Granados, Intermezzo from Goyescas

This intermezzo by Enrique Granados (1867-1916) comes from his 1915 opera Goysecas. It has become a popular concert piece for piano and for piano and cello.

The opera is in the form of a Zarzuela, which developed initially as a Baroque-era opera with spoken dialogue, comedic elements, and dance. Italian influence apparently robbed it of some of its distinctive Spanish flavor, and it died out in the 18th century. The form was revived in the Romantic era.

Granados grew up in Barcelona. He studied piano and sought entry to the Paris Conservatory but failed to be admitted, although he studied privately in Paris. In 1903, he won a competition at the Madrid Royal Conservatory with his piano work Allegro de concierto and gained renown as a result.

His most famous work, also entitled Goyescas, is a suite written in 1911 based on six paintings by Francisco Goya. The popularity of the work led him to compose the opera a few years later. The opera premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in January 1916.

Two months later, Granados died tragically while traveling from New York back to Spain. He had missed his scheduled voyage to Spain and took another ship to England. While crossing the English Channel on a ferry, the ferry was torpedoed by a German U-Boat. Granados’ wife was too heavy for the lifeboats. He stayed with her on a small raft, and the two drowned.