ALICIA DE LARROCHA - Icon : The Complete EMI Recordings (2010) 8xCD BOX-SET / RM / FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

 
EMI's eight-CD box set of Alicia de Larrocha's early recordings is entirely devoted to the works of Spanish composers, whose music she championed for decades. Most of the tracks were originally recorded on Hispavox in the 1960s, though an additional recording from 1992 helps round out the package, while the final disc offers her 1971 Hunter College recital with soprano Victoria de los Angeles. For the most part, the compilation is a generous survey of piano music by Antonio Soler, Enriqué Granados, Isaac Albéniz, Manuel de Falla, Joaquín Turina, and a piano concerto by Xavier Montsalvatge; the song recital also includes selections by Antonio Literes, Blas de Laserna, and Gerónimo Giménez, so the presentation covers Spanish compositions from the Classical to the modern eras. De Larrocha was greatly admired for her dedication to this repertoire, and her legacy starts with these recordings, which have been remastered to have the best possible sound. The crispness of the reproduction reveals the precision and delicacy of de Larrocha's playing, and the closeness of the recordings in many cases gives her realistic presence. While de Larrocha is perhaps best remembered for the music offered here, her discography on other labels includes her great recordings of works by Haydn, Mozart, Chopin, and Debussy, so this package only gives a partial view of her numerous accomplishments.  by Blair Sanderson  
All Tracks

 

FILOMENA MORETTI - Filomena Moretti plays Albeniz, Bach, Barrios, De Falla, etc. (2002) APE (image+.cue), lossless

 
 

PATRICIA PETIBON - Melancolía : Spanish Arias and Songs

Patricia Petibon's album Melancolía: Spanish Arias and Songs is a result of the soprano's lifelong fascination with the music and culture of Spain, with a special interest in the ways Spanish and French influences have cross-pollinated. She has put together an exceptionally attractive selection of songs and arias from zarzuelas, most of them likely to be unfamiliar to general audiences. Petibon is known for her light, silvery coloratura, and her gift for inhabiting her roles, both dramatic and comic, with great spirit and penetrating insight. This repertoire doesn't especially exploit her coloratura abilities, but it gives free range to her expressive talents, from the feral intensity of the traditional Yoruba chant Ogundé uareré and the unrestrained yawps of Giménez's aria "La tarantula é un bicho múmalo" to the suave lyricism of the familiar Aria from Villa-Lobos' Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5. Even at interpretive extremes, Petibon maintains her characteristic tonal purity and clarity; the final note of the Villa-Lobos rings like a bell. The album concludes with a work newly written for Petibon by French composer Nicolas Bacri, a four-song cycle, Melodías de la melancolía. It's a terrific piece that at its best recalls Peter Lieberson's Neruda Songs, which is very high praise. Fans of Spanish music and anyone who loves Petibon's distinctive performances are likely to be delighted with this album. Josep Pons leads Orquesta Nacional de España in idiomatic, energetic accompaniment.  by Stephen Eddins  

 

 PATRICIA PETIBON - Melancolía : Spanish Arias and Songs
  [2011] DG / FLAC (tracks), lossless

KATIA & MARIELLE LABÈQUE - España

KATIA & MARIELLE LABÈEQUE - España 

 [1994] Philips /  CBR320 / scans

ANTAL DORATI Conducts Albéniz / Falla / Muossorgsky / Smetana

Antal Dorati Conducts Albéniz / Falla / Mussorgsky / Smetana  

 Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra
[1997] Mercury / CBR320 / scans