Repertoire
GRANADOS: Danza de los ojos verdes
GRANADOS: Dante I and II
KORSAKOV: Scheherezade
Artists
Salvador Brotons, conductor
Gemma Coma-Alabert, mezzo-soprano
Program
Much of this concert is dedicated to the musical interpretation of literary works, even though the composers were not seeking to establish a link with descriptive music. Granados gives us the symphonic poem Dante and the Danza de los ojos verdes (Dance of the green eyes). Also, one of the greatest Russian musical works from the second half of the 19th century: Sheherazade by Korsakov.The concert features one of the finest and fascinating works from Granados’s repertoire, despite it being unfairly overlooked. Premiered in Barcelona in 1908, and inspired by The Divine Comedy, Dante demonstrates deep writing maturity influenced by the French School of composition from the end of the 19th century and also by Wagner, whom he greatly admired. Alongside this headline work, comes a pearl with exotic oriental qualities that premiered in New York one month before his death. La Danza de los ojos verdes is a tribute to the Spanish dancer Antonia Mercé “La Argentina” and it was dedicated to her. The piece evokes traces of the influence of the gypsy dances of the Sacromonte district of Granada.
In 1888, Russian composer Nikolai Rimski-Korsakov wrote and premiered the symphonic suite Sheherazade. Based on the tales of One Thousand and One Nights, this musical poem combines brilliant and exemplary orchestration with oriental musical features which aroused much curiosity at the time.
