Twenty-five years ago, Guillermo González, a great exponent of Spanish music, inaugurated an ambitious project to record all of Isaac Albéniz’s piano music. This ninth volume is the culmination of that project and the recordings have all been made by González or his students, adding interpretative unity to the cycle. The final instalment focuses on Albéniz’s compositional evolution and his use of inspired folk-based melodies, Hispanic nostalgia and vivid dance rhythms, encapsulated by the intoxicating Chants d’Espagne. Additionally, five works are heard in exciting new arrangements for two pianos made expressly for this recording, presented as if in a suite of dances.

Guillermo González recorded the first three volumes in the series. The other volumes have all been played by five other leading Spanish pianists, all of whom were his students.

He is the holder of the Premio Nacional de Música (1991), the Premio Nacional del Disco (1980), the Medalla Albéniz (2009) and his 1998 urtext edition of Albéniz’s suite Iberia has become a work of reference.

Fanfare wrote of Vol.2 on 8570553, that ‘González plays with passion, bringing out the music’s warmth… this should prove to be another rewarding series from Naxos.’

The two soloists have played in the previous volumes of the series. Miguel Ángel R. Laiz recorded Volume 8 (8573779) back in 2017 which American Record Guide said was ‘played superbly’. Santiago L. Sacristán plays on Volume 6 on 8573295: ‘Sacristan plays with a crisp, tangy tone that is just right for this music’, wrote American Record Guide.