Veni, Vidi, Vici(1889-1893)

Abstract Albeniz appeared in a concert on 7 March 1889 at the Teatro de la Comedia in Madrid with the orchestra of the Sociedad de Conciertos conducted by Tomas Breton. The programme included his Suite caracteristica for orchestra, made up of arrangements of three piano works: the Scherzo from his Sonata No. 1, ‘En la Alhambra’ (‘inspired by Arab legends’), and ‘Rapsodia cubana’ (‘an exact transcription of the rhythm and melodic design of Cuban songs’).1 Albeniz also performed his Piano Concerto No. 1, or Concierto fantastico. Despite its title, the work is conservative and straight forward in nature. The lengthy Allegro first movement is in sonata form with a principal theme in A minor and a secondary theme in E major. Much of the melodic inspiration, in addition to the tonality, seems indebted to Schu mann. The second movement supposedly expresses ‘the vagueness of a dream’ (‘la vaguedad de un ensueiio’), and it is probably this ‘fantasy‘ element that inspired the concerto’s title. It is divided into two sections: the Andante‘s principal theme is clearly derived from the opening theme of the Allegro, while the second section, marked ‘presto’, is a scherzo in the style of Mendelssohn. The final movement, Allegro, is dominated by the piano and is once again based on themes related to those of the first move ment. Albeniz‘s Escenas sinfonicas catalanas (‘Symphonic Catalan scenes’) also appeared on the programme. This work depicts a country fiesta in the mountains of Catalonia and consists of four sections. The first is in sonata form and includes a third theme of a popular character that recurs as a leitmotif in the third and fourth sections of the work. The ‘Idilio’ (‘Idyll’) paints a picture of two lovers. The ‘Serenata‘ features a quartet of strings with violin solo. The final movement presents two separate themes of a popular character, and the work concludes with reminiscences of the leitmotif and the