating Granados’s musical production.
Very much to the contrary, the lack of conventional structure in Granados’s pieces
was a positive trait and one valued by SMI members, as we have seen. Nonetheless, this
was not to be the interpretation that would predominate throughout the Granados
historiography. Clark, who was practically the first biographer to deliberately approach
the Goyescas score from a neutral perspective, concluded that the repetition of themes in
this work was not due to some deficiency in Granados’s compositional technique, but
Another interesting point is that the composer revealed “a new Spain” 78 to France,
through music completely removed from the parameters to which the French public had
language, one in which Arabic elements did not necessarily predominate, as had occurred
in Spanish music up to the time of Albéniz. The April 12, 1914 edition of Le Monde
Musical also mentioned this trait, pointing out that Granados’s musical language
Conclusion
This is not the proper forum in which to discuss the historical and musical reasons
why, in 1905, Granados’s superb performance in Paris went practically unnoticed, yet in
1909 his return was anticipated with much fanfare and expressions of renewed hope
77
Enrique Granados, 125.
78
Paul Ladmirault, “Festival Granados,” Revue Musicale SIM (April 15, 1914).
41
concerning Spanish music in Paris. For that subject, a different research project would
need to be undertaken. Nonetheless, we can identify certain aspects which, in light of the
biographical review just carried out, do clarify some key points concerning this issue. His
brilliant performance in 1905 had little impact, first, because the (Scarlatti) repertoire he
initially presented as a composer was of little interest to the French audience, and second,
because as a performer in 1905, he faced stiff competition from other Spanish expatriates
established in Paris, starting with his friends Ricardo Viñes and Joaquín Malats, who
triumphed in the concert halls. These facts notwithstanding, the most important reasons
were because Granados lacked support from the great French musical figures of the day,
and there was no musical void that needed to be filled, as later became the case in 1909,
following Albéniz’s death. Up until then, Granados was detached from Parisian musical
and social circles, and as a consequence, he played neither in public nor private concerts,
and was generally out of touch with the French and international music scenes. His
relationship with France, which had begun tentatively in 1905, took off decidedly in
1909. Granados was unknown and ignored by the French music press until 1909, a time
when great hope was thrust upon him as the “Spanish” musician of the future, a fact
confirmed at his 1911 concert; it was from 1911 and thereafter that his relationship with
Another one of the important points regarding this issue is the death of the
42
press as a composer, creating a certain expectation concerning his work and his
personality as the future of Spanish music. It appears to have been no accident that
Granados decided to begin composing Goyescas at the precise moment when the French
music world sought in him a replacement for the composer from Gerona. Granados
subsequently composed a piano suite in the Albéniz style, but personalized it in form and
depth.
At the 1911 concert, Granados fulfilled the expectations placed upon him in the
presentation of his work, for even though he included Scarlatti and his Allegro de
concierto, the majority of the program was limited to a repertoire that was “exportable”
to France: the Azulejos, which tied Granados directly to Albéniz, two Danzas, and the
Goyescas. Evidently, the repercussions and the critical impact of these last two were
much greater than for the remaining works presented in the program, because some
pieces were already known, and others simply did not interest the French musical
audience; they demanded that music from a Spanish musician be presented in a “Spanish
style,” despite that, in Granados’s case, his presentation was “innovative,” and “in the
modern Spanish style.” 79 The characteristics of Granados’s music were barely discussed.
The Goyescas were considered “Spanish,” above all else; there was discussion about their
main theme, and they were praised for their role in discovering the new Spanish
composer, but further reports did not delve further into the matter.
79
F. Guerillot, Revue Musical SIM (April 15, 1911): 89.
43
The reviews of 1914 began covering areas of aesthetics and style. Granados’s
modern approach was compared to a new concept of Spanish music tied to Castile, as
opposed to Albéniz, whose music was compared to historical Spanish music, especially
with regard to the Tonadillas, thus demonstrating a Spanish modernity quite different
from the “castanets” and Orientalism that had influenced this music throughout the
nineteenth century.
Although in 1914 Granados was backed by the SMI, which created an atmosphere
favorable for his partnership with Vuillermoz, it also appears true that Granados did not
fit within either of the two camps which were dividing French musical society at that
time. Le Monde Musical also wrote a highly favorable review and placed Granados on
the cover of its June 30 issue. Fauré’s invitation for Granados to serve as one of the
Diémer panel judges also placed the composer in a position to begin relations or reinitiate
his death from such diverse musical figures as D'Indy, Fauré, Saint-Saëns and Debussy,
cosmopolitan composer. The repertoire that made this fame possible would endure
Goyescas, and Tonadillas), including in his native country of Spain, despite his efforts to
present and disseminate music that was separate and distinct from traditional Spanish
44
norms. 80
The fact that Granados was considered an “offspring” of the French piano school
through his studies with Bériot favored Granados’s acceptance by French music society.
Backed by Saint-Saëns, and possibly by Fauré, some composers used Granados’s image,
and especially his tragic death, as a pretext to hoist the French flag for political purposes.
death:
I adored Enrique Granados, and I am sad to know I will never see him again. So many of our
French artists have gloriously succumbed in this epic struggle between our magnificent Latin
civilization and oppressive German barbarism. And those over there, fulfilling their duty and
giving their lives for France, . . . I believe that our friends in Spain will be with us when “the
scores are finally settled” for all the Teutonic infamies. (Letter from V. D'Indy. Paris, April 14,
1914)
terms, such as “that German musical blitzkrieg, victorious on the Iberian Peninsula, as in
other European nations,” 81 implying that other countries were also under Wagner’s
musical influence. This was the manner in which Granados was adopted by the French
nation as a French protégé, through both his musical and political connections to
80
At the same concert where he performed Goyescas in Barcelona, Granados also premiered the
Cant de les estrelles, a work in Catalan for piano, organ and choir, which was published by the Naxos
music label, thanks to the restoration and editing of the score by Douglas Riva for the Boileau music label
and Riva’s Naxos recording. Granados’s efforts to disseminate Dante were also noteworthy: on May 25,
1915, the Madrid Symphony performed Dante at the Palau, and on November 5 and 6, 1915, the Chicago
Symphony Orchestra performed the American premiere of Dante with the contralto soloist Sophie Breslau,
from the Metropolitan Opera.
81
Collet, Albéniz et Granados, 216.
45
France. 82
82
This discussion continues in Samuel Llano's dissertation, “El hispanismo y la cultura musical de
París: 1898–1931,” presented to the Department of Contemporary Art History at the Universidad
Complutense de Madrid in 2007.
46
ENRIQUE GRANADOS’S VISIT TO AND RECEPTION IN NEW YORK (1915–1916),
VIEWED FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF HIS UNPUBLISHED CORRESPONDENCE
Revista de Musicología, 32, no. 1 (2009): 281–95
Miriam Perandones Lozano
Universidad de Oviedo
47
Abstract: The composer Enrique Granados has inspired interest in the English-
speaking world since the time of his brief three-month stay in New York between 1915
and 1916. This curiosity has resulted in the publication of detailed descriptions of the
final trip of the composer’s life in two recognized American works. 1 Having located and
archives, I was able to evaluate, for the first time and in detail, his visit to New York from
Granados’s own point of view, and above all, from the perspective of his wife, Amparo
Gal. In these letters, Granados’s wife describes her impressions of the Goyescas opera
premiere, as well as the plans and projects that resulted from the debut. This section
the New York music scene, taking into account his resistance to conforming to the
twentieth century.
1
Reference is made to Carol Hess's book Enrique Granados: A Bio-Bibliography (Westport, CT:
Greenwood Press, 1991) and Walter Aaron Clark, Enrique Granados: Poet of the Piano (New York: Oxford
University Press, 2006).
48
Keywords: Granados, family letters, biographical review, “new, genuine
Spanishness”
49
Introduction
preside over the January 1916 premiere of his opera Goyescas o Los majos enamorados
(Pieces in the Style of Goya or The Majos in Love). The composer, who was virtually
unknown on the international music scene just five years prior to his arrival in New
York, had, by that time, been accepted within French music circles and became known on
a global scale beginning with the 1911 premiere of the first notebook [cuaderno], or
tableau of the Goyescas opera in Paris. This event can be confirmed through an
examination of letters found in the Granados family archive: in 1911, a large volume of
until then among the collected letters—attesting to the composer’s rapid career
development in just seven years, from 1909 until his death in 1916, and which swiftly
accelerated following the Paris concert. The prominence he attained following the Paris
stature, such as Ignacy Paderewski, who was a member of the Board of Directors of the
Granados raised enormous expectations for his opera’s premiere to such a degree
that it resulted in a frenetic New York social life upon his arrival. As a result, four United
50
despite his having resided for only three months in the city. The institutions include: (1)
the Hispanic Society of New York, which preserves a handwritten vocal score of
Goyescas; (2) the Morgan Library & Museum, which preserves two valuable documents:
a letter addressed to André Mangeot, 2 director of the bimonthly Paris magazine Le Monde
Musical, describing his lyrical-dramatic stage work Liliana, and the composer’s personal
notebook “Apuntes para mis obras” (Notations on my works), a manuscript written by the
composer that has proved critical to understanding the origins of the Tonadillas and the
sainete Los Ovillejos; (3) G. Shirmer, Inc. publishers, with whom Granados signed his
final publication contracts; and (4) the International Piano Archives of Maryland (IPAM),
which preserves letters written by Granados to pianist Ernest Schelling, the person most
The composer's arrival in the city caused major repercussions in the press, as
articles were published in a wide range of journalistic outlets. The research into his stay
in New York, which covered his December 1915 arrival until his March 1916 departure,
sources, based on the testimony of third parties. A study was initially conducted by Carol
2
The Morgan Library & Museum preserves the only letter authored by Granados during this
period. According to this library, one possible recipient was Jean Aubry. However, the letter was definitely
intended for André Mangeot, because it was a reply to an epistle from Mangeot dated October 3, 1911, in
which he requested information from the composer about his work Liliana. Granados provided a detailed
description that was transcribed almost word for word in an article in Le Monde Musical entitled “Siliana
(sic) de Granados a Barcelona” on November 15, 1911. In the article, Paul Martineau transcribed virtually
every musical example Granados provided.
51
Hess in her 1991 book Enrique Granados: A Bio-Bibliography, 3 and a second, by Walter
Aaron Clark in the chapter “A World of Ideas,” with his Granados biography Enrique
Granados: Poet of the Piano. 4 In that chapter,Clark chronicled the ups and downs of the
trip, and exhaustively reported on the Goyescas premiere, so reference is made to his
work where one may access a detailed analysis of the news reports concerning this
critical time in the composer's life. In the present study, I offer new data and a different
perspective on the New York visit, because my research was conducted primarily through
The archive that is the subject of the present study was assembled by locating and
studying the family letters stored at the residence of the grandson of composer Antoni
Carreras i Granados; some of these letters are now kept in the Biblioteca de Catalunya.
Due to the discovery of these letters, which were previously believed to have been lost, 6
and, taking into account the important biographical contribution they were presumed to
3
Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1991.
4
New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.
5
The thesis defense took place in October 2008 at the Department of Art History and Musicology
within the Faculty of Geography and History, Universidad de Oviedo, and received the highest possible
grade.
6
On page 21 of his biography, Walter Clark writes, “The few extant letters from Granados to
Amparo reveal an intense adoration (none of hers have survived).”
52
contain, I first used other sources of documentation to conduct my research, consulting
publications where one could locate originals, facsimiles, or copies of letters written by
The letters found in the family archive have primarily been the ones studied in
order to better understand Enrique Granados’s trip to New York. I refer specifically to the
epistles from Granados’s wife Amparo Gal to her children, as well as the letters from
American pianist Ernest Schelling to the composer. This new approach represents a shift
in perspective from the way scholars previously viewed this visit. While prior studies had
been accomplished from the point of view of English-language researchers, we can now
consider the visit from a point of view supplied by the composer himself. At the same
time, I demonstrate how the study of the composer's correspondence with his instructor
Felipe Pedrell, which is deposited in the Pedrell collection at the Bilbioteca de Catalunya
reasoning, based on his Pedrellian pedigree. The use of these resources helps to explain
how Pedrell decisively influenced the manner in which Granados presented himself in
Ernest Henry Schelling (1876 [Belvedere, NJ]–1936 [NY]) was a critical figure
during the final years of Granados’s musical life. As a music company promoter in Paris
and New York, he introduced Granados’s work to the United States. The letters that were
53
Granados’s behalf with the G. Schirmer publishing house, and according to Pablo Vila
San Juan, 7 Schelling was also the driving force behind the Goyescas premiere at the
Metropolitan Opera, a promotional feat he had also achieved in Paris at the Grand
Opéra, 8 according to a June 16, 1914, letter Granados wrote to his wife. The premiere, it
is widely known, took place in New York and not in the French capital, due to the
outbreak of World War I. A letter from Giulio Gatti-Casazza, director of the Metropolitan
Opera, written in 1915 and preserved in the family archive, describes the relationship
between G. Schirmer and the Metropolitan. Clark has also written that it was Schelling
himself who persuaded Schirmer to discuss a possible Goyescas concert with Gatti-
Casazza:
Certainly Schirmer, your New York publisher, must have already informed you that I, in the
capacity of general manager of the Metropolitan Opera Company of New York, have acquired the
performance rights to your lovely and interesting opera Goyesca (sic) for the 1915–16 concert
9
season.
We do not know exactly when Granados and Schelling met. However, given that
Schelling’s first letter to Granados, preserved in the Schelling family archive, was dated
March 13, 1912, it is possible that they met in Barcelona during the American pianist's
concert tour in 1912. Schelling was apparently impressed with the composer, and shortly
7
Papeles íntimos de Enrique Granados [Personal papers of Enrique Granados] (Barcelona:
Amigos de Granados, 1966), 83.
8
“Dearest Ones: We should begin by bestowing a blessing upon Schelling. In one fell swoop he
has catapulted me to stardom. My opera has been enthusiastically accepted by the Grand Opéra for
performance this winter.” Unpublished letter from Granados to his family (June 16, 1914).
9
Letter from Giulio Gatti-Casazza to Enrique Granados ([New York?]: 1915).
54
thereafter, on March 26, 1913, Schelling performed Goyescas 10 for the first time at
Carnegie Hall in New York, thus preparing the way for Granados’s visit to the United
States. 11 In a hastily written letter that I estimate was written in March 1913, the
American writes, “Dear Friend, . . . some of the critics have seen Goyescas. The Times
and the Evening Post are the largest and most prominent newspapers in New York and the
United States.” The New York Times, in fact, sub-headlined its column on Schelling's
recital with the caption, “Spanish Pieces by the Spanish Composer Granados Heard for
First Time.” 12 Granados thanked Schelling in a letter dated May 9, 1913, expressing
I am very grateful for the material you have sent me regarding Goyescas in the United States.
Your enthusiasm towards my work has been published in two great New York newspapers, and
this is tremendously important to my future prospects in America. You have provided me a service
that I will never forget.
Along the same lines, I appreciate the service that you wish to provide me by introducing me
to Schirmer publishers during your visit to Geneva.
According to Amparo Gal, upon her New York arrival, “There prevailed very
favorable attitudes toward the work (Goyescas). They say he (Granados) is the man of the
hour, and that it is he who draws interest toward the [Metropolitan Opera's winter
concert] season.” (December 1915). Preparations were indeed underway in the United
10
Specifically, he performed “Los requiebros” (“The Flirtations”), “Coloquio en la reja” [Dialogue
through the grille] and “El fandango de candil” (“Fandango by Candlelight”).
11
According to his December 1, 1913 letter, Schelling would also premiere Goyescas in London
on December 10, 1913. Granados thanked his friend for his support: “I read the English (sic) newspapers
and I am thrilled to ponder that, thanks to my friend and fellow artist, my work now travels the globe, and
before one of the (foremost audiences) of the world! It is all too much for me! Thank you, a thousand times,
thank you! (February 4, 1914).
12
“Mr. Schelling Recital,” New York Times, March 27, 1913: 11.
55
States for preview performances of his works, something which further encouraged a
favorable New York reception. Percy Grainger premiered “El pelele” (“The Straw Man”)
on December 8, 1915, at New York's Aeolian Hall, and George Copeland performed
some Goyescas pieces on December 6, 1915, at the same venue. Sophie Braslau
premiered Dante with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on November 5 and 6, 1915, 13
Aeolian.
Hispanophilia that swept through New York in 1915, and upon which Granados
capitalized, as Clark notes. Consequently, at the moment when Granados arrived in the
American city, other Spanish performers were seeking their own opportunities in New
York concert halls, those such as Antonia Mercé (“La Argentina”), Rosa Culmell (wife of
pianist Joaquín Nin), Miguel Llobet (who traveled with Granados and his wife), the
composer’s pupil Paquita Madriguera, María Barrientos, and Pablo Casals. The Spanish
colony in New York frequently socialized together, as Amparo Gal wrote in a letter to her
children, “a superb box of chocolates . . . has been the delight of children of Rosa Nin,
Paquita Madriguera, Llobet, and all the Spaniards who visit us here.”
13
Sophie Braslau wrote an undated letter to Granados, thanking him: “My Dear Mr. Granados!
I've been wanting to write to you for some time, but have been ill. Please forgive me. Many thanks for your
charming and gracious dedication of Dante. I was proud to have been able to sing your magnificent musical
La Francesca. I hope to have the pleasure of meeting you soon.”
56
Amparo, an intelligent and practical woman, took advantage of this opportune
moment by searching out professional opportunities for the Hispanic community, for her
family and other acquaintances, such as author Gabriel Miró, a close personal friend of
the family, as well as the extremely young singer Conchita Badía. This was what she
I have been very attentive to Miró lately, though it is difficult to do much for Him (sic) . . . In
any case, one of these days an article will come out describing Miró as a man of letters, and I will
later see if I can get Las cerezas [del cementerio] (The cherries in the cemetery) translated . . . For
Conchita Badía . . . I obtained the following proposals from María Gay: she will cover all costs of
travel, wardrobe, and sustenance; she will take care of her; Conchita will live with Them (sic) as if
she were their daughter; She (sic) will have Conchita make her debut during the first concert
season, which begins in September.
As evidenced by the letter archive, Granados and his wife boarded the
Montevideo in Barcelona in late November, 1915. They made several stops along the
coast, the last one in Cádiz,14 where Goyescas opera librettist Fernando Periquet boarded
the vessel. The New York arrival was beautifully recounted by the composer's wife,
society, such as modern heating. 15 Granados and his wife arrived in New York on
14
According to the orchestra's director, José Lasalle, on November 29th they departed Cádiz
aboard the Montevideo, and the vessel was stopped by the French warship Cassard. However, a postcard
from Cádiz bearing a December 1915 postmark appears to refute this.
15
“We are at a lovely hotel with sixteen above-ground floors and three basement levels. We are in
room 500, which we use as a living room, and in room 501 we have the magnificent bedroom and
bathroom. The building is out of place among the majority of buildings in this large, extremely unattractive
city, not because our hotel is beautiful, and not due to any magnificence—you could never imagine an
uglier country—but rather, due to its charm, and one could say as we Catalonians do, “Deu nos en guart de
enamorament de dona lletcha” [May God deliver us from falling in love with an ugly woman]. Since there
is so much that enthralls me, I feel as if I could get used to this, and I could come to appreciate this
57
December 15, 1915, and moved into the Hotel Claridge until mid-February, when they
moved to the Wellington Hotel on Seventh Avenue. The voyage was harrowing, as it
involved two warship boardings and violent storms that, according to Amparo, placed the
ship in “real danger.” Granados, who had experienced dark premonitions of his own
death aboard ship since childhood, suffered enormously throughout the voyage, and this
precipitated the onset of illness during his first weeks in New York. Clark conveys
individuals. 16 Taking into account what has been learned from the correspondence, it is
believed that the illness was brought about as a result of Granados’s acute sensitivity,
throughout the voyage. In a January 8 letter, Amparo told her sons of Granados’s
suffering:
Ever since our arrival, on top of the anxiety that he suffered during the voyage, when he
barely ate or drank milk or anything, these circumstances worsened his nervous exhaustion to such
a degree, and he was so anemic, that I came to fear that he would become incapacitated and unable
to take care of matters pertaining to the opera.
suffering would affect him enormously, and it may have been one of the reasons why he
environment within the space of less than four days. What is of unsurpassable beauty is the view of New
York when one enters the harbor, when one sees the silhouettes of the great buildings, villas and houses of
its surroundings; the views seen through the mist are like the legends of the shores of the Rhine with their
enormous castles atop the jagged rocks . . . Overall, my children, it is a unique spectacle.” Letter from
Amparo Gal to her children. (New York, December 1915).
16
In his memoir Joia I Tristor: Reflexions de Pau Casals tal com les va relatar a Albert E. Karn
[Joy and sadness: reflections of Pablo Casals as related to Albert E. Karn] (Barcelona: Bosh, 1977), Pablo
Casals mentions Granados’s frightened state, and Juan Ramón Jiménez, who also was in New York in 1916,
writes in his book Españoles de tres mundos (Buenos Aires: Losada, 1942), that Granados was permanently
terrified, scared of everything.
58
experienced tremendous difficulty attending the rehearsals of his own opera. In a letter
from Fernando Periquet to M. [Jacques] Rouché dated September 21, 1919, shortly
before the premiere of Goyescas at the Opéra de Paris, the librettist “admits” that
the instrumentation of the work, to such an extent that entire scenes were orchestrated by
that Granados was incapable of attending the Goyescas rehearsals, this last assertion
should be viewed with caution, given the declared animosity that existed between
In any case, Granados’s illness made it impossible for him to bring to fruition the
concerts that Schelling had scheduled in the United States, contrary to Clark’s assertion
that no such concerts were ever planned. 17 On the contrary, the composer's sickly state
indeed prevented him from performing the concerts planned in December, but once he
recovered, two concerts were scheduled, the first on January 23rd with Casals for the
Friends of Music of New York, and the second as a public performance at Aeolian Hall
on February 22nd. His wife Amparo was the one who arranged his appearance schedule
and decided which types of concerts best suited him, with an eye toward the family
coffers. In a letter written in January 1916 she said, “It was critical that Papa perform
before leaving, in order to prepare for next season's concerts; the first performance was
17
161: “Although he had not planned to give concerts during his stay in New York . . .”
59
for a distinguished society (the Friends of Music), but I've been wanting him to perform
for the general public, since it is they who judge and who pay . . .”
Amparo Gal had lived an austere life with Granados. The daughter of a well-to-do
businessman, Amparo supported her husband throughout their married life, with the
would not achieve until their visit to New York, and in a wicked twist of fate, they lost it
all during their return voyage. Based on his previous success in Paris, Granados had made
a name for himself on the international music scene, but this had not yet translated into
financial success. During their stay in Madrid between 1894 and 1895, Amparo had
proved to be a pragmatic woman, attentive to the most important practical affairs, and
this endured throughout the years, as can be seen in her letters from New York. It would
be Amparo who would attend to Granados’s future projects resulting from the Goyescas
premiere in the American city, and it would be she who would ensure the couple’s desired
financial success. It could even be said, using Amparo’s own words, that she caused a
“seed” to be planted, one that later bloomed months later on account of the Goyescas
premiere in Buenos Aires, as well as the requests received from Havana and Germany;
however, these last two would never be realized, on account of the composer’s death:
. . . speaking of money, there is little to report, but we are staying another twenty days in
order to consolidate arrangements so that everything will be settled for the coming year; the opera
has now been requested by Buenos Aires, Havana, and by the representative of the Russian theater
in New York, and—Surprise!— Germany also, for when the war ends, . . . but as you might guess,
nothing is definitively settled yet, and this is why we are staying a few more days, to make sure we
leave everything squared away. To sum it all up, everything is now set for Papa to become an
indispensable moneymaker. . . . All else you hear are pipe dreams. (New York, February 1916)
60
On March 6, the couple signed a contract to premiere Goyescas at the Teatro
Colón in Buenos Aires, and in her March 7th letter, Amparo announced that “the opera has
also been requested in Los Angeles, California,” for a May 1916 performance. But lack
of time would ultimately make it impossible for them to premiere the work in California,
since a May performance would not leave enough time for them to depart for Argentina
by June 2nd. Amparo appeared satisfied, yet due to her prudent nature, she showed
misgivings: “. . . what I am telling you, my children, is that the initial seed planted here
has been of the highest quality, yet the harvest has come up a bit short. We are in the
midst of negotiations with Russia and Germany . . . but when will those happen?” (Letter
of March 7, 1916).
This “seed” resulted from the success and aftermath of the Goyescas opera
premiere. If indeed Clark recounted in his chapter “A World of Ideas” the mishaps and
negative reviews Granados received, especially concerning the opera’s libretto, for which
Granados was also responsible, then Amparo's account in her letters demonstrates that the
Granados couple stayed above the critical fray and relied on the support of friends,
Granados, New York socialite Malvina Hoffman wrote that she met the composer “for the
first time at pianist Ernest Schelling's house, who was giving your father a grand
reception. All the great artists and personalities of high society were there, and later,
several of my friends invited him to their homes. The welcome was spontaneous and
61
enthusiastic.” (May 8, 1916, letter). Amparo confirmed, “Visiting us has become all the
About the frenetic life we are living I wouldn't like to write anything; we will tell you all
about it upon our return. People are competing for our attention, and we have to decline half our
invitations, because otherwise, they would finish us off in four days. (New York, February 1916)
In her letters, Amparo also made reference to Goyescas, since this was a logical
area of concern, informing her children about the events surrounding the premiere. In her
January 21st letter, she wrote that Lucrecia Bori was unable to sing, “but in her place,
Anna Fitziu will perform, and even though she is American, she has a lovely voice and is
the tenor, is young. He has an exquisite voice and an artist's air about him—Giuseppe de
Luca as well; and Pepa, even though the range of her singing voice is limited, is quite
graceful, and her role is minimal, after all.” 18 In a letter to her children, 19 Amparo showed
of perspicacity, she also noted that the premiere might have been boosted by both the
presence of the extremely famous singer Enrico Caruso, who performed Pagliacci that
same day, and by the Spanish colony. Amparo considered the possibility that these factors
18
For details concerning the premiere, refer to the “World of Ideas” chapter in Enrique Granados,
by Clark, 156–57. The role of Rosario was played by Anna Fitziu, Fernando by Giovanni Martinelli,
Paquito by Giuseppe de Luca, and Pepa by Flora Perini.
19
“. . . Papa's triumph was overwhelming; the public gave him innumerable encores; they went
crazy for Him (sic). The company gave him a silver crown, and Schirmer publishers gave him another very
handsome one. The Spanish Ambassador, representing the King, sent His Majesty a telegram at the end of
the concert, and the Ambassador sent me a magnificent flower bouquet bearing a ribbon in our nation's
colors.” Letter from Amparo Gal to her children. (New York, January 1916)
62
may have favored the ballyhooed success of the first performance, 20 though in her letter
following the second performance on February 2, Amparo’s tone was calmer, asserting
The second performance . . . was truly the day that the work was presented to the public, and
it was an overwhelming success; just telling you that they made Papa come to the stage between
the first and second parts and between the second and third parts several times says it all, since the
encores for the composer are typically reserved for the conclusion of the final acts.
We can generally conclude that the Granados couple considered their visit to New
York to have been an overwhelming success, and, even though they were aware of the
critiques, they were caught up in a spiral of success. They were finally earning significant
money for the very first time in their professional lives, and they faced future prospects
that guaranteed them a secure future and economic well-being for their family.
Both Clark and the Spanish biographer Antonio Fernández-Cid 21 contrast the
tremendous success Goyescas enjoyed among the general public with the stark fact that
the work was performed a mere five times. 22 Clark points to several reasons, such as an
unfortunate comment Granados made about Georges Bizet’s Carmen upon his arrival in
New York, and the opera’s own libretto and structure, the premise of which was
20
“The second Goyescas concert has been an even greater success than the first, since at the first
performance, the company put Goyescas together with Pagliacci, featuring Caruso, who is an idol here, and
some say we would not have packed the house so fully had it not been for the tenor's presence here. The
second performance was another superpremiere and quite a success, if you can imagine one greater than the
first, since there was no longer any anxiety on the part of the Spanish colony.” Letter from Amparo Gal to
her children. (New York, February 1916).
21
Granados (Madrid: Samarán, 1956): 274.
22
The performances took place between January 28 and March 6: January 28, February 2, 10, and
26, and March 6, 1916.
63
considered “puerile” by one critic.
believes that Georges Bizet’s opera Carmen is Spanish. Goyescas will show the way.”) 23
were misinterpreted by the press, which inferred that Granados believed his opera to be
superior to Bizet’s. Even Gatti-Casazza, artistic director of the Metropolitan, viewed the
Granados for believing himself of a higher caliber than Bizet: “Granados was full of
disagree.” 24
reflecting exasperation with the incessant Andalusian stereotypes thrust on Spanish music
by foreigners. I share this opinion, but only to a certain degree, because Granados clearly
identified his opera Goyescas as a model of Spanish music based on Pedrellian principles,
or as “authentic” opera, which, according to Pedrell’s manner of thinking, were one and
the same. The letters Granados wrote to Pedrell, and which are preserved at the
teaching. This is also evident in the letters he wrote to his wife during his stays in Madrid
23
Quoted in Fernández Cid, Granados, 269. Clark reproduced the pronouncements printed in the
article in Musical America 23 written by Herbert F. Peyser, “Granados Here for Production of Goyescas”
(December 25, 1916): “For you, like so many other people, . . . know nothing of the real musical
contributions of Spain. The musical interpretation of Spain is not to be found in tawdry boleros and
habaneras, in Moszkowski, in Carmen, in anything that has sharp dance rhythms accompanied by
tambourines or castanets.” 155.
24
Fernández-Cid, Granados, 274.
64
(1894 and 1895), where Granados consistently invoked the teachings of Pedrell to justify
his actions. The letters written before 1900, when Granados was still a young musician,
clearly demonstrate his admiration for the work of his maestro, which, in turn, were
translated into admiration for Pedrell’s theories. Granados also produced transcriptions of
popular songs for himself and for Pedrell. Clearly evident was his attempt to rediscover a
Spanish musical past, especially when it concerned Tomás Luis de Victoria or Cristóbal
españolismo] that followed guidelines of historicism united with popular folklore. The
evident in Goyescas through the use of a Goya theme, through the inclusion of “La tirana
del Trípili,” a tonadilla possibly composed by Blas de Laserna, and through the folkloric
inclusion of a Valencian song in “La maja y el ruiseñor” (“The Maja and the
Nightingale”).
indeed true that the work enabled Granados’s entry into the pantheon of international
musical history, identified among other Spanish nationalist works, Granados’s musical
reality is far more complex, a fact supported by principles based on theories of his master
Felipe Pedrell. As affirmed by Francesc Bonastre, the Pedrellian method is not just valid
for Catalonia, but for the whole of Spain, a fact that was viewed with disfavor by
65
Granados’s Catalan countrymen and by Spaniards, who considered him principally a
Catalonian composer. Bonastre continued, “This supposed ambiguity was nothing more
than the fruit of his ideological independence and a reflection of his open-minded,
generous approach. . . .” 25
he was able to expand his image beyond a narrow presentation as merely a “Spanish”
Scarlatti sonata he would later perform in 1915, Valses poéticos, the Allegro de concierto,
some Danzas españolas, and Azulejos (“Tiles”)—a piece begun by Isaac Albéniz, but
finished by Granados upon receiving an explicit request from the family—and finally, the
performed for the French public. It was therefore no coincidence that Granados chose a
similar repertoire to present at his New York premiere, also at the February 22, 1915,
Aeolian Hall concert, and at the White House, where President Wilson invited him to
perform, along with Julia Culp, on March 7th. 26 At his performance for the Friends of
Music, Granados performed some Goyescas, as well as pieces for piano and cello such as
25
Francesc Bonastre and Francesc Cortés, Introduction to Por nuestra música (Bellaterra:
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 1991), 8.
26
On February 23, 1916, Granados performed one of his Scarlatti sonata adaptations, a Danza
lenta, a Danza valenciana, and Allegro de concierto. In addition, together with Anna Fitziu, they performed
some Tonadillas, as well as the aria from Goyescas, “La maja y el ruiseñor.” The Tonadillas had also been
performed at the April 4, 1914, concert. At the White House concert, he added a Chopin Nocturne to the
program, a choice not made lightly, since Granados was known to be an outstanding interpreter of this
composer’s work.
66
Danza andaluza, Trova (Ballad), and Madrigal, among others. These last two pieces defy
categorization within the Spanish musical genre and are more closely tied to archaic
sonority, as is the case of Madrigal; Trova, on the other hand, was considered by Richard
Aldrich, in his January 24 New York Times review, to possess “introspective charm,” with
the character of an improvisation. At the same time, we should recall the recital at which
the Chicago Symphony performed Dante, as well as the performance of Danza de los
ojos verdes (“The Dance of the Green Eyes”), an orchestral work performed February 10,
1916, at the Maxine Elliot Theater, performed by the dancer known as “La Argentina,”
Antonia Mercé.
In his concerts, Granados presented a broad cross-section of his work, while at the
same time refusing to renounce the very trait that led to his fame by including works of a
picturesque nature, such as Danzas. He utilized similar criteria in selecting the scores he
1913, Granados decided to send the American publishing house two Danzas españolas
finishing “a set of poetic scenes and Goyescas (‘El Pelele’).” It was in this manner that
Granados decided to publish his first collection of picturesque works in salon style, in
other words, music that could be easily sold. Schirmer also edited his orchestral work
Dante, and later, in 1915, Granados signed a contract for the publication of Canciones
67
amatorias (Love Songs): “Gracia [mía]” (“My Graceful One”), “No lloréis ojuelos”
Unveil the Thought of My Secret Love”), and “Mañanica era” (“It Was Daybreak”). Also,
he sent Schirmer “La canción del postillón” (“Song of the Postilion”) for publication, but
this was a piece of far less interest than the aforementioned Amatorias.
composer by the New York press, explaining that Granados was perceived as embodying
two presumably Spanish, yet diametrically opposed stereotypes, of both languid and
Customs official, would later fight for the Nationalist cause in the Spanish Civil War,
embodied the Spanish nationalist ideal, and from his pronouncements one can infer the
basis of his ideology. The articles he clipped, which are now preserved in the private
archive of his grandson Rodolfo Vogel Periquet, frequently mention national “victory,”
considering the loss of the Spanish colonies in 1898, and thereby implying that redress
was achieved by means of the triumph and success of the Goyescas opera in the United
States. As recounted by Clark, this would become a common topic of discussion in the
27
Clark, 154.
68
regain the nation’s lost honor. 28
altogether clear that Granados held any clearly defined political opinions, or that he had
too much interest in politics at all. Although it appears that he did entertain political
nationalism, coupled with his fluency in Catalan, still do not define Granados’s ideology
in any clear way. Conversely, it appears that politics did indeed interest him, but only to
the extent that they could influence the advancement of his work, as evidenced by
“Believe me, it would be disgraceful if the government did not honor him, because
Conclusion
Clearly, the driving force behind Granados’s visit to New York was Ernest
Schelling, who not only accompanied the composer and his wife around the city, but
promoted the premiere of Goyescas at the Metropolitan Opera, as well as the publication
28
Ibid, 155.
29
Miriam Perandones Lozano, “La canción lírica de Enrique Granados (1867–1916):
microcosmos estilístico elaborado a partir de un nuevo epistolario.” (PhD diss., Universidad de Oviedo,
Department of Art History and Musicology, 2008).
69
Gal’s letters, the Granados couple got the most out of their successful trip, despite the
rough start they experienced due to Granados’s illness, which resulted from a harrowing
voyage and the composer’s general malaise. Granados also began his visit clumsily with
his comments concerning Carmen by Georges Bizet, which, as we have seen, were
fact, Granados was defending a new Spanish nationalism whose essence he derived from
Pedrellian theories. However, this misstep did not keep New York society from becoming
enthralled with the composer, which culminated in his receiving the Silver Medal of Arts
and Letters from the Hispanic Society of America. As evidenced by his wife Amparo Gal
in the series of letters I have studied, these factors contribute to the study of this portion
70
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“Enrique Granados en París: La construcción de un icono español
Universidad de Oviedo
76
ENRIQUE GRANADOS EN PARÍS:
LA CONSTRUCCIÓN DE UN ICONO ESPAÑOL
EN EL ÁMBITO MUSICAL INTERNACIONAL
Abstract: Researchers interested in studying Granados’s life are faced with sev-
eral unresolved issues surrounding the composer’s connection with Paris. Contra-
ry to what it might seem, Granados does not appear in the French musical press until
his late years, while other Spanish artists, such as his close friends Ricardo Viñes and
Pablo Casals, were already acknowledged performers who regularly appeared
in Parisian concerts by 1900.
In view of this situation, one question immediately arises: why was Granados,
one of the universal figures of Spanish nationalism together with Isaac Albéniz and
Manuel de Falla, absent from the specialized press of Paris until 1909, just seven
years before his death?
The objective of this article is to explain Granados’s connection with this city and
why his international success came so late in his career, yet made him a universal
and Spanish icon. It is based on a systematic compilation of the press, examining
the reason for Granados’s appearance in Parisian musical life and the manner in
which his work was received in France. The article is completed with a revision of
Granados’s unpublished collected letters, which formed part of my Ph. D. thesis.
The composer lived in Paris for almost two years between 1887 and 1889 as a
pupil of the important piano teacher Charles de Bériot. Twenty years later, Grana-
dos appeared in Paris as a pianist (1909) and subsequently as a composer (1911 and
1914), in search of international recognition.
2. Para una revisión más detallada consúltese nuestra tesis doctoral La canción lírica de
Enrique Granados (1867-1916): microcosmos estilístico elaborado a partir de un nuevo epistolario. Tesis
inédita. Oviedo, Departamento de Historia del Arte y Musicología de la Universidad de Oviedo,
2008.
3. VIÑES, Ricardo. «Granados íntimo o Recuerdos de su estancia en París». Revista Musi-
cal Hispano-Americana, 7 (31-VII-1916), pp. 2-6.
4. GUBISCH-VIÑES, Nina. Ricardo Viñes à travers son journal et sa correspondance (contribution
à l’histoire des relations franco-espagnoles à l’aube du xXe siècle). París, tesis doctoral en París 4, 1977.
ENRIQUE GRANADOS EN PARÍS 205
Lo primero que hice al llegar a París fue perderme y estar durante más de
media hora dando vueltas al hotel «Cologne et d’Espagne» donde me había alo-
jado [...] Una terrible enfermedad [...] a poco, muy poco, acaba con mi vida. Una
tarde fui sacado en coche del hotel y conducido a la «Maison de la Santé». [...]
Mi convalecencia duró más de tres meses durante los cuales perdí todo derecho
a entrar en el Conservatorio, pues cumplí la edad reglamentaria y el plazo que
se concedía para la admisión sin poder presentarme a las oposiciones11.
rias, Raoul Laparra y Alfred Cortot. Con los tres pianistas tendría más tarde una relación cer-
cana, especialmente con Risler y Cortot.
17. La enfermedad también se explica en la biografía de Granados que escribe Le Monde
Musical el 30 de junio de 1914. Esta justificación de Granados prestaría una coartada a la so-
ciedad francesa, dando una salida elegante a esta «falta de cortesía».
18. Le Ménestrel anunció que presumiblemente el Conservatorio no abriría nuevas plazas,
por lo que no se podría concursar de nuevo para entrar como alumno oficial. Este hecho se
ve corroborado en la revisión de los Inventarios del Conservatorio (AJ/37/333/1) en que se
certifica que no hay examen de admisión para alumnos activos de piano en 1888.
19. Bergadà se basa en un extracto de la memoria de musicología del Conservatorio Na-
cional de París (1971) que realizó Nina Gubisch-Viñes titulada Les années de jeunesse d’un pia-
niste espagnol en France (1887-1900). Journal et correspondance de Ricardo Viñes.
20. El cours Schaller era una escuela privada. El 4 de noviembre de 1888 en Le Ménestrel se
habla de la reapertura de las clases de diferentes escuelas y profesores, en los que se encuen-
tran el cours Schaller (5, rue Geoffroy-Marie) donde De Bériot imparte clases de piano.
21. VIÑES, R. «Granados íntimo o Recuerdos de su estancia...», p. 5.
22. MITJANA, Rafael. «Pro Patria». La Dinastía. Barcelona, 10-VII-1894.
208 MIRIAM PERANDONES
27. BERGADÀ, Montserrat. Les pianistes catalans à Paris entre 1875 et 1925. Contribution à l’étude
des relations musicales entre la France et l’Espagne. Tesis doctoral. Tours, Universidad de Tours,
1997, II parte: «Les pianistas catalans à Paris (1895-1925)»; III: «Les trois figures de proue»:
Capítulo 11: «Enrique Granados»; 2. «Diffusion de l‘œuvre en France».
28. En 1905 Blanche Selva interpretó los Cantos de España y la Vega de Albéniz; Viñes in-
terpretó dos Danzas de Granados y de Albéniz (Torre Bermeja y la Sevillana); Marie Gay, «de
voz siempre maravillosa», cantó canciones populares y lieders de Joan Gay y de J. Civil. Tam-
bién participó Llobet, el guitarrista, al que dedicaron encendidos elogios («intensidad y diver-
sidad de sonoridades»; «Es simplemente prodigioso y emocionante al más alto grado, y de-
seamos vivamente que Llobet haga escuela, incluso en Francia»). Le Ménestrel, 6-V-1905.
29. Este violinista belga (Hodimont –Lieja– 1871 / Bruselas, 1947) fue discípulo de Eugè-
ne Ysaÿe, de cuyo cuarteto fue segundo violín hasta 1894, cuando pasó a ser primer violín del
Cuarteto de la Sociedad Nacional de París. Tras su viaje a Barcelona en otoño de 1895 se ins-
tala en la ciudad, donde funda en 1897 la Sociedad Filarmónica, y, según el epistolario de
Enrique Granados, forman la Academia de la Sociedad Filarmónica junto a Pablo Casals. Ese
ENRIQUE GRANADOS EN PARÍS 211
Enrique Granados, que es uno de los compositores más deliciosos que hayan
jamás existido [...] se hizo oír, en la Sala Pleyel, como pianista. Él iguala incon-
testablemente a los más grandes por un virtuosismo audaz, elegante, siempre
impecable, a veces endiablado... él sobrepasa casi todos los que he oído por su
extraordinaria personalidad, y sin embargo siempre respetuosa hacia la obra
interpretada.
Esta interpretación distinguida y encantadora concierne particularmente
a Chopin. [...] Granados saca de su piano unas sonoridades variadas y pasa
con una simplicidad increíble de los acentos enérgicos a las dulzuras más exqui-
sitas33.
Buscaremos en vano las cualidades que le faltan; las tiene todas: la fuerza y
la delicadeza en la sonoridad, la rectitud de la medida, la firmeza y la anchura
de estilo y el dominio de sí mismo que da seguridad a su interpretación y al
auditorio [...]. [Granados] supo desempeñar el nocturno con el encanto que es
posible obtener cuando no se recibió la transmisión directa del pensamiento de
Chopin mismo34.
nados sería invitado de nuevo como jurado del mismo concurso, que en
este caso tuvo lugar el 1 y 2 de mayo. Además, en una fecha no deter-
minada de 1910 fue nombrado jurado del claustro de Doctorado de Pia-
no del Conservatorio de París39 junto a Dubois, Fauré, Paderewski, Planté,
Pugno y Saint-Saëns. Por esta causa se le tributa a Granados un home-
naje oficial que tuvo repercusión en toda España, desde el periódico gi-
jonés El Noroeste a la Ilustración Artística.
Esta considerable actividad parisina se contradice con los hechos
anteriores a 1909 y hace que nos preguntemos por qué un pianista des-
conocido internacionalmente es invitado a formar parte de un prestigioso
premio por uno de los compositores y personajes musicales más influ-
yentes de París, Gabriel Fauré. La respuesta que parece más evidente es
que el compositor francés conociera personalmente a Granados en el viaje
que realizó a Barcelona en marzo del mismo año para participar en los
conciertos III y IV de Cuaresma y una Sesión íntima (11, 12 y 14 de marzo
de 1909). Previamente tenían contacto gracias a Isaac Albéniz, amigo
íntimo de ambos, ya que Granados iba a estrenar la Balada de Fauré en
Barcelona40. Otra posibilidad más es que Granados había tomado con-
tacto con Saint-Saëns a partir de su concierto conjunto en el «Festival
Saint-Saëns» en abril de 1908 en Barcelona, y a continuación con Jacques
Thibaud también en Barcelona el 8 de noviembre del mismo año. La
concurrencia de los tres grandes músicos en Barcelona y la coincidencia
con Granados pudieron motivar su invitación al año siguiente, primero
como jurado y después como intérprete. Según Mangeot en Le Monde
Musical del 15 de junio de 1909, «M. Granados no hubiera osado quizá
jamás presentarse a un concierto si los mejores consejeros, y especialmente
Saint-Saëns, no le hubieran empujado. Hoy su reputación se afirma como
una de las más asentadas». Aunque Saint-Saëns había ido frecuentemente
39. Según Fernando Periquet en un artículo de 1910 sobre el Premio Diémer, «Poco des-
pués ingresó en el claustro del «Doctorado de piano», fundado por la «Sociedad de músicos
de Francia»» (PERIQUET, Fernando. «Granados, y el premio Diémer». El Imparcial. Madrid, 16-
XII-1910). Según Juan Riera (RIERA, Juan. Enrique Granados (Estudio). Lleida, Instituto de Estu-
dios Ilerdenses, 1967) fue nombrado Jurado permanente del Conservatorio de París. La única
referencia que encontramos sobre este tema en el epistolario del compositor es la tarjeta que
envía Granados a Joan Borrás de Palau, sin fecha, en la que Granados ha impreso: «Del comi-
té de exámenes de París para la enseñanza del piano y Doctorado musical en Francia. Del Jurado
del Conservatorio de París para el Gran Premio Diémer».
40. «En una palabra: yo tenía que tocar la Balada de Fauré; para mí una de las más altas
honras de mi vida. Pues bien: por diferencias habidas con dicha sociedad, diferencias algo serias,
mi dignidad no me ha permitido presentarme en público dependiendo de esos señores». Car-
ta de Enrique Granados a Isaac Albéniz. Barcelona, 15-I-1909.
214 MIRIAM PERANDONES
¡Cómo decir, en términos suficientes, la poderosa emoción creada por los dos
maravillosos protagonistas! [...] Thibaud está habituado a los laureles y sin em-
bargo, hay que decir que jamás su arte fue más grande, más puro ni más subli-
me. Granados es de la raza de los grandes músicos, de los maravillosos intér-
41. «Yo estaba escribiendo un concierto de piano y orquesta, el que debía yo mismo es-
trenar y como podrás suponer, me hacía una ilusión inmensa el presentarme en esa forma: pero
en vista de la [charranada] (digámoslo así) que me hicieron, me disculpé de tomar parte en
ningún concierto más de ellos [...]». Ibid.
42. MANGEOT, André. «Enrique Granados». Le Monde Musical. París, 15-VI-1909.
43. Ibid.
ENRIQUE GRANADOS EN PARÍS 215
pretes, de los que produce los Albéniz, los Casals, los Malats y los Viñes. Habien-
do, como los dos últimos, pasado por la escuela de De Bériot44.
44. L.R. «MM. Jacques Thibaud et Granados». Le Monde Musical. París, 15-VI-1909.
45. Curiosamente no aparece nada en el Bulletin Français de le SIM, la misma publicación
que en 1914 lo ensalzará como uno de los mejores compositores de todos los tiempos.
46. DE S TOECKLIN, Paul. «MM. Granados et Jacques Thibaud». Le Courrier Musical. París,
15-VI-1909.
47. L.V. «2º Séance Jacques Thibaud-Granados». Comœdia. París, 11-VI-1909.
216 MIRIAM PERANDONES
Por tanto, el hecho de que Granados fuese invitado por Fauré para
ser jurado y que tocase un concierto con Thibaud atrajo sobre él la aten-
ción de la sociedad musical.
En la carta de Saint-Jean se asegura que «todas las notabilidades
musicales de París brillaban en la primera fila de los espectadores. La
espera del público no fue decepcionada, el Sr. Granados no solamente
confirmó, sino que incluso sobrepasó su gran reputación [...]. Deseamos
verlo de nuevo pronto entre nosotros».
Como vemos hay una atmósfera inmejorable que aguarda ansiosa la
llegada de un nuevo compositor español que se pretende que sea Gra-
nados. Dejando un resabio estupendo como intérprete que destaca en una
de las cualidades francesas por excelencia, el sonido48, remarcado por su
ascendencia pianística francesa a través de sus estudios con De Bériot,
queda el camino preparado para su presentación como compositor.
48. Le Guide Musical destaca la calidad en sus «menores matices» y Stoeklin en Le Courrier
señala que Granados «es un admirable pianista que no golpea». Jean Huré, completamente
extasiado por la interpretación de Granados en Le Monde Musical, menciona que Granados tiene
un «color» de sonido que le es propio.
49. ALBÉNIZ, Alfonso. Revista Musical Hispano-Americana, 4 (30-IV-1916), p. 7.
ENRIQUE GRANADOS EN PARÍS 217
Gran éxito, entusiasmo general, sala llena, coro de virtuosos (Cortot, Lan-
dowska, Lévy, Viñes, etc.) [...] Una de las suertes de este compositor es que todo
el mundo musical lo toma tal como es, sin análisis y sin autopsias malintencio-
nadas en sus obras. No ha oído, como Malats, los silbidos de un envidioso del
poulailler, ni la crítica de partidos se ha ensañado con él como suele acontecer a
un scholista o a un conservatorial. Granados se sienta al piano y empieza su «Danza
española en mi menor». ¡Ved las caras del auditorio: ni un d’indysta está ceñudo,
ni un debussysta afila las uñas, todos reflejan una gran satisfacción [...]51.
to. En una primera revisión a las publicaciones que se hicieron eco del
concierto (Le Monde Musical, Le Guide Musical, Le Courrier Musical, Revue
Musicale SIM, Le Guide du Concert y Comœdia) llaman la atención tres as-
pectos importantes que detallamos a continuación.
El primero, la insistencia en encontrar en Granados al sucesor de Al-
béniz, hecho que Bergadà ya había hecho notar en su tesis doctoral. El
propio Turina lo menciona («en Goyescas se ve la enorme influencia de
Albéniz»56). Es un punto de vista que también fomenta Granados de forma
consciente, ya que incluye la obra Azulejos –comenzada por Albéniz y
completada por Granados tras su fallecimiento a petición propia del
malogrado compositor– en el repertorio del concierto («[Granados] pasa
con toda la razón por ser el continuador del añorado Albéniz»57. «Goyescas
[es] una obra singularmente atractiva que podemos poner en paralelo con
la Iberia de Albéniz»58. «Granados en las Goyescas hace recordar a Albéniz,
pero aunque sea tan profundamente nacional como éste, Granados es
menos brillante, [...] menos «popular» podría decirse. [...] Pero [Granados]
es más elegante, más aristocrático [...] más fino y más sensible»59).
Las Goyescas son el centro de las críticas. Según Clark, una de las ra-
zones por las que la obra tuvo tan buena acogida fue la fascinación fran-
cesa por Goya que había empezado a comienzos del siglo XIX, y en nuestro
estudio confirmamos que uno de los puntos significativos de la caluro-
sa acogida es que las Goyescas satisfacen al público parisino porque ven
en la obra el pintoresquismo que buscaban en un compositor español.
El nacionalismo español es el segundo aspecto a destacar en la recepción
de la obra de Granados. La ligazón directa con Albéniz es una prueba,
aunque la crítica francesa encuentra una música española con caracte-
rísticas diferentes a las del compositor gerundense. Según el crítico de
Le Guide Musical, en las Goyescas dominan el ritmo y los acentos locales
y están marcadas por una fantasía delicada y un sentimentalismo
expresivo. El corresponsal de Le Monde Musical considera que las Goyes-
cas son el resultado de la evolución técnica en el tiempo del compositor,
pero la esencia pintoresca de las primeras obras, es decir, las Danzas, se
mantiene. No obstante, según señala el mismo autor, las mencionadas
danzas están desprovistas de todo ornamento, mientras que las Goyes-
cas tienen una escritura «polifónica, sólida, recia, [...] coloreado de pre-
[...] evocan el amor entre dos majos: el majo siguiendo a la maja a través de las
calles estrechas de Madrid murmura: Los Requiebros, los mil cumplidos discre-
tos, delicados, compases que llenan de contento a la que se dirigen. A continua-
ción sigue el dúo de amor Coloquio en la reja, amor doloroso, grande de presenti-
mientos nefastos. Y, en efecto, siguen las quejas de la Maja abandonada a quien
responde el Ruiseñor cuando cae la noche calma y misteriosa. El fandango termi-
na esta primera parte61.
60. Ibid.
61. «Oeuvre de M. Granados». Le Guide du Concert, 1-IV-1911.
62. En la carta de André Mangeot a Granados del 3 de octubre de 1911, Mangeot pide
información al compositor sobre Liliana. En la Pierpont Morgan Library de Nueva York se
conserva la respuesta. Es una contestación de Granados a Mangeot con fecha del 22 de octu-
bre de 1911 en la que Granados hace una descripción detallada de la misma que se transcribe
casi literalmente en un artículo de Le Monde Musical («»Siliana [sic] de Granados à Barcelo-
na», 15-XI-1911). En él, Paul Martineau transcribe casi todos los ejemplos musicales que apor-
ta Granados, excepto los breves fragmentos sobre los que se canta: «per qu’ils aucells refilan»,
fragmento sobre «per qui les flors esclatan» y sobre «mes enllá de la selva, mes enllá».
220 MIRIAM PERANDONES
¡Usted se nos fue tan precipitadamente! Estábamos muy inquietos por esta
causa. Todos nuestros amigos se han entusiasmado por su arte y por usted. He
aquí dos cartas que acabo de recibir: El Sr. y la Sra. Pollet, que a menudo dan
grandes sesiones musicales en su casa, le invitan a cenar para el Domingo. El
Conde Béranger de Miramon querría que tocase en casa de sus suegros, que pagan
muy bien a los artistas. ¿Tiene la intención de volver a París? Y sobre todo tén-
ganos al corriente de su salud, que es muy querida para nosotros64.
63. Según la carta del entonces joven pianista José Iturbi a López-Chavarri del 5 de abril
de 1911, lo hizo porque se encontraba enfermo. Epístola transcrita con el número [262] en DÍAZ
GÓMEZ, Rafael y GALBIS LÓPEZ, Vicente. Eduardo López-Chavarri Marco. Correspondencia. Valen-
cia, Edición Generalitat Valenciana, 1996.
64. Carta de Wanda Landowska a Granados. París, [ca. 7-IV-1911]. Reproducimos a conti-
nuación el texto en su idioma original: «Vous nous avez quitté si brusquement! Nous en étions très
inquiets. Tous nos amis ont été enthousiasmés de votre art et de vous. Voici deux lettres que je viens de
recevoir: M. et Mme. Pollet qui donnent souvent de grandes séances musicales chez eux, vous invitent
á dîner pour Dimanche. Le Comte Béranger de Miramon voudrait que vous jouiez chez ses beaux pa-
rents, qui payent très bien les artistes. Avez-vous l’intention de revenir à Paris? Et surtout tenez nous
au courant de votre santé qui nous est très chère».
65. Creemos que pueda tratarse de Lluís Millet.
ENRIQUE GRANADOS EN PARÍS 221
66. Carta de Harold Bauer a Granados escrita desde Suiza el 1 de julio de 1912: «[D]esde
hace quince días trabajo sus Goyescas, que encuentro exquisitas, y querría poder añadirlas a mi
repertorio para tocarlas mucho y por todas partes. Pero [...] yo los encuentro demasiado lar-
gos (hablo de tres primeros solamente, el cuarto es una joya perfecta) y le pregunto si no hay
medio de hacer cortes. Desde luego, jamás me permitiré aportar el menor cambio sin su auto-
rización y su entera aprobación».
222 MIRIAM PERANDONES
67. Arthur Rubinstein (Lodz 1887- Ginebra 1982). Pianista polaco, más tarde nacionaliza-
do americano. Debutó en Londres con Casals en 1912 en el Queen’s Hall. Fue un entusiasta
de la música de Granados, Falla, Albéniz y Villa-Lobos. Como podemos ver, toca Goyescas en
Rusia en 1913 y en París en 1914. En 1916, el día antes de que se conociera la noticia de la muerte
de Granados en Barcelona, este pianista había interpretado en el Palau de la Música La maja y
el ruiseñor según Antonio Fernández-Cid (véase Granados. Madrid, Samarán ediciones, 1956,
p. 53).
ENRIQUE GRANADOS EN PARÍS 223
70. «Es usted condecorado, es recibido en la Ópera, todo esto, gracias a la agitación que
hicimos alrededor de usted y al trabajo que se tomó nuestro buen Vuillermoz. Sé que le sería
muy agradable si pudiera ser recompensado por sus penas, es decir, si usted pudiera escri-
birle una pequeña palabra que él se apresurara a publicar en nuestro S.I.M., [...] Vuillermoz
es extremadamente discreto y sé que jamás pediría la menor cosa, es por eso que su Director
se pone en su sitio». París, 1 de julio de 1914.
ENRIQUE GRANADOS EN PARÍS 225
71. La SN tendrá una programación regular, lo que hace que tenga un impacto sobre el
medio musical. Entre 1914 y 1917 las actividades de ambas sociedades se paran, pero las de-
más instituciones musicales parisinas también, a consecuencia de la guerra.
72. DUCHESNEAU, Michel. L’avant-garde musicale et ses sociétés à Paris de 1871 à 1939. Spri-
mont (France), Pierre Mardaga, 1997, p. 36.
73. El folclore francés regional también lo usaba la SN, pero no el resto.
226 MIRIAM PERANDONES
Conclusión
Quería mucho a Enrique Granados y estoy triste por saber que no lo veré más.
Ya un gran número de nuestros artistas franceses ha sucumbido gloriosamente
en esta lucha épica de nuestra bella civilización latina contra la pesada barbarie
germánica. Y estos allí cumplieron bien su deber dando su vida por Francia. [...]
creo bien que nuestros amigos de España estarán con nosotros en el momento
del «ajuste de cuentas» final de todas las infamias teutonas. Carta de V. D’Indy.
París, 14 de abril de 1916.
80. En el mismo concierto que presentó las Goyescas en Barcelona también estrenó el Cant
de les estrelles, obra en catalán para piano, órgano y coro editada por la Naxos gracias a la re-
cuperación de la partitura y su edición por Douglas Riva en la editorial Boileau y su interpre-
tación y grabación por la Naxos. También sus esfuerzos por la difusión de su Dante son lla-
mativos en este sentido: el 25 de mayo de 1915 en el Palau la Sinfónica de Madrid interpretó
Dante y el 5 y 6 de noviembre de 1915 la orquesta Sinfónica de Chicago había hecho el estre-
no americano de Dante con la solista contralto Sophie Breslau, contralto de la compañía del
Metropolitan.
81. COLLET, H. Albéniz et Granados..., p. 216.
82. Seguimos la tesis de LLANO, Samuel. El hispanismo y la cultura musical de París: 1898-
1931, leída en 2007 en el departamento de Historia del Arte III de la Universidad Compluten-
se de Madrid.
“Estancia y recepción de Enrique Granados en Nueva York (1915–1916)
Universidad de Oviedo
106
Estancia
y
recepción
de
Enrique
Granados
en
Nueva
York
(1915-1916)
desde
la
perspectiva
de
su
epistolario
inédito.
Resumen
El compositor Enrique Granados ha suscitado en el mundo anglosajón un interés que
comenzó ya desde su estancia de apenas tres meses en Nueva York entre 1915 y 1916.
Esta curiosidad se ha traducido en una detallada descripción de este último viaje del
compositor realizada en los dos estudios de referencia hasta el momento, ambos de
procedencia norteamericana1 . La localización y el estudio de las cartas familiares
custodiadas en el archivo privado de la familia Granados nos ha permitido estudiar en
detalle por primera vez este viaje a Nueva York desde el punto de vista del compositor y
sobre todo de su esposa, Amparo Gal. Su mujer será quien describa detalladamente sus
impresiones sobre el estreno de Goyescas y los objetivos y proyectos que surgen como
consecuencia del estreno de la ópera. Completaremos este punto de vista con cartas de
otros personajes contemporáneos también localizadas en el epistolario familiar,
principalmente del pianista Ernest Schelling.
Asimismo analizamos la proyección de Granados como referente de un nuevo
españolismo musical en Nueva York, y su negativa a alinearse en los estereotipos
andalucistas que se esperaban de un compositor español en la segunda década del siglo
XX en Nueva York.
Abstract
North America has been attracted by the composer Enrique Granados since his stay for
three months in New York along the years 1915 and 1916, a trip lavishly detailed in two
North American works of international recognition at the moment. The study of the
family letters, kept in the private family archives, allowed me to revise for the first time
1 Se trata del trabajo de Carol Hess Enrique Granados. A Bio-Bibliography (Nueva York: Greenwood
Press, 1991) y de la biografía de Walter A. Clark, Enrique Granados. Poet of the piano. (New York:
Oxford University Press, 2006).
1
in detail this trip to New York from Granados’ point of view and especially his wife’s,
Amparo Gal.
In these letters, his wife describes her impressions on the premiere of his opera
Goyescas and the aims and projects that arise as a result of the opening night. This point
of view is completed with the study of some other letters from contemporary prominent
figures -also located in the family archives-, mainly from the pianist Ernest Schelling.
I shall analyze here the projection of Granados as a model of the new musical
Spanishness in New York and his denial to line up with the andalusian stereotypes
expected from a Spanish composer in the second decade of the 20th century.
Palabras clave:
Granados, epistolario, revisión biográfica, nuevo españolismo.
Key words:
Granados, family letters, biography, new musical Spanishness.
2
Introducción
Enrique Granados realizó un viaje transoceánico con destino a Nueva York en 1915 con
motivo del estreno mundial de su ópera Goyescas o Los Majos Enamorados en enero
del año siguiente. El compositor, que era un desconocido en el mundo internacional
musical apenas cinco años antes de su llegada a Nueva York, había sido aceptado en los
círculos musicales franceses, y, por tanto, internacionales, a partir de 1911 gracias al
estreno y presentación del primer cuaderno de Goyescas en París. Este hecho se ve
corroborado en el epistolario familiar, ya que desde 1911 hay un número altísimo de
cartas de personalidades extranjeras -prácticamente inexistentes hasta entonces en el
epistolario- que dan muestra de la rápida progresión de este compositor en apenas siete
años, entre 1909 y su muerte en 1916, pero que tiene lugar especialmente tras la citada
presentación en París. La reputación que consigue a partir del concierto parisino permite
que Granados llegue a Nueva York acompañado y apoyado por amigos de relevancia
internacional, como Ignaz Padereweski –perteneciente a la junta directiva de la
Metropolitan Opera- o Ernest Schelling.
Granados levantó enormes expectativas ante el estreno de su ópera, lo que se tradujo en
una acelerada vida social neoyorquina. Esto ha supuesto que cuatro archivos americanos
guarden documentos de inestimable valor sobre el compositor, a pesar de haber residido
sólo tres meses en la ciudad. Estas instituciones son la Hispanic Society de Nueva York,
que conserva una partitura manuscrita de la parte vocal de Goyescas; la Pierpont
Morgan Library, que conserva dos valiosos documentos: una carta destinada a André
Mangeot2 –director de la revista quincenal parisina Le Monde Musical- describiendo su
obra lírico-dramática Liliana; y la libreta manuscrita “Apuntes para mis obras”,
manuscrito autógrafo del compositor que resulta crucial para la comprensión acerca de
la génesis de las Tonadillas y del sainete Ovillejos; la editorial Schirmer, con la que
Granados firmó sus últimos contratos editoriales, y finalmente el International Piano
2 Se conserva una única carta en la Pierpont Morgan Library con remite de Granados. Según esta
biblioteca, un posible destinatario sería Jean Aubry. Sin embargo estamos seguros de que se trata de una
carta a André Mangeot. Es una contestación a una epístola de éste último con fecha de 3 de octubre de
1911 en la que Mangeot solicita al compositor información sobre la obra Liliana. Granados hace una
descripción detallada de la misma que se transcribe casi literalmente en un artículo de Le Monde Musical
titulado “Siliana” [sic] de Granados a Barcelona” del 15 de noviembre de 1911. En él, Paul Martineau
transcribe casi todos los ejemplos musicales que aporta Granados.
3
Archives de Maryland (IPAM), donde se encuentran cartas de Granados al pianista
Ernest Schelling, responsable del éxito de Granados en Nueva York.
La llegada del compositor a la ciudad tuvo una enorme repercusión mediática, siendo
recogida profusamente por diferentes fuentes hemerográficas. El estudio de su estancia
desde su llegada en diciembre de 1915 hasta su partida en marzo de 1916 ha sido
llevado a cabo a través de una exhaustiva revisión publicaciones periódicas americanas
y fuentes secundarias basadas en los testimonios de terceras personas. En primera
instancia este estudio fue realizado por Carol Hess en 1991 en su trabajo Enrique
Granados. A Bio-bibliography3 y en segundo lugar por Walter Clark en el capítulo “A
World of Ideas” de su biografía Enrique Granados. Poet of the piano4. En este apartado
Clark describe las peripecias del viaje y del estreno de Goyescas, por lo que remitimos a
éste para el conocimiento minucioso de las noticias de este capítulo vital del
compositor. Nosotros en este estudio aportamos nuevos datos y ofrecemos un punto de
vista diferente sobre la estancia en Nueva York ya que lo realizamos principalmente a
través de la revisión del epistolario inédito de Granados, elaborado en nuestra tesis
doctoral La canción lírica de Enrique Granados (1867-1916): microcosmos estilístico
elaborado a partir de un nuevo epistolario 5.
Este epistolario se construyó a partir de la localización y estudio de las cartas familiares
que se encontraban en el domicilio del nieto del compositor Antoni Carreras i Granados,
algunas de las cuales están localizadas hoy en la Biblioteca Nacional de Catalunya. A
partir del redescubrimiento de estas cartas que se creían perdidas 6, y teniendo en cuenta
la aportación biográfica que suponen, abrimos el campo de investigación a otros centros
de documentación, consultando también otras publicaciones donde se encuentran
originales, facsímiles o copias de cartas escritas o dirigidas a Granados, constituyendo
de esta forma el primer epistolario del compositor.
4
Las cartas que se han trabajado para estudiar el viaje de Enrique Granados a Nueva
York son principalmente las que se encontraron en el archivo familiar. Se trata de las
epístolas de su esposa Amparo Gal a sus hijos y las cartas del pianista americano Ernest
Schelling al compositor, y, así, cambiamos la perspectiva externa del viaje realizada por
los investigadores anglosajones por la personal del propio compositor. Asimismo,
veremos cómo el estudio de las cartas del compositor con su maestro Felipe Pedrell
localizadas en el fondo Pedrell de la Biblioteca de Catalunya (Ms. 964) nos ha
permitido sostener una tesis sobre el pensamiento estético de Granados basado en su
ascendencia pedrelliana. A través de ellas constatamos cómo Pedrell influye
decisivamente en la manera en que el propio Granados se presenta musicalmente en la
ciudad de Nueva York.
7VILA SAN-JUAN, Pablo. Papeles íntimos de Enrique Granados. Barcelona: Amigos de Granados,
1966, p. 83.
8 “Queridísimos míos: hemos de empezar por bendecir a Schelling. De un golpe me he colocado en la
cima. La ópera está admitida con gran entusiasmo para la G. Ópera este invierno”. Carta de Granados a su
familia. París, 16 de junio de 1914.
5
“Ciertamente la casa Schirmer, su editor de Nueva York, ya le habrá informado que yo, en calidad de
Director general de Metropolitan Opera Company de Nueva York, adquirí los derechos de
representaciones de su bella e interesante ópera Goyesca [sic] para la temporada 1915/1916”9 .
“Mi muy querido amigo: le estoy muy agradecido por todo lo que usted me ha enviado respecto a
Goyescas en América. Su entusiasmo hacia mis obras que se refleja en los dos grandes periódicos de
Nueva York, es para mi futuro en América de una importancia enorme y usted me ha prestado un servicio
que jamás olvidaré.
Del mismo modo aprecio el otro servicio que usted quiere prestarme presentándome al editor Schirmer
durante su paso por Ginebra”.
Según Amparo Gal a su llegada a Nueva York “hay una atmósfera muy favorable a la
obra [Goyescas], dicen que [Granados] es el hombre del día y que su estreno es el que
trae el interés de la season” (diciembre de 1915). Efectivamente, en EEUU se preparó la
llegada de Granados con audiciones previas de su obra, lo que facilitó su favorable
9 Carta de Giulio Gatti- Casazza a Enrique Granados. Nueva York, [¿] 1915.
10 Interpretó Los requiebros, Coloquio en la reja y El fandango del candil.
11 Schelling también estrenará las Goyescas en Londres el 10 de diciembre de 1913 según carta del 1 de
diciembre de 1913. Granados agradece a su amigo su ayuda: “¡Leí los periódicos Ingleses [sic] y estoy
encantado de pensar que mi obra ya pasea gracias a mi gran amigo y artista, entre los [primeros públicos]
del mundo! ¡Es demasiado para mí! ¡Gracias, mil veces gracias!” 4 de febrero de 1914.
12 “Mr. Schelling Recital”. New York Times. 27 de marzo de 1913, p. 11.
6
acogida en Nueva York. Percy Grainger estrenó El Pelele el 8 de diciembre de 1915 en
la Sala Aeolian de Nueva York y George Copeland interpretó algunas piezas de
Goyescas el 6 de diciembre de 1915, en la misma sala. El barítono Emilio de Gogorza
había interpretado algunas Tonadillas el 8 de noviembre de 1915, también en la Sala
Aeolian, y Sophie Braslau el 5 y 6 de noviembre había estrenado Dante con la orquesta
Sinfónica de Chicago13.
A esta buena preparación del auditorio se une el repunte de hispanofilia que se dio
alrededor de 1915 en Nueva York del que, tal como apunta Clark, Granados sacó buen
provecho. Así, en el momento en que Granados está en la ciudad norteamericana, otros
intérpretes españoles buscan su hueco en las salas de conciertos neoyorquinas, como
Antonia Mercé (“La Argentina”), Rosa Culmell (esposa del pianista Joaquín Nin),
Miguel Llobet, quien hizo el viaje con Granados y su esposa, Paquita Madriguera,
alumna del compositor, María Barrientos y Pablo Casals. La colonia española parece
que se veía frecuentemente, tal como apunta Amparo Gal en una carta a sus hijos: “(…)
una caja de bombones fenomenal (…) ha hecho las delicias de los niños de Rosa Nin, de
Paquita Madriguera, Llobet y toda la españolada que nos visita por aquí”.
Amparo, mujer inteligente y práctica, aprovecha este momento favorable para el ámbito
hispano buscando salidas profesionales para su propia familia y otros amigos, como el
literato Gabriel Miró, amigo íntimo de la familia, o la jovencísima cantante Conchita
Badía. Así, dice a sus hijos en febrero de 1916:
“De Miró me ocupo mucho estos días aunque es muy difícil hacer nada por Él [sic] (…). De todas
maneras un día de estos saldrá un artículo hablando de Miró como literato y después veré si puedo hacer
traducir Las Cerezas (…). Para Conchita Badía (…) María Gay me hace las siguientes proposiciones:
pagarle el viaje, indumentaria, manutención, etc., encargarse de Conchita que vivirá con Ellos [sic] como
hija y Ella [sic] la hará debutar durante el primer año que empezaría en Septiembre”.
13 Sophie Braslau escribe a Granados una carta a modo agradecimiento, sin fecha: “¡Querido señor
Granados! He querido escribirle hace ya tiempo, pero he estado enferma. Espero me perdonará. Mil
gracias por la dedicatoria encantadora y gentil de Dante. Yo estaba orgullosa de ser capaz de cantar su
magnífica música de “la Francesca”. Estoy esperando tener el honor de conocerle pronto”.
7
de la costa, la última en Cádiz 14, donde recogieron a Fernando Periquet, libretista de la
ópera Goyescas. La llegada a Nueva York está bellamente narrada por la esposa del
compositor e incluye sus impresiones ante las comodidades de una sociedad
industrializada y moderna, como el uso de la calefacción15 . Granados y su esposa
llegaron a Nueva York el 15 de diciembre de 1915 y se alojaron en el Hotel Claridge
hasta aproximadamente mediados del mes de febrero, cuando se trasladaron al Hotel
Wellington, en la Séptima Avenida. El viaje fue muy accidentado, ya que incluyó dos
inspecciones de guerra y fortísimas tormentas que según Amparo pusieron al buque en
situación de “verdadero peligro”. Granados, que tenía negros presagios acerca de su
muerte en barco ya desde su juventud, sufrió intensamente durante el viaje y esto
ocasionó que enfermase durante las primeras semanas de estancia en Nueva York. Clark
recoge la actitud aterrorizada de Granados durante su estancia en Nueva York
testimoniada por diferentes personajes16. A la luz de las cartas creemos que ésta fue
consecuencia de la exacerbada sensibilidad de Granados complicada con las
consecuencias físicas y psíquicas de un sufrimiento continuado a lo largo de la travesía.
En una carta del 8 de enero Amparo narra el sufrimiento a sus hijos:
“Al principio de estar aquí, entre las angustias que pasó durante el viaje que estuvo 15 días sin
alimentarse casi ni tomar leche ni nada, se le había exacerbado la neurastenia de tal manera, y estaba tan
anémico que llegué a temer que le diera una [consumación?] y que no pudiera ni ocuparse de la ópera
siquiera…”
8
con muchas dificultades de los ensayos de su propia ópera. En una carta de Fernando
Periquet a M. Rouché el 21 de septiembre de 1919 poco antes del estreno de Goyescas
en la Opera de París, el libretista “confiesa” que Granados “dejó a cargo de la dirección
musical del Metropolitan la solución de todo lo relativo a la instrumentación de la obra,
hasta el punto de que escenas enteras fueron instrumentadas por el maestro Bavagnoli”.
Aunque a la luz de los diferentes testimonios es evidente que Granados no pudo
ocuparse convenientemente de los ensayos de Goyescas, esta última afirmación debe
tomarse con cautela dada la manifiesta enemistad de Periquet con la familia Granados
en aquellos años.
17 CLARK: Enrique Granados… op. cit., p. 161: “Although he had not planned to give concerts during
his stay in New York (…)”.
9
escritas desde Nueva York. Así, en la ciudad norteamericana será ella quien se ocupe de
los proyectos futuros que surgen a partir del estreno de Goyescas y que garantizan el
ansiado éxito económico. Se puede decir, en sus propias palabras, que Amparo lleva a
cabo la “siembra” que florecería meses después con el estreno de Goyescas en Buenos
Aires, además de recibir peticiones para la Habana y Alemania, pero que finalmente no
se consumarían por la muerte del compositor:
“de dinero poca cosa, pero nos quedamos unos 20 días más para afianzar la siembra y que quede bien
arreglado todo para el año que viene; la ópera ya la han pedido en Buenos Aires, Habana, el representante
del Teatro ruso en NY y ¡asombraos! Alemania para cuando acabe la guerra… pero como podéis suponer
nada hay arreglado definitivamente y por eso nos quedamos algunos días más para dejarlo todo a [?] y
clan. Resumen, por ahora todo se presenta muy bien para que Papá sea el indispensable que es cuando
aquí se hace dinero… lo demás son cuentos chinos.” Nueva York, febrero de 1916.
10
entusiasta” (carta del 8 de mayo de 1916). Amparo afirma que “viste el visitarnos” y
describe una agitada agenda social:
“De la agitadísima vida que llevamos no os quiero decir nada; todo os lo contaremos a nuestra llegada; se
nos disputan de unos a otros y tenemos que rehusar la mitad de las invitaciones que nos hacen pues de lo
contrario nos liquidarían en cuatro días”. Nueva York, febrero de 1916.
“La segunda representación (…) fue verdaderamente el día en que la obra se encontró frente al público y
tuvo un exitazo; sólo con decir que hicieron salir a Papá entre el primer y el segundo cuadro y entre éste y
el tercero muchísimas veces queda dicho todo, puesto que las llamadas no acostumbran a ser más que en
los finales de los actos”.
18 Sobre todos los detalles del estreno remitimos a la consulta del capítulo “A World of Ideas” de Enrique
Granados op. cit., de Clark, pp. 156- 157. No obstante apuntamos que el papel de Rosario fue llevado a
cabo por Anna Fitziu, Fernando por Giovanni Martinelli, Paquiro por Guiseppe de Luca y Pepa por
Flora Perini.
19 “(…) El triunfo de Papá fue ruidosísimo, le hicieron salir infinidad de veces, se volvían locos con Él.
La empresa le ha regalado una corona de plata y la casa Schirmer otra muy hermosa; estuvo en la
representación el embajador de España que mandó un telegrama al Rey después de la representación y me
mandó a mí un magnífico ramo de flores con un gran lazo con los colores nacionales”. Carta de Amparo a
sus hijos. Enero de 1916.
20 “La segunda representación de Goyescas ha sido un triunfo todavía mayor que la primera, pues como el
primer día la empresa puso junto con Goyescas Pagliacci con Caruso que es un ídolo aquí, algunos
dijeron que había habido el lleno brutal gracias a que cantaba dicho tenor. La segunda representación fue
otro entradón [sic] y un éxito si cabe mayor que el primero, puesto que no había ya la ansiosidad[sic] de
la colonia española”. Carta de Amparo Gal a sus hijos. Nueva York, febrero de 1916.
11
En general podemos decir que el matrimonio Granados consideró un éxito rotundo su
viaje a Nueva York, y que, si bien pudieran ser conscientes de las críticas negativas,
estaban envueltos en una espiral de éxito, dinero -por primera vez en su trayectoria
vital- y futuros proyectos que garantizaban un futuro y estabilidad económica a su
familia.
12
Granados identifica claramente su ópera Goyescas con el modelo de música española
basado en los preceptos de Pedrell, o lo que es lo mismo, como “auténtica” ópera.
En las cartas que escribe Granados a su maestro conservadas en la Biblioteca Nacional
de Catalunya, se hace evidente la ascendencia pedrelliana de su pensamiento, así como
en las que escribe a su mujer desde su estancia en Madrid (1894 y 1895), donde Pedrell
es referencia constante para sus acciones. Las cartas escritas antes de 1900, cuando
Granados aún es un joven músico, muestran a las claras su admiración por la obra de su
maestro, lo que se traduce en una admiración a sus teorías; Granados también realiza
recopilaciones de cantos populares para sí mismo y para Pedrell, y es patente su
preocupación por el redescubrimiento del pasado musical español, especialmente por
Tomás Luis de Victoria o Cristóbal de Morales. La ópera Goyescas es exponente de un
nuevo españolismo que sigue los parámetros del historicismo unido al folclore popular,
sin la recreación andalucista del tipo de la Carmen. En Goyescas el historicismo se hace
evidente en la utilización del tema goyesco y en la inclusión de “La tirana del Trípili”,
tonadilla quizá de Blas de Laserna, y el folclorismo con la inclusión de una canción
valenciana en la obra La maja y el ruiseñor.
La asunción del pensamiento pedrelliano hace que en la obra de Granados podamos
rastrear una amplitud de miras que se traduce en una variedad estilística que hace
imposible etiquetar a Granados únicamente como compositor nacionalista español. Si
bien es cierto que la obra que ha permitido a Granados entrar en el panteón de la
historiografía musical internacional ha sido la nacionalista española, la realidad musical
de Granados es mucho más compleja y la creemos sustentada esencialmente en los
principios basados en las teorías de su maestro Felipe Pedrell. Tal como afirma Francesc
Bonastre, el método pedrelliano no es válido sólo para Cataluña sino también para toda
España, y esto no estuvo bien visto por sus paisanos catalanes, ni en España por
considerarse catalán, y añade: “Esta pretendida ambigüedad no es otra cosa que el fruto
de su independencia ideológica y de su planteamiento abierto y generoso (…)”25.
Granados sigue este camino. Su presentación en París como compositor ya había
pretendido ir más allá de su presentación única como compositor de música española al
incluir en su programa del concierto del 1 de abril de 1911 un arreglo de una de las
13
sonatas de Scarlatti que había realizado en 1905, los Valses poéticos, el Allegro de
concierto, algunas Danzas españolas, Azulejos –la obra que terminó de Isaac Albéniz a
petición expresa de la familia- y el primer cuaderno de Goyescas.
El programa estaba pensado para presentar la obra de Granados al público francés desde
sus comienzos, y no por casualidad escoge un repertorio muy similar para su
presentación ante el público neoyorquino en el concierto del 22 de febrero en la Sala
Aeolian, así como en la Casa Blanca, a donde fue invitado por el presidente Wilson
junto a Julia Culp el 7 de marzo 26. En el concierto destinado a los Amigos de la Música
de Nueva York había incluido también algunas Goyescas y obras destinadas a piano y
cello, como son los arreglos de la conocida Danza andaluza, Trova y el Madrigal. Estas
últimas obras se desmarcan del españolismo y se vinculan a un arcaísmo sonoro en el
caso del Madrigal, mientras que la Trova fue considerada por Richard Aldrich en la
crítica del New York Times del 24 de enero de 1916 como “de introspectivo encanto” y
con carácter de improvisación. Asimismo, debemos recordar el concierto de Dante con
la Sinfónica de Chicago y la interpretación de la Danza de los ojos verdes, obra
orquestal, el 10 de febrero de 1916 en el Maxine Elliot Theater danzada por Antonia
Mercé “La Argentina”.
Granados, por tanto, ofrece una visión general de su obra al tiempo que no renuncia a la
consecución de la fama incluyendo piezas de estilo pintoresquista, como las Danzas.
Ocurre algo similar con las partituras que decide entregar a la editorial Schirmer,
aunque en este caso también influye el factor mercantil en las obras que escoge para la
edición. Granados decide enviar en septiembre de 1913 a la editorial americana dos
Danzas españolas (Valenciana y Catalana), una Danza a la Cubana, una Marcha
Militar; y un Vals Concierto. En la carta a Schelling del 24 de septiembre le anuncia que
está terminando “un cuaderno de escenas poéticas y Goyesca (El Pelele)”. Así,
Granados decide hacer el primer envío incluyendo música pintoresca y en estilo de
salón, de manera que puedan venderse fácilmente. La Schirmer también edita su obra
sinfónica Dante y más tarde, ya en 1915, firmará un contrato por algunas Canciones
26 El 22 de febrero de 1916 Granados interpretó una de sus adaptaciones de una Sonata de Scarlatti, una
Danza lenta, Danza valenciana y el Allegro de concierto. Además con Anna Fitziu se interpretaron
algunas Tonadillas y el aria de Goyescas La maja y el ruiseñor. Las Tonadillas se habían interpretado
también en el concierto de París del 4 de abril de 1914. En la Casa Blanca añadió un Nocturno de Chopin,
lo que no fue una decisión tomada a la ligera puesto que Granados era un gran intérprete de este
compositor.
14
amatorias: Gracia [sic], No lloréis ojuelos, Descúbrase el pensamiento de mi secreto
cuidado y Mañanica era. También la Canción del postillón, obra de mucho menos
interés que las citadas Amatorias, se envió a Schirmer para su publicación.
Clark también hace una descripción prolija de la recepción de Granados como
compositor español en la prensa neoyorquina. Respecto a los comentarios surgidos en
torno al compositor, Clark explica que se muestra a Granados siguiendo dos
estereotipos supuestamente españoles, aunque antagónicos: bien como hombre lánguido
o bien como persona de fuerte carácter 27. Periquet contribuye a la perpetuación de este
último estereotipo aplicado al hombre español. Este periodista y funcionario de Aduanas
que lucharía años después en el bando nacional en la Guerra Civil pese a lo avanzado de
su edad, tenía una inclinación evidente hacia el ideal nacional españolista, y en estas
declaraciones se puede intuir la base de su pensamiento ideológico. Los artículos
recortados por él y conservados hoy en el archivo privado de su nieto Rodolfo Vogel
Periquet, mencionan frecuentemente la “victoria” nacional y por tanto el desagravio que
supone el triunfo y éxito de la ópera Goyescas en EEUU, con la vista puesta en la
pérdida de las colonias de 1898. Tal como recoge Clark, éste sería un lugar común en
general en la prensa española, llegando a estar Granados en una “misión” que trataría
de recuperar el honor perdido28.
Por el contrario, el interés y las declaraciones de Granados en Nueva York se refieren
casi exclusivamente a la música. Tal como hemos podido rastrear en nuestra tesis
doctoral29 , no parece que Granados tenga una postura política concreta, ni siquiera que
le interesase en demasía el mundo político. Aunque parece tener un ideario político más
cercano al españolismo –sin poder definir de qué tipo-, su residencia en Barcelona, su
contacto con personajes cercanos ideológicamente al nacionalismo catalán, y su
dominio de este idioma no permite ser categórico en ningún sentido. Por el contrario,
parece que la política le interesa en la medida en que afecta a su obra y por esta razón
creemos que el comentario de Amparo “Creed que si el Gobierno no le premia con la
15
condecoración será muy desagradecido pues el valor de España ha subido un ciento por
ciento” en una carta de enero de 1916, no tiene implicaciones políticas.
16