Alicia de Larrocha | |
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.jpg) De Larrocha in 1983 | |
| Born | Alicia de Larrocha y de la Calle 23 May 1923 Barcelona, Spain |
| Died | 25 September 2009 (aged 86) Barcelona, Spain |
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Alicia de Larrocha y de la Calle (23 May 1923 – 25 September 2009) was a Spanish pianist and composer. She was considered one of the great piano legends of the 20th century.[1]Reuters called her "the greatest Spanish pianist in history",[2]Time "one of the world's most outstanding pianists",[3] andThe Guardian "the leading Spanish pianist of her time".[4]
She won fourGrammy Awards, out of fourteen nominations, and aPrince of Asturias Award for the Arts. She is credited with bringing greater popularity to the compositions ofIsaac Albéniz andEnrique Granados.[2] In 1995, she became the first Spanish artist to win theUNESCO Prize.[4]
Alicia de Larrocha was born inBarcelona,Catalonia, Spain.[5] She began studying piano withFrank Marshall at the age of three, and later in life served as Director of his school, the Marshall Academy.[6] Both her parents were pianists and she was the niece of pianists.[3][5] She gave her first public performance at the age of five at theInternational Exposition inBarcelona.[3] She performed her first concert at the age of six at theWorld's Fair inSeville in 1929, and had her orchestral debut at the age of eleven. By 1943, her performances were selling out in Spain.[3] She began touring internationally in 1947, and in 1954 toured North America with theLos Angeles Philharmonic. In 1966, she engaged in a first tour of Southern Africa which proved so wildly popular that three further tours were completed[7] In 1969, de Larrocha performed in Boston for thePeabody Mason Concert series.[8]
De Larrocha, writes Jed Distler, "started composing at age seven and continued on and off until her 30th year, with a prolific spurt in her late teens," and while she never performed her works in public, she gave her family the choice of making them available after her death, which they have done.[9]
De Larrocha made numerous recordings of the solo piano repertoire and in particular the works of composers of her native Spain. She is best known for her recordings of the music ofManuel de Falla,Enrique Granados,Federico Mompou, andIsaac Albéniz, as well as her 1967 recordings ofAntonio Soler's keyboard sonatas. She recorded forHispavox, CBS/Columbia/Epic, BMG/RCA and London/Decca, winning her firstGrammy Award in 1975 and her last one in1992, at the age of almost seventy. She received thePrince of Asturias Award for the Arts in 1994.[3]
De Larrocha spoke in a 1978 interview with Contemporary Keyboard,
I don't believe there is a 'best' of anything in this life. I would say, though, that Granados was one of the great Spanish composers, and that, in my opinion, he was the only one that captured the real Romantic flavor. His style was aristocratic, elegant and poetic – completely different from Falla and Albéniz. To me, each of them is a different world. Falla was the one who really captured the spirit of the Gypsy music. And Albéniz, I think was more international than the others. Even though his music is Spanish in flavor, his style is completely Impressionistic.[10]
Less than five feet tall and with small hands for a pianist,[2][3] spanning an interval of barely a tenth on the keyboard,[11] in her younger years she was nonetheless able to tackle all the big concertos (all five byBeethoven,Liszt's No. 1,Brahms'sNo. 2,Rachmaninoff's Nos. 2 and 3, both ofRavel's, and those ofProkofiev,Bartók,Bliss andKhachaturian, and many more), as well as the wide spans demanded by the music of Granados, Albéniz, and de Falla. She had a "long fifth finger" and a "wide stretch between thumb and index finger" which enhanced her technical ability.[4]
"She made her first recordings, of Chopin, at age nine, her feet not yet able to reach the pedals"[12] and was considered a great interpreter of Chopin.
As she grew older she began to play a different style of music; moreMozart and Beethoven were featured in her recitals and she became a regular guest at the "Mostly Mozart Festival" of theLincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York. In 2001, she was named Honorary Member of theFoundation for Iberian Music at The City University of New York. De Larrocha retired from public performance in October 2003, aged 80, following a 76-year career.[3][5]
Alicia de Larrocha died on 25 September 2009 in Quiron Hospital,Barcelona, aged 86. She had been in declining health since breaking her hip five years previously.[10] Her husband, the pianist Juan Torra, with whom she had two children, had died in 1982.[3][4]
De Larrocha won several individual awards throughout her lifetime. Her extended discography has been recognized with fourteen Grammy nominations (1967, 1971, 1974, 1975 (x2), 1977 (x2), 1982 (x2), 1984, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992), of which she won four. She received honorary degrees from universities inMichigan,Middlebury College, Vermont, andCarnegie Mellon.[3][4]
Acrater on the planet Mercury has been named in her honor.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Albéniz:Iberia – Books II & III (Erato Records) | Grand Prix du Disque | Won |
| 1968 | Granados:Goyescas – Book II,Escenas románticas (Erato Records) | Grand Prix du Disque | Won |
| 1974 | Albéniz:Iberia (Decca) | Grand Prix du Disque | Won |
| 1991 | Granados:Goyescas,Allegro De Concierto,Danza Lenta (RCA) | Grand Prix du Disque | Won |
| 1968 | ? | Edison Award | Won |
| 1978 | ? | Edison Award | Won |
| 1989 | Albéniz:Iberia (Decca) | Edison Award | Won |
| 1974 | Albéniz:Iberia (Decca) | Grammy Award for Best Classical Performance – Instrumental Soloist or Soloists (without orchestra) | Won |
| 1975 | Ravel:Concerto For Left Hand andConcerto For Piano in G; Faure: Fantaisie for piano and orchestra (Decca) | Grammy Award for Best Classical Performance – Instrumental Soloist or Soloists (with orchestra) | Won |
| 1988 | Albéniz:Iberia,Navarra,Suite Española (Decca) | Grammy Award for Best Classical Performance – Instrumental Soloist or Soloists (without orchestra) | Won |
| 1991 | Granados:Goyescas,Allegro De Conicerto,Danza Lenta (RCA) | Grammy Award for Best Classical Performance – Instrumental Soloist or Soloists (without orchestra) | Won |
| 1971 | ? | Records of the Year (London) | Won |
| 1974 | ? | Records of the Year (London) | Won |
| 1979 | Granados:Goyescas (Decca) | Deutsche Schallplattenpreis (Germany) | Won |
| 1980 | Liszt:Piano Sonata in B minor (Decca) | Franz Liszt Award (Budapest) | Won |
| 1994 | Manuel de Falla andXavier Montsalvatge: Piano Works (RCA) | Japan Record Academy Award | Won |
| 1978 | — | Musician of the Year - Musical America (magazine) | |
| 1988 | — | Commander of theOrdre des Arts et des Lettres | |
| 1994 | — | Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts | |
| 1995 | — | UNESCO Prize | |
| 1961 | — | Paderewski Memorial Medal (London) | |
| 1985 | — | National Music Award – Interpretation | |
| 2000 | — | Premios Ondas for the most notable work in classical music | |
| 1982 | — | Gold Medal of Merit in the Fine Arts |
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