Michel Block: De Falla, Granados, Albeniz

Michel Block

Manuel De Falla: Cuatro Piezas Españolas
Enrique Granados:Danzas Españolas No. 5, andantino quasi allegretto / Escenas Poéticas
Isaac Albeniz: España

Michel Block (1937-2003) gained international attention and fame when at the 1960 Chopin Competition jury member Artur Rubinstein was so outraged by the jury decision that he awarded Michel Block with the special Artur Rubinstein Award on the spot. Two years later Michel Block, a Juilliard laureate, won the prestigious Leventritt Award. He embarked on an international solo career, and played with esteemed orchestras like The New York Philharmonic, Berliner Philharmoniker, Concertgebouw Orchestra, Chicago Symphony and London Symphony Orchestra, and conductors Carlo Maria Giulini, Bernard Haitink and Georg Solti. After entering the Music faculty of Bloomington, he ceased his busy concert schedule. His rare public appearances after that were memorable events.
Block had a special affinity for Spanish music (he grew up in Mexico). His famous recording of Albeniz' Iberia (on EMI) counts among the best ever. This recital offers gems from the Spanish repertoire: Spanish Dances by Granados, Espana by Albeniz, and 4 Spanish Pieces by De Falla, all played in Block's leisurely, seductive, hypnotising style, where piano hammers don't exist, only beautiful sound...