GRANADOS 12 Danzas españolas

Azulejos Guitar Duo

Naxos 8 579166

Enrique Granados’s 12 Danzas españolas (1890) are masterly early essays in filtering regional folk and earlier classical styles through a refined late-Romantic idiom. Their quality and charm have ensured not only their longevity in their piano originals but also, either individually or as a set, in transcription or arrangement. While orchestral versions have proved particularly effective in bringing out certain colouristic effects that Granados merely adumbrates on the piano, it is perhaps those for the classical guitar that manage to capture the soul, the essence, of these dances. It might therefore surprise you to learn that there are relatively few complete accounts for guitar duo.

Read the full review at Gramophone.