Albeniz Granada Dedicated to "Papa D" and his Wonderful Family

About the Composition

This is my first recording of a work by the lesser-known composer Isaac Albeniz (pictured on the right). Albeniz was a Spanish composer of the 19th and early 20th centuries. He is known mostly for his piano compositions. This particular recording is the first piece from the Spanish Suite (Suite Espanola) - each work in the suite is named after a city/town of Spain. I love this composition as it has such depth and dynamics despite the seemingly simple structure. The "harp-like" or perhaps "guitar-like" movements of the right-hand add such a nice accompaniment to the melody and harmonies of the left hand.

Dedication

I am lovingly dedicating this recording to one of the most kind-hearted, sincere, and inspirational people I have ever met - "Papa D" - as well as his wonderful wife and his daughter's family - the Krebs. There are very few people on this earth who are so sincerely caring that they unconditionally open their hearts and homes to those around them. Chuck Dominici ("Papa D") is one of those and his kindness and sincerity is quite contagious! We have the pleasure of living in the same neighborhood as his family and have had the opportunity to get to know them a little better over the last year or so and have enjoyed Chuck's fine cuisine. My wife and I are always so impressed by their ability to laugh, share hope, and brighten perspectives for everybody around them. When I think of inspirational heroes in my life, the Dominicis and Krebs are among the first I think of - the kind of people I hope to be more like.

So to the Dominici's and the Krebs I dedicate this recording of Albeniz's Granada. And even as I write this dedicatory note I am reminiscing on the flavors of Papa D's wonderful cooking and the endearing friendships that we have formed. To Good Food... Good Friends... and Good Music!

The Recording

You may download this recording by visiting this page of my website or by subscribing to my iTunes podcast. As always, this music is free to the public. You may also listen online using the embedded media player found below. I hope you enjoy my recording of Isaac Albeniz's Granada Op. 47, No. 1!

Now available on Amazon.com!

There are now two Lisztonian albums available for purchase through Amazon.com for $6.99 (or $0.89 per song):

• Relaxing Classical Piano Music Volume 1
• Relaxing Classical Piano Music Volume 2

Chit-Chat Polka by Johann Strauss Jr

Okay, so I'm not a huge fan of Polka but I have to admit that I had fun recording this piece :) It is so short and happy that I just couldn't help playing it over and over again. The kids loved it too! You may recognize the melody from the popular game "Dance Dance Revolution" which, I have read, borrows from this polka during one of the songs. My son also just came in and heard it playing, laughed, and told me that this song is also apparently in the movie "Robots". Can anybody confirm that? I'm sure he's right because he has an uncanny ability to remember things like that.

This also happens to be my first recording of anything by Johann Strauss (Jr.) - the "Waltz King". This polka has been transcribed and arranged for many different ensembles and instruments. I can't quite figure out if it was originally for keyboard or not, but the Alfred edition of the music I have has no arranger listed and also assigns it an opus number (Op. 214) so I'm assuming at this point that the work was originally composed for keyboard solo.

I hope you enjoy this delightful little piece. You can use the media player below to listen online or can visit this page of my website to download it to your computer.