Enrique Granados

 Enrique Granados

 

Enrique Granados was born in 1867 in Lerida, Spain. He began his musical studies at an early age. At first, he studied the piano in Barcelona with Joan Baptista Pujol, who studied with the Mallorcan pianist and student of Liszt Pere Tintorer. Pujol was the one who created what could be called the first Catalan piano tradition. Among his numerous students were Albeniz, Malats (teacher of Mompou) and Ricard Viñes.

In 1887, Granados moved to Paris to study with Charles de Beriot. In Paris as well as continuing his friendships with Albeniz, Nin and Viñes, he came into direct contact with the most important French composers of the time like Faure, Debussy, Ravel, Dukas, d’Indy, establishing a very close relationship with Camille Saint-Saëns.

Two years later, in 1889, he returned to Barcelona to begin his career as a performing virtuoso/composer. In 1892 he gave the first performance of Grieg’s piano concerto in Spain. During this time he performed many chamber music concerts with close friends such as, Pau Casals, Mathieu Crickboom, Jacques Thibaud, Emil von Sauer and Camille Saint-Saens. During the years 1895-98 several of works were premiered, performed by Miel de Alcarria, Maria del Carmen along with various chamber works and pieces for piano.

In 1901 he founded the Granados Academy, that was to become the hallmark of teaching the art of playing the piano as understood by Granados. Granados directed the Academy until his death, when it was taken over by his pupil and friend Frank Marshall. To solve inheritance problems after the sudden death of Granados, the decision was made by Marshall and the tutor of the Academy, Felipe Pedrell, to change the name to the Marshall Academy, those making Marshall the sole owner.
Along with Albeniz and de Falla, Granados is often recognized as a nationalistic composer. Actually the term neo-romantic would describe him better as he developed a personal romantic style up until his time unknown in Spain. An expressive style influenced by Chopin, Schumann, Schubert and Grieg and the 18th century majas of Goya. He represents the romantic and poetic piano of 19th century Spain.

He wrote piano music, chamber music (a piano quintet, music for violin and piano), songs, zarzuelas, and an orchestral tone poem based on Dante's Divine Comedy. Many of his piano compositions have been transcribed for the classical guitar by Spanish guitarist Andres Segovia, and are generally considered as some of the most beautiful music in the guitar repertoire: examples include Dedicatoria, Danza No. 5, Goyescas. Granados was an important influence on at least two other important Spanish composers and musicians, Manuel de Falla and Pablo Casals.

Granados died in 1916 on the way across the English Channel when the Sussex boat he was traveling on was torpedoed by a German U-boat, as part of the German unrestricted submarine warfare policy during World War I. In a failed attempt to save his wife Amparo, whom he saw flailing in the water some distance away, Granados jumped out of his lifeboat, and drowned. Ironically, he had a morbid fear of water for his entire life, and he was returning from his first-ever series of ocean voyages.

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