Alicia de Larrocha y de la Calle (23 May 1923 – 25 September 2009) was a Sp… Read Full Bio ↴Alicia de Larrocha y de la Calle (23 May 1923 – 25 September 2009) was a Spanish pianist, widely considered to be one of the greatest of her generation
She was born in Barcelona, and began studying piano with Frank Marshall in Spain at age three. She performed her first concert at the age of six at the World's Fair in Seville in 1929, and had her orchestral debut at the age of 11. She began touring internationally in 1947, and in 1954 toured North America with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
De Larrocha has made numerous recordings of solo piano repertoire and she is generally seen as an advocate of Spanish works. She is best known for her recordings of the music of Enrique Granados and Isaac Albéniz, as well as her 1967 recordings of Antonio Soler's piano sonatas. She won her first Grammy Award in 1975 and again, as recently as 1992, at the age of almost seventy.
As De Larrocha aged, she began to play a different style of music. She was originally a Mozart player, but she wanted to spread Latin and Spanish music to the world. This is one reason why she is now best known for her recordings of Granados and Albeniz.
As of 1995, she was still active as a pianist, but conceded having to make adjustments with age. For a pianist her hands are small, her height is under 150 centimetres, but she has grown even smaller with age. This led to her having to quit playing Rachmaninoff.
She received the Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts in 1994.
Alicia de Larrocha died on 25 September 2009 in Quiron Hospital, Barcelona, aged 86. Culture Minister Angeles Gonzalez-Sinde said: "She was an extraordinary ambassador for Spain".
She was born in Barcelona, and began studying piano with Frank Marshall in Spain at age three. She performed her first concert at the age of six at the World's Fair in Seville in 1929, and had her orchestral debut at the age of 11. She began touring internationally in 1947, and in 1954 toured North America with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
De Larrocha has made numerous recordings of solo piano repertoire and she is generally seen as an advocate of Spanish works. She is best known for her recordings of the music of Enrique Granados and Isaac Albéniz, as well as her 1967 recordings of Antonio Soler's piano sonatas. She won her first Grammy Award in 1975 and again, as recently as 1992, at the age of almost seventy.
As De Larrocha aged, she began to play a different style of music. She was originally a Mozart player, but she wanted to spread Latin and Spanish music to the world. This is one reason why she is now best known for her recordings of Granados and Albeniz.
As of 1995, she was still active as a pianist, but conceded having to make adjustments with age. For a pianist her hands are small, her height is under 150 centimetres, but she has grown even smaller with age. This led to her having to quit playing Rachmaninoff.
She received the Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts in 1994.
Alicia de Larrocha died on 25 September 2009 in Quiron Hospital, Barcelona, aged 86. Culture Minister Angeles Gonzalez-Sinde said: "She was an extraordinary ambassador for Spain".
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3 Gymnopédies: Gymnopédie No. 1
Alicia de Larrocha Lyrics
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Frederic Boloix
These are two of the greatest (no need to talk about gender) pianists in history, period, and it's useless to pit one against the other. In fact no one admired Alicia more than Martha, and I'm sure the admiration was mutual! Simply put: Alicia was better at being Alicia and Martha being Martha. After all, it would be sad if we remembered Alicia for being an equal or better version of Martha than Martha, and/or vice versa, no? They are both stupendous and a gift to the world of music! Vive la difference!
OrangeSodaKing
They're both great, we don't need to pit them against each other. Or any two artists in general.
MrCinemuso
@Mike Karren competitions, exams and professional rivalries, arent as central to the world of music, as music itself. Its music itself ultimately why anyone bothers worling so hard and passionately in this very financially risky profession.
Argerich herself has expressed a great dislike for this dual quality of a life in music at the highest level and many others have also.
Its there, you have to cope with it, but its not why it all exists.
Mike Karren
We don't? What do you think piano competitions, proficiency exams, and lessons have been about, forever? It's what piano playing is about! COMPETITION! Beethoven, Liszt, Chopin, Schumann, and on and on and on...all competed. It challenged and improved the quality and expectations so that we have the wonderful pianists and music of today!
mette holm
The purpose could be to point out how many qualities, they share. Please alter the headline. Cut "Duel" and emphasize the mutual.
Music Man
As much as I adore Alica, she wasn't really at her best in most of her commercial recordings (and she was sadly let down by Decca's typically bass heavy sound and poor acoustics)...compared with her live performances of the same pieces, the studio versions sound too inhibited. Just compare her amazing live Liszt Sonata with the Decca recording...as the live performance shows, she was certainly of capable of great playing. Argerich, on the other hand never has this problem...she always sounds so uninhibited and spontaneous in recordings or live, even though her playing is often too fast.
BENET CASABLANCAS DOMINGO
Título absurdo e innecesario para disfrutar del arte más que sobresaliente de dos pianistas maravillosas. Menudo Scarlatti, y qué decir de Iberia!
Francis Smith
There is a reason all the Suzuki piano music was recorded by Alicia. She plays so even a child can hear the pure interpretation of the music and learn
lisilisin
I'm sorry but I don't like the title of the video. Why should it be a duel? Why does it have to be one against the other? Let's enjoy both! Both are great pianists who are part of the top group of world pianism. Comparing always seemed absurd to me, but even more so when the chosen works and composers are totally different. Let's stop comparing and enjoy the different ways of interpreting music that each pianist has. You may like one more than another, but that does not mean that one is better or worse than the other, just different. Long live to the difference!
Ziv Oren
Long live to the difference! - Great I agree with every word