Volume 8 in Naxos’ complete Granados piano music cycle explores works from the composer’s youth, including several previously unrecorded selections. Some of this music reveals his early penchant for imitating Grieg (the cadences in Dans le bois), Chopin (Clotilde’s melodic patterns), and the Strauss family waltzes (Carezza-Vals). However, traces of the mature genius that penned Goyescas occasionally surface. Note for instance Soldados de cartón’s wide registral and dynamic compass and quick shifts from major to minor mode. Or the melancholy characterizing Dolora’s simple lyricism.
Álbum de melodías’ 24 short pieces find the 21-year-old composer under Chopin’s thumb, so to speak (the final Allegro vivace often recalls the older composer’s F minor concerto), but some of the more introspective pieces boast original touches that are less obviously traceable to past masters. As in previous volumes, Douglas Riva’s solid, reliable fingers deliver the goods with style and taste, even though we might imagine more colorful and scintillating performances and more robust engineering. His scholarly, informative booklet notes tell you everything you need to know about this music.
