Albéniz, Isaac

Isaac Albéniz was born in Spain. He was a child prodigy who first performed as a pianist at the age of four. As a boy, he ran away from home and traveled in South America, supporting himself by playing the piano. He studied at the Brussels Conservatory with the great Hungarian pianist and composer Franz Liszt. Albéniz wrote more than 200 pianoworks and many orchestral works and operas. As a leading national composer, like many of the late Romantic period's composers, he wrote many works with the influence of the Spanish folk music.

Although he wrote some operas, he is best known for his piano music, some of which has been arranged by others for orchestra. He influenced Debussy and Ravel in their piano compositions. His greatest masterpiece is the "Iberia Suite" which combines the use of Spanish folk materials with a brilliant pianistic writing.

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