John Williams plays Sevilla, actually a piece written for the piano by the Spanish pianist and composer Isaac Albéniz (29 May 1860 – 18 May 1909). Since it has been transcribed for classical guitar it has become one of the most important works of the classical guitar repertoire. Recorded at the Alcázar of Seville (Spanish “Reales Alcázares de Sevilla” or “Royal Alcazars of Seville).
Albéniz himself premiered Sevilla in a piano performance on 24 January 1885 and dedicated it to the wife of Count Morphy (Guillermo Morphy y Ferríz de Guzmán, best known as Conde Morphy or Count Morphy, February 29, 1836 – August 27, 1899; the Spanish aristocrat, music critic, musicologist, historian, educator, composer, and politician).
“Sevilla is one of the eight descriptive pieces which make up the Suite Española, Op. 47 by the Spanish pianist and composer Isaac Albéniz. A child prodigy already giving concerts, he ran away at the age of nine and played in both North and South America until returning to Europe at the age of thirteen. Later in life, Albéniz turned to composition, which, with exception of several operas, was primarily for piano. He often uses popular dance rhythms and was unusually gifted in capturing the mood of the places he described. Sevilla is based on the ‘Sevillanas’ dance, with the middle section especially evocative of Seville’s Moorish past.” (John Williams, 1993)
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