de Larrocha, Alicia

de Larrocha, Alicia

(Alicia de Larrocha y de la Calle), 1923–2009, Spanish pianist, b. Barcelona. One of the outstanding pianists of the 20th cent., she gave her first recital when she was five and had her orchestral debut with the Madrid Symphony Orchestra six years later. She performed mainly in Spain until 1947, when she toured Europe. She debuted in Britain in 1953 and in the United States in 1955; from 1971 on she was closely associated with Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival. Elegant, fluid, and poetic in style, she was a virtuoso of the classical repertoire, particularly the works of Mozart, and a master of the European romantics. De Larrocha also championed works by Spanish composers, including Isaac AlbénizAlbéniz, Isaac
, 1860–1909, Spanish pianist and composer. He made his debut as a pianist at the age of four. When still young, he ran away from home and traveled in North and South America and Spain, supporting himself by playing the piano.
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, Enrique GranadosGranados, Enrique
, 1867–1916, Spanish composer and pianist, b. Havana; studied at Barcelona with Felipe Pedrell. His most significant works are those for the piano in which he created the peculiarly Spanish manner later used by de Falla.
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, and Manuel de FallaFalla, Manuel de
, 1876–1946, Spanish composer; pupil of Felipe Pedrell. In Paris from 1907 to 1914, he met Debussy, Dukas, and Ravel, and was to some extent influenced by their impressionism.
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