Andaluza: from inspiration to interpretation.(Personal account)

Ever since I learned Granados' sixth Spanish Dance, Rondalla Aragonesa, as a teenager, Spanish music has been a passionate interest for me. So completely did it and other Spanish works capture my imagination, that it inspired me to travel through many regions of Spain, searching out the country's folk music in local fiestas, theaters, bars, flamenco schools, gypsy caves, cathedral squares and everywhere possible. As the works of Granados, Albeniz, de Falla and others tend to lie on the fringe of standard piano repertory for study and performance, some background information about this exotic and exciting genre may be helpful to many musicians, teachers and students on ...