CHAPTER 1. PEDRO PÉREZ DE ALBÉNIZ (1795-1855): PERFORMANCE AND PEDAGOGY
BIOGRAPHY
The piano literature from the last quarter of the 19th-century has been deeply researched in the past, being part of official programs in Spanish conservatories and other institutions of musical education for more than a century. However, the piano production between the end of the 18th-century and the famous national piano school has remained a largely unexplored territory.
Over recent decades research[1] has been made about all these unknown pianists and composers: Santiago de Masarnau (1805-1882), Juan María Guelbenzu (1819-1886), Eduardo Compta (1835-1892), Manuel Mendizábal (1817-1896), Pedro Tintorer (1814-1891), Joan Baptista Pujol (1835-1898) and Felipe Pedrell (1841-1922). Among them all, there is one that clearly stands out: Pedro Pérez de Albéniz. His enormous significance as the founder of the modern piano school in Spain speaks for itself. Some of his pupils became the most famous pianists in Court at the time and many others occupied distinguished positions in the rest of Spain, America and abroad.
His father was the reference for his music education. Mateo [Antonio] Pérez de Albéniz (b. Logroño, 1765;[2] d. San Sebastián, 1831) was mainly renowned as a composer and a teacher. He was an excellent organist, who developed his musical career in the traditional way, as a chapel master. He worked in Logroño as an organist and chapel master at the church of Santa María La Redonda in two different moments of his life: during 1788 and 1789, after marrying Clara Basanta Zumalacárregui (Pedro and María Luisa’s mother) and before the Rosellón´s War (1793-5), which forced them to escape to San Sebastián.
In San Sebastián he worked at the church of Santa María La Matriz until the Peace of Basel with France (1795) forced him to go back to his hometown. After a short period in Logroño, he went back to San Sebastián, where he stayed with his family until the end of his life. There he worked as a teacher at the church of Santa María until he had to resign because of his poor health. During the last period of his life, he was involved in the recruitment of organists for different positions in San Sebastian.
At the end of the Trienio Liberal, he had to escape to Zarauz due to the invasion of the Hundred Thousand Sons of Saint Louis. Finally, he died in 1831.
His son always emphasized the importance of his father and his musical ideas within the Spanish 18th century as we can see in the quote from the monograph written by Sonia Albéniz and Gonzalo Porras, referring to results of his father´s method:
“I have seen people with no previous knowledge of music reading the most difficult works perfectly at first sight after being taught for six or eight months”.[3]
All this gratitude and admiration towards his father as a musical figure can be seen in a letter addressed to the director of the Conservatory of Music and Declamation “Maria Cristina” in Madrid, Francesco Piermarini.[4] Pedro Albéniz was a member of the school teaching staff at that moment:
"With my most complete satisfaction I bring to V. hands, by request of my beloved and venerated father, a model of his work, called Instrucción metódica, especulativa y práctica, para enseñar y aprender la música [Methodical, speculative and practical instruction to teach and learn music], which he published in 1802, and it was reprinted last year (1929)) with some additions, like a treatise on small vocalization arranged by me. The singular benefit that my Father made to Spain with this work has been acknowledged by the most renowned chapel masters of the whole Kingdom, which has provided him with a fair and gratifying reputation […]".[5]
.
As we can see in his letter, he had published a method on the way of teaching and learning the basic music theory. As a composer, he produced a considerable amount of religious works: nine masses, two Requiem masses, a song rosary, ten villancicos, vísperas, motets, and one Paso a cuatro. We can also find keyboard sonatas in his catalog, although only one was published. [6]
Pedro [Telmo] Pérez de Albéniz (b. Logroño, 1795; d. Madrid, 1855) was born in Logroño, where he started to learn music with his father. In 1805 the whole family moved to San Sebastian. There he started his professional career when he was only 10 years old since he was appointed organist at San Vicente´s Chapel by the city hall, always under the supervision of his father. When he was 13 years old, he applied for the position of organist at Bilbao´s Cathedral but it was Aguirre who got the job. Due to this, he decided to study composition with Maestro Aguirre in Bilbao. [7] His first works, all of the religious music, are the result of those years: Lamentaciones a tres del Jueves Santo, Miserere a cuatro and Tres lamentaciones a tres del Jueves Santo.
He got married to Ángela de Ameztoy Portugasty on September 27th, 1815. Around 1825-26 he was granted a scholarship by the city hall to continue his education in Paris and thus he became one of the first pianists[8]of the century to go abroad. Both Santiago Masarnau and Pérez de Albéniz were the forefathers of the following generations.[9] Most of the information that we have relates his four short trips to Paris between 1825 and 1829 but we are only certain about two of them. However, there is no question he immersed himself in the French musical world, which was new for him and more active. There he became acquainted with the newest trends and innovations concerning the romantic piano. He studied mainly with Henri Herz[10] and also with Frederick Kalkbrenner[11]. He also met some of the most representative musical figures of the time, such as Giacomo Rossini, with whom he kept a fruitful friendship[12].
After a short stay of two years (1826-8), he went back to Spain, where he was received with honors. The same year of his arrival he was appointed composer and conductor of the music for the Royal Reception celebrated in San Sebastián. He composed a Hymn for orchestra and choir, Salve Fernando, venidbuen hora, one March for the King and the Queen, Arcadiaco Arzayac, the contradanzas bailadas, and a zortzico, Adorado Fernando. The musical reception was a great success, leaving a great impression on the Royal Family, which originated a relationship that lasted until his death.
During his second trip to Paris, several sources referred to a meeting with François Joseph Fétis (1784-1871).[13] He was interested in their discussion about a practical way of teaching piano, but he was forced to come back due to his parents´ illness and his work at the Church of Santa María in San Sebastian, where he was appointed as Chapelmaster in July 1827, replacing his father.
1830 was a significant year in his life. He offered four performances at Santa Catalina Hall in Madrid, together with Pedro Escudero[14], one of the most remarkable violinists of the time. They had great success with the audience and critics.
This popularity brought about an invitation to play at the Royal Palace in Aranjuez, an event that posed a turning point in their professional careers. After performing at the Royal House, both became teachers at the newly opened Conservatorio de Música y Declamación “María Cristina” in Madrid [Conservatory of Music and Declamation “Maria Cristina”]. Pedro Albéniz would visit the Royal Palace in Aranjuez several times during his life, considering it an inspiring place for some of his compositions: the Waltz-Capriccio Los Jardines de Aranjuez [The gardens of Aranjuez] and the Nocturne La Isla de la Cascada de Aranjuez [The Island of Aranjuez´s Waterfall].
During this period we find the beginning of Albéniz´s relationship with the Royal Family. Soon after the concert at the Royal Palace in Aranjuez, Queen María Cristina, who was the regent at the time, started to get advice from Pedro in order to explore the possibility of setting up a Conservatory in the city. His friendship with Rossini and Fétis had granted him a considerable reputation. He was officially appointed as Piano and Accompaniment Teacher on June 17th, 1830.
Quite well esteemed among the teaching staff at the Conservatory, he was informed by the director about different delays on the opening of the school. He stayed in San Sebastián for several months mainly because of health reasons but also because he wanted to make sure the conservatory worked regularly before leaving his steady job. After missing the students’ reception, and at the request of the director, he helped with the inauguration and with the staff´s selection process (violoncello and trombone teachers). Years later, he also became the first archivist of the Conservatory´s library, which is the reason why he apparently had to travel once more to Paris[15]to get printed works for the Royal Library at the Royal Palace and the Conservatory´s library.
On October 16th, 1834 he was officially appointed First Organist of the Royal Chapel, a vacancy he had applied for months before[16]. Gemma Salas[17] defends the idea that the adverse political and economic situation in Spain due to the Guerras Carlistas [Civil War] made Albéniz apply for the organist position, working at the same time for the Royal Family and the Conservatory. On May 31st, 1837 he was officially named Royal Pianist of the Court and on May 18th, 1840 the Director´s Board of the Royal Conservatory in Madrid Albéniz ’s method was selected as the textbook for the piano class.
From 1840 on, his health worsened and during summer he would ask for permission to take thermal baths in Guipúzcoa. This situation lenghtened seriously, going from 40 days up to 3 months.
His pedagogical activity became more and more important at the Conservatory and reached the top when he was appointed as piano teacher of Queen Isabel II and her sister María Luisa Fernanda. At the same time, out of the Royal context, he got several distinctions. He was already a figure within the musical world of the capital. He was distinguished as a master of music and honorary partner at the Academia Filarmónica Matritense [Madrid Philharmonic Academy][18]and also the second vice-president of the Director´s Board at the Liceo Artístico y Literario [Artistic and Literary Lyceum] in Madrid[19]. 1843 was a year of recognition and prizes for him. Examples of this are the Knight's Cross of the Royal Order of Elisabeth “The Catholic” awarded by the Provisional Government because of his artist merits and the Cross of The Royal and Distinguished Spanish Order of Charles III.
During his last years, he asked the Queen to print all his music for pedagogical purposes:
"The number of works, madam, exceeds the 70, and the publication of those that have pleased Your Majesty most would be of interest to you not only to show your Majesty’s deep knowledge of such a difficult and charming art but also because it is all the work you have been able to devote to me kindly with admirable dedication and diligence. Another remarkable advantage will be that the youth can take advantage of all these works that V. M has honored me by adopting them for your own study, and that, instead of being annoying, they will bring great benefits to the art of playing the piano, since they follow all the steps a method should have”. [20]
The request was approved on May 20th but not executed because of money issues. His works can be partially found in the National Library and the library of the Royal Palace in Madrid, and the library of Cabildo in Las Palmas.
The relationship with the Royal Family became closer and closer during the last years of his life. The Queen agreed to be a maid of honor at the wedding of his daughter, Ángela, to José María Gorostidi on December 2nd, 1848. A year and a half later he became secretary of the Queen , on February 26th, 1850.
He died in 1855 being one of the key figures in the development and consolidation of Romanticism and the Spanish piano school during the 19thcentury.
[1]Mostly carried out by Ana Benavides and Gemma Salas, who have compiled the life and work of several of the representatives of the Romantic Spanish piano.
[2] According to Ángel Gorostidi he was born in 1765 not in 1755, as it was usually assumed. It can be found in:
Sonia Albéniz y Menéndez del Tronco and Gonzalo de Porras. Dos riojanos en la música de los siglos XVIII y XIX: Mateo y Pedro Albéniz. Logroño, Ed. Ac. Mundial de Ciencias, Tecnología y Formación profesional, 1999.P. 13.
[3] Sonia Albéniz y Menéndez del Tronco and Gonzalo de Porras. Dos riojanos en la música de los siglos XVIII y XIX: Mateo y Pedro Albéniz. Logroño, Ed. Ac. Mundial de Ciencias, Tecnología y Formación profesional, 1999. P. 12.
[4]Francesco Piermarini (c.1790-1860). Italian composer, tenor, first director and singing teacher of the Conservatorio de Música y Declamación “María Cristina” in Madrid between 1830 and 1842. Afterward, he traveled to Paris where he set up a Singing school. He published a method called Cours du chant (Milán, 1865) and wrote the opera El Viejo y la montaña.
[5]Letter from Pedro Albéniz to Piermarini, director of the Conservatory of Music and Declamation “María Cristina” in Madrid, dated on June 22th,1830.
[6] The Sonata in D major, his only keyboard work published, was shed to light by Joaquín Nin in 1925. The importance of Nin´s labor can be understood when reading:
Sonia Gonzalo Delgado. ¿Un nuevo repertorio? La inclusión de los clavecinistas ibéricos del siglo XVIII en la actividad concertística española. La figura de Joaquín Nin. Revista de musicología. Vol. 39, no. 1. P. 173-209
It is precisely in this source where we find a short but detailed comment on this:
Joaquín Nin (1879-1949) performed the Sonata in D major by Mateo Albéniz in a concert, with the violinist Jeanne Gautier (1898-1974) on 27 May 1921 at the Music Society in Madrid. This work, considered by Salazar [famous Spanish musicologist] as “elementary in every aspect”, had already been premiered in Paris (La Salla de la Societé de Géographie, on 12 May 1932) and published by Nin together with Sonatas by Soler in the first book of Clasiques espagnols du piano in 1925. It became one of the most popular 18th-century Spanish works during the first half of the 20th century. Although according to Nin, Spanish Keyboard production from the 18th-century was “uneven, sporadic and limited” and it couldn’t compare to the French, German or Italian ones, it shouldn’t be ignored. Thus, it is clear the impact of Classiques espagnols du piano as one of the starting points of the historical concerts in Spain during the 1920s and 1930s.
[7]Mr. Aguirre. We have no further information about him but he is quoted as Pedro´s composition teacher in Gemma Salas and Sonia Gonzalo´s researches. We know is the same person who got the appointment at the Cathedral of Bilbao.
[8]Together with Santiago de Masarnau, they are the first two pianists we have found documentation about several trips to Paris for educational purposes. His musical growth during the years in the 19th-century France has influence, on his return to Spain, in the musical panorama of the Spanish piano: the musical ideas they defend, the artistic activity they developed (teaching, composition, performance and, in the case of Masarnau, also musical criticism). His education abroad supposes a turning point and an absolute reference for the later generations.
[9] All of them studied in Paris at some points of their lives: Compta, Tintorer, Pujol, Tragó, Mendizábal, Albéniz, Granados and Falla, among others.
[10]Henri Herz (1803-1888). He was born in Vienna and, just like Pedro, was the son of a musician who had taught him his first lessons. After a few years studying with the organist Franz Hünten, young Heinrich entered the Paris Conservatoire. During his first year, he won the first prize in piano performance. While studying there his teachers were Louis Pradère, Anton Reicha, and Victor Dourlen. He stayed in Paris for the rest of his life, where he developed a hugely successful career as a pianist, composer, teacher, inventor and piano manufacturer. He also wrote a piano method (Méthode complete de Piano, op. 100) that can be found in French and German.
[11]Friederick Kalkbrenner (1785-1849) was also a former student at Paris Conservatoire between 1799 and 1801 but he continued his education in Vienna with Johann Georg Albrechtsberger and Joseph Haydn during 1803 and 1804. He began his career as a pianist in London and went back to Paris in 1824. During the decade of 1825 and 1835, he was one of the most famous pianists in England and France but it would be later eclipsed by the new generation of pianists represented by Franz Liszt, Fréderic Chopin or Sigismond Thalberg. He is also known as the inventor of the guidemains and he also wrote a method (Pianoforte-Schule, op. 108: Paris, 1837 and reprinted in 1841) that can be found in French, German and Japanese.
[12] We know the relationship with Rossini lasted in time. He was occasionally his correpetiteur during his operas in Paris. Rossini visited the Conservatory years later because of him and Federico Piermarini. Information about this visit can be found in:
Archivo del RCM. Memoria de las disposiciones dadas por la Dirección para el régimen interior del RCM (1831). Año I. R.O. del 15 de febrero de 1831. Libro de Órdenes Generales. Registro de Entrada y Salida (1830-2). Correspondenzad´officio, Li 17 Guglio 1830”. [Archive of the Royal Conservatoire, Letters from July 1830. Memories of the orders given by the Direction of the Conservatory for the internal regime of the RCM (1831). Year one. R. O. 15 February 1831. Book of General orders, register of entrance and exit (1830-2), Official correspondence. July 17th, 1830].
[13]Gemma Salas Villar “Aproximación a la enseñanza para piano a través de la cátedra de Pedro Albéniz en el Real Conservatorio de Madrid”. Revista de musicología, vol. 22, nº 1, pages 209-246. Madrid, 1999. P. 22.
[14]Pedro Escudero (1791-1844). He began his studies in Valladolid. After having been listened by a member of the French Army, he traveled to France where started his career as a .great violinist. After his success in Madrid, he was appointed First Chair of the Violin class at the Conservatory of Music and Declamation of Madrid. However, he would only stay there for 3 years since he didn’t consider it to be the right position for the development of his career. He traveled and offered recitals as a soloist in Moscú and San Petersburgo, among other places.
[15] This subject is not so clear. Gemma Salas, one of the best researchers on Pedro Albéniz, says this never happened:
Gemma Salas Villar “Aproximación a la enseñanza para piano a través de la cátedra de Pedro Albéniz en el Real Conservatorio de Madrid”. Revista de musicología, vol. 22, nº 1, pages 209-246. Madrid, 1999. P. 8.
In fact, according to information found in the Archive of the Royal Conservatory, Piermarini asked the Queen on 1831 January 30th about getting a collection of printed music from Ricord ´s lithographic store in Milán, that will serve as a model to be reprinted in Madrid. It seems that the scores came from Italy.
Ordenes Generales (1830-8), nº 943, 30-I-1831: Archivo del Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid [General orders (1830-8), Archive of the Royal Conservatoire].
In addition, according to the same Source, it was already the first year when the Conservatory submitted a project to create a chalcographic establishment in the school in order to replace the foreign trade:
Órdenes Generales (1830-8), nº 830. 15-IX-1831: Archivo del Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid [General orders (1830-8), Archive of the Royal Conservatoire].
[16]Exactly on June 15th in a temporary way, starting his functions on the 22nd. It was on September 25th when he asked for a definitive job, getting the approval in the Real Orden del 26 de Octubre de 1834[Royal Order of October 26th, 1834] and getting a salary of 18000 reales [around 4000 euros] but cutting it down to 14000 one year later in order to standardize the employees incomes.
[17]Casares Rodicio, Emilio; Salas Villar, Gemma (1999). “Pérez de Albéniz, Pedro”. Diccionario de la música española e hispanoamericana. Vol. 8. Madrid, Spain: SGAE e INAEM. P. 635.
[18] February 2nd 1841.
[19] January 3rd 1838.
[20] May 13th, 1848. Request from Pedro Albéniz to Queen Isabel II.
Mateo Pérez de Albéniz. Instrucción metódica, especulativa y práctica, para enseñar y aprender la música [Methodical, speculative and practical instruction to teach and learn music] (1801)
PERFORMANCE
Pedro Albéniz´s performance life is under-documented. The little information found about it comes from musical magazines and newspapers from the time. By reading these reviews we understand better the relevance of national artists at that time. Here is an example of what critics commented about his first concert together with Pedro Escudero at Santa Catalina Hall:
"[…]. During the day the tickets were ripped out of hands. The hall was full. The elite of the capital´s society was there, and to honor the noble Spanish pride the performers’ names in this music-loving soirée didn’t need to be foreigners, nor to end up in, -ini, -grif or-graf. Mr. Albéniz, I believe, is from Vizcaya, and Mr. Escudero from Valladolid. Even though they are not as mellifluous as most of the many others that shine in the musician´s empire, these surnames stand out worthily among the distinguished artistic reputations. The men from ancient Castile and from rough Cantabria can compare to the academics from Bolonia.
It is difficult to find perfection entirely in one place. No matter where you listen to music, theatres, private halls etc., you will always discover imperfection even in great pieces of art. This prevents us from experiencing complete pleasure.
This evening has produced the opposite effect: the public´s expectation and wishes were lower than the result. It has contributed to prove that music is one of the most beautiful arts; the senses have enjoyed a waterfall of delights; and the concert seemed short to all the audience, which is not the usual feeling.
Mr. Escudero has shown extraordinary abilities: the sounds he brings to his instrument are delicious, his execution pure and entirely exempt of certain doubtful notes. [which darken sometimes those of the most skillful musicians…] The theme he played, although difficult, was performed with delicate brilliance and achieved extremely enthusiastic results. His bow is brave and wise but his performance does not miss the grace joining his artistic ease. The audience asked spontaneously to repeat the variations and the complacency of the artist at this point was the conclusion of that successful soirée.
Mr. Albéniz´s pianistic achievement is equally extraordinary. His performance is energetic and pure, his taste is exquisite, which reflects complete mastery. He also shows a delightful procedure together with a deep knowledge of phrasing, unknown quality for most of the best modern pianists. Both of them received resounding applause. To conclude they performed together the Duo Concertante composed by the famous Herz and Lafond, getting the last round of applause of the night".[21]
It is remarkable how important the national artist seemed to be. Spain was not a musically or culturally advanced country, so probably most of the artists that were performing at that time were born abroad. The Spanish conception showed until those years an inferiority complex probably determined by the creative process of the last decades. However, after the Civil War, the patriotic and national feeling rose and that was also reflected in music through the spread of Spanish culture and the exaltation of the Spanish musicians, who will dominate the musical scene in the 19th-century Spain.
In addition, it is especially interesting the way the critic described Albéniz playing with “delightful procedure” and “deep knowledge of phrasing”. He appeared to be someone who had a remarkable technical ability and showed exhaustive attention to phrasing and structure.
About the second concert:
"It was brighter and even better than the first one. The audience was numerous and brilliant, among them, you could find foreign ministers and people of the social elite [...] Our two artists confirmed the excellent opinion they had already won. They produced so much excitement in the audience again that they had to repeat the entire violin and piano concerto they had performed together [...] Rossini, Carnicer and Mercadante were the composers of the main pieces that were sung. The violin solo from Beriot was performed by Escudero and the piano quartet from Herz was played by Mr. Albéniz.
I said in my first article that these Spanish teachers have made themselves known in Europe. I will add today, that Mr. Escudero has had the honor of playing in the presence of the King and Royal Family and in other courts; and Mr. Albéniz has been so distinguished by the famous Rossini, that in many concerts he gave him the piano, and he even confided to him the rehearsals of his operas on different occasions."[22]
From this second critic, we have an even clearer idea of the audience and the repertoire played during the 1830s in Spain. Concerts like these were rather common and they always gathered the social elite, who had the money and power, and therefore the access to culture and probably better education. If we also take a look at the repertoire, we find essentially Spanish and French music, something that may seem logical due to the background of the musicians. Furthermore, this also matches the influences found in Albéniz´s works: Spanish folklore, opera and the French virtuoso style from the first half of the 19th century.
About the third concert we can only add a few lines about the audience:
"The third academy [...] gathered together an outstanding and larger audience than the previous ones."[23]
And the first part of the program performed:
"The first part was made up of a great French Moses' chorus by Rossini, some variations of Herz for piano, performed by Mr. Albéniz, a duo of Meyerbeer by Mrs. Lorenzani and Piermarini and a cavatina by the Barber of Seville and a fantasy."[24]
It does not give us further information about the repertoire except for the trend we already knew existed in Italian opera. However, it does show that the usual performers in the music circles seem to be the new teachers of the recently-set Conservatory: Escudero, Albéniz and Piermarini.
[21] Performance together with D. Pedro Escudero (violin) on March 29th, 1830 at Santa Catalina Hall. Critic found in El Correo: Madrid, March 31st, 1830, nº 269, p. 2.
[22]Critique of the 2nd concert offered at Santa Catalina Hall, found in El Correo: Madrid, March 31st, 1830, nº 269, p. 2.
[23]Commentary on the 3rd concert offered at Santa Catalina Hall, found in El Correo: Madrid, April 5th, 1830, nº 272, p. 2.
[24]Commentary on the 3rd concert offered at Santa Catalina Hall, found in El Correo: Madrid, April 5th, 1830, nº 272, p. 2.
PEDAGOGY
The musical education landscape in Spain during the end of the 18th century was quite hopeless: there was no cultural support from the monarchy and, of course, no institution dedicated to the musical education (excluding the Royal Seminar for Nobility in Madrid, founded in 1799). It is for this reason that Pedro Albéniz´ and Santiago de Masarnau´s period in Paris is so important. In the context of the Spanish piano, their knowledge and ability to develop the new ideas within the school was essential in later years. They were the clear point of departure for the great success of the school at the end of the century.
Pedro Albéniz is considered the father of the modern piano school in Spain. Starting from his position as the first chair of the piano class at the first conservatory created in Spain, he felt the duty to systematize a new piano school that comprehended all the advances on the instrument, the technique and the performance, studying not only the past but also the great fortepianists and pedagogues of the time (Adam, Clementi, Cramer, Dussek, Herz, Hummel, Kalkbrenner or Moscheles) and updating himself with the last tendencies found during his trips to Paris.
He synthesized and wrote down these ideas in a method called Método completo para piano del Conservatorio de Música, published in 1840 by Carrafa and Lodre. It was approved to be the textbook of the piano class on May 18th, 1840 by the Director´s Board.
“When V. M. honored me with such high confidence to conduct your piano studies, as well as those of your sister, the Serene Highness the Infanta, I thought my first duty was to dedicate myself to elaborate a method which, besides containing solid teaching basis, gathered the doctrines of the Masters in this field, accompanied by many exercises which are indispensable today to reach perfection in this art.
It was tough labor compared to my weak forces. However, my keen desire to offer your Majesty the best service made me add some work that I had already prepared for the Conservatory. Determined to do it, no matter the immense pecuniary sacrifice, I gratefully achieved my wishes, directed to the best fulfillment of my mission. The appreciation that HM dispensed to the fruit of my work and insomnia by accepting my textbook in the teaching of HM and HRH filled my heart with joy. The immediate approval that my work has deserved among teachers and the audience, together with the successful result that its application is having in the numerous disciples of the Conservatory, has exceeded all my hopes. Encouraged by such flattering writing, I only have to beg HM’ usual benevolence in the honor that You have had when accepting my test in the different branches of education to which HM has dedicated Yourself, being Your most humble Piano Master eternally thankful. Mrs. A. L. R. P. of S. M. Pedro Albéniz ".[25]
Thus, the origin of his method´s elaboration was his new appointment as piano teacher of the Royal Family. He felt the need to systematize an instruction on piano learning that was based on the exhaustive research of the best teachers and pianists in Europe. The practical results and the critics were favorable, receiving high compliments from great artists such as Thalberg[26], Goria[27] or Miró[28] among others. For example, Thalberg wrote:
"I have carefully examined the piano method that you have published and I honestly think you have done a service to those who want to dedicate themselves to the study of the instrument. Your method brings together all the good circumstances that are demanded: the great advantage of having less volume but being as efficient as the great elemental works, and in addition, adapting its price to the needs of the most limited. I congratulate you, both in my name and that of all the artists, hoping that this excellent work will find all the good reception and success it deserves (...) ". [29]
Critique found in La Iberia Musical y Literaria by Joaquín Espín y Guillén[30]:
"[…] If the columns of our newspapers allowed it, we would have extended [...] longer to demonstrate the great advantages that bring to young people, to have some insight on a method that guides them correctly into the true path of advances made in piano studies during last years. Under this assumption, we recommend it [the method] to teachers and disciples, because neither one or the other will regret neither one nor all the one by one useful observation that comprehends the piano method of Mr. Albéniz: In addition, the reasonable price of the work (twenty-five “reales” each volume), facilitates its acquisition to all kinds of people, even the most disadvantaged. We will conclude our review or critical article, congratulating the industrious and tireless Albéniz, for his useful and successful work; having reached a lot for the Spanish youth dedicated to the piano study. We cheered for his protector. We wish their colleges at the Conservatory would imitate such a noble example. He is the only one among the artists and knowledgeable teachers manifesting to the public opinion some interest in the progress of the diligent youth to whom they are obliged to lead through a safe and successful path! "
Conservatorio de Música y Declamación “María Cristina” de Madrid [Conservatory of Music and Declamation in Madrid]
It was founded by Maria Cristina de Borbón, who was married to Fernando VII and a confessed music lover. It was the first official music institution in Spain and, according to Gemma Salas[31], imitation of the existing one in Napoli. It opened on April 2nd, 1831 and it was named after her: Conservatory of Music and Declamation “María Cristina” in Madrid.
Since the inauguration of the school on 1831 April 2nd, Pedro was a staff member with some privileges. Together with Ramón Carnicer [32], he was the only one authorized to take over the director´s functions in case of temporary absence. In addition, he had the duty of composing instrumental and vocal music[33]for different venues and he was part of the Direction board, together with Mingolla de Morales, Piermarini, Carnicer and Escudero, taking charge of school methodology, processing staff applications, making reports about the last new works,[34]and awarding of prizes.
His class was the largest in the school with 47 students. Among them, we can find Ángela Albéniz[35], Narciso Téllez, Mariano Martín, José Lacabra and Josefa Jardín.
As already mentioned, he was a piano and accompaniment teacher. He had the duty to compose works for the school and, in fact, most of his class program was composed by him. For example, taking a look into 1831´s program we see: 150 piano exercises, Duo for two pianofortes, Pianoforte variations on a theme of Il Crociato by Meyerbeer, Rondo for two pianofortes, Rondo for five pianofortes[36], March on an original theme with variations and ending for five pianos and Rondino with variations for four pianos with accompaniment by Albéniz, composed by Carnicer.[37]
Furthermore, during the piano exams, we can observe a more varied kind of repertoire, very much in the fashion of the time: works for pianoforte solo, for several pianos, and chamber music. Some examples of it are: Capricho brillante by Czerny, Polaca by Pixis, Capricho for flute and fortepiano by Rossini, Rondó Brillante by Herz, Rondó by Herz, Polaca brillante by Albéniz, Variaciones brillantes by Albéniz, Polaca Brillante by Moscheles, Polaca brillante by Mayseder, Capricho brillante by Rossini, Rondó by Rossini, Bianca é Faliero´s Overture by Rossini, Rondó by Maestro Mazzinghi, Variaciones a cuatro manos de Latour [four handed], Variaciones a cuatro manos by Meyerbeer [four hands], Variaciones de Czerny, Marcha del Sitio de Corintio, arranged for piano by Herz, Variaciones a cuatro manos by Czerny or Variaciones de bravura by Herz.
As we can see, it is essentially music by Czerny, Rossini and, above all, Herz. Also Dussek, Pixis, Moscheles, and Meyerbeer among others. The most cultivated genres are the ones in fashion at the time in Paris: caprice, pollaca, rondo and variations, two or four-handed, all with titles that are usually accompanied by an adjective that describes perfectly the intention of the piece such as brillante [brilliant], bravura [virtuoso].
Albéniz taught the most distinguished pianists from the second half of the 19th-century. During his first stage teaching at the school, a few relevant names can be summarized, such as José Golfín[38], Antonio Aguado, Manuel de Mendizábal,[39]and Pedro Tintorer[40], who later developed their professional careers in Madrid and Barcelona. Antonio Aguado replaced Albéniz temporarily between 1842 and 1843, working as a teacher of basic music theory, piano and accompaniment in the school, and Manuel Mendizábal replaced Albéniz several times from 1844 because of illness.
During his last period at school, we find several remarkable students: Miguel Mata, Luis Masferrer, Antonio Sos, Pascual Galiana, Antonio Llanos, Manuel Fernández Grajal, Tomás Fernández Grajal and Nicolás and Eduardo Compta.[41]
On February 24th, 1824, Queen Isabel II granted his retirement. Manuel de Mendizábal and José Miró[42]took over his job. Especially interesting is Mendizábal´s direct link with Isaac Albéniz[43] and José Trago y Arana[44], teacher of Manuel de Falla.
Albéniz´s pedagogical ideas
His Método Completo para el Conservatorio de Música was first published in 1840. At the beginning of 1843, the second and third books were also made public. It was edited three times by Carrafa and Lodre, Martín Salazar and Antonio Romero respectively. Despite being a widespread and even an implicitly mandatory practice to write a document explaining his work methodology, the work certainly contained a completely different approach. Until the 1830s, organists and chapel masters were in charge of keyboard education in Spain, including pianoforte (i. e.: Mateo Pérez de Albéniz, José Nono, José de Sobejano y Ayala, López Remacha, and Mathias Lampruker). Many of them wrote methods for the keyboard which are influenced by organ and harpsichord tradition. All these methods contain mostly basic music theory and are examples of elementary musical education.
When Pedro Albéniz started thinking about writing a method, he had already been teaching for 30 years. Following Fétis` guidelines, he analyzed the most important methods and most remarkable production of the great fortepianists in Europe: Herz, Clementi, Cramer, Dussek, Adam, Hummel, Kalkbrenner, and Moscheles. Among all these names, Herz stands out; evidence of this in his method´s introduction. He puts together the last tendencies, updating the school of fingerings with clear influences from the pianism found in 19th-century France. It is occasionally compared to methods such as those from Czerny, Clementi, Hummel, Fetis-Moscheles and Adam. The truth is that the work does not play such an important role in the pedagogical literature of the instrument, but rather does so within the Spanish context. There, it was surely the most important method elaborated in the country to-date and it is probably the most significant of the century.
It is a three-part compendium of theoretical and practical knowledge on how to perform the Early Romantic Pianoforte literature. It gradually presents the main difficulties of piano learning. The first book is focused on position exercises, agility, and strength. The second one contains an extensive work of basic technical elements and the education on expression. Finally, the third one comprehends an evolution towardslarger known difficulties of expressive performance.
The main idea of his technical approach, the independent work of the fingers from the arm´s weight, can be found already in the introduction:
"Already in this position, which must be, above all, completely calm and sustained without any kind of stiffness or violence, fingers should be moved with the greatest softness and always perpendicular to the keyboard. The movement of each one of the fingers must be completely independent of the others, that is, when one finger is put into action, none of the others should move. [...] Finally, the pulsation or way of striking must be executed by all the fingers with a relatively equal degree of force, by lowering the key when possible: otherwise, no amount of sound can be obtained. The sound resulting from this pulsation must be sweet and loud enough without being weak, full and energetic without being hard or unpleasant. The force that is used to obtain the sound must be regulated so that it has its origin, mainly, not of the material effort, but of the complete independence of the fingers; that without stepping up any muscular tension from the arm, allowing those to be agitated and leaving the latter with a calculated abandonment".[45]
This approach fits very much with the tools he also defends in the method: the dactylion, the guide-mains, and other tools commercialized at the time, were used to teach the pianist to use only the hand and the fingers when playing, excluding the use of the forearm and arm from the process, which had to remain immobile, and totally out of performance. On the contrary, the “English School”, represented by the figure of Muzio Clementi in London at the end of the 18th century, had already shown certain mobility in the wrist, hands, fingers and even the arms. All this freedom translated to richness in dynamics and the legato in the execution, possibly achieved with the application of the weight and the mobility of the arm, even though its participation was done intuitively.
Fingering must be free with certain rules:
- Be uniform and coherent in scales, avoiding thumbs and little fingers in black keys.
- Use finger substitution as fingering for polyphonic works: 4-3, 5-4.
After a little explanation on all types of pedals - he only elaborates on two: the right pedal and the una corda. The use of the right pedal is specified for chord and arpeggio writing, passages within the same harmony, cadences, and higher register of the keyboard. In his words, una corda pedal “produce sounds of a grabbing expression”.
Other aspects that can be found in this introductory chapter are dynamics and movement, phrasing, when and how should we practice, how to perform in public and how must we choose what to play (depending on the performer, the hall and even the audience).
Linked to this last topic we find an interesting classification of pianists: the virtuoso ones and the expressive ones. The first type should play difficult fantasies and variations, works meant to resemblance the artist´s brilliance; and the second type must play Field or Chopin works. He also leaves room for another two groups, more difficult to differentiate. To them belong more comprehensive pianists who are able to play every style and also those who, after developing a very good technique for the mechanism, are able to interpret cantabile and virtuoso passages with the same control. It is not clearly defined, but it is logical to assume that his method´s goal is to educate comprehensive pianists.
To finish the chapter he recommends young performers to play all kind of repertoire for one, two, or more pianos, four-handed, but also music with other instruments and the attendance and active listening of the most famous instrumentalists (not only pianists) and singers as a way of developing musical taste and artistic sensibility.
During the first volume, he develops practical learning of the keyboard in three stages:
- The acquisition of the right and safe position, flexibility and independence in the movements and equality and strength in the fingers. (exercises no. 1-460).
- The learning of practical knowledge in all the keys. (exercises 461-490).
- An elementary course on expression and musical interpretation. (exercises 491-500).
Types of exercises that can be found are: fixed position (1-100), free position (101-150), a combination of both fixed and free (151-200), double notes in scales and polyphonic textures (201-225) and five-finger exercises (226-400).
The second part of this first volume goes a bit further in terms of studying the mechanism. We find exercises preceded by a prelude in all keys (461-490, with more variety in the musical notation) and themes and variations (where a presentation of basic elements of expression is made):
"The student acquires with these exercises of a first instruction, knowledge on opera pieces and others fashionable at the moment; so that families can quickly enjoy their talent".[46]
As closure for this first book he summarizes a few pieces of advice for teachers: educate in practicing slow without looking at the keyboard, transposing every exercise to all the keys and avoiding the use of the arm.
The beginning of the second book started with a reflection on the adaptation of piano teaching to the development of the instrument in recent years. After that brief essay, the work starts with a progressive course on scales and arpeggios (1- 28) and an intensive course on scales (29-76) and arpeggios (77-214) in all the keys. Also, octaves, thirds, sixths, tenths, opposite moment and chromatic scales are taught. A second round, he specifies, should be the use of metronome, dynamics and more extension (in the case of the arpeggios, the three positions, opposite movement and also seventh chords).
Once basic pianistic designs are finished, it starts the practice of repeated notes (215-228), glissandos (229-238), and grace notes (appoggiaturas, mordents, grupetti, and trills, 239-273), which have a capital role for him in the performance of Italian music:
"We believe we can ensure Italians owe it [the success of their music] not only to the easy and loose movement of their songs but also and even more to the ornaments with which they adorn them with such grace and success"[47]
Afterward, it appears the last essential topic of this book: the ways of playing: picado (accented staccato), staccato (soft-staccato), ligado (legato), and ligado- picado(portato) (274-279). The picado (pronounced/accented staccato), requires the use of the wrist, keeping it flexible but still with the fingers quite active. The staccato (soft-staccato) is played only with the fingers, that should be taken off after playing. Playing legato needs a light accentuation on the first and last notes of a slur.
It is particularly in this part of the book where influences from Herz, Kalkbrenner and also Moscheles can be observed. For example, Kalkbrenner mentioned:
"The way to attack the keys is very varied according to the emotions that are going to express themselves.” [48]
Moreover, Moscheles pedagogical postulates are much more concrete and comprehensive:
"1. In two-part bars, the first note of the strong beat should be accented with decision, and a little bit less the first one of the half of the bar. In three-part bars, only the first one of the strong beat will be accented.
2. Syncopes should be accented following the movement and character of the music performed. It should be played softer on slower tempi and more pronounced in brilliant, fast and fugato movements.
3º The designs that occur under a series of non-interrupted notes should receive a slight accent in the first of each group. This accent suits best to the designs which have a non-scale nature and consists not so much in striking the note with more force, as making it a little longer.
4. If the notes from a concrete design belong to a certain chord and therefore their union cannot produce a bad link effect, they must be linked as much as possible, so that the extension of these sounds increase the beauty of his execution.
5º Rest values must be accurately observed rising the hand from the keyboard as two times the thickness of the black keys during slow movements, a bit more if it is faster and even more it should be played more staccato.
6º Every piece must be performed slowly until the degree of control let you extend it until the grade of speed that is required by the composer.” [49]
The third and last book of this method starts with a reflection about the relationship between the development of the art of playing the piano and the evolution of the instrument from the end of the 18th century until the 1850s. He considers Thalberg and Liszt the new piano leaders and locates himself between two schools, the same as Moscheles.
He addresses to a professional musician in this book, no longer an amateur pianist but an experienced one. With that in mind, the goal is finding an appropriate technique that serves the brilliant and virtuoso style of playing. In order to achieve that purpose, he proposes the practice of double notes (ex. 1-101, looking for dexterity and legato and organized in different rhythmic and intervallic combinations), jumps, great stretches (ex. 123-5), chords and arpeggio chords (e. 134-7) and hands crossing (influence of music by Scarlatti or Soler 138-45).
In contrast with the technical approach presented in the other two books, now he lines up with Hummel, Czerny, Moscheles, and Thalberg to express the necessity of using a little bit of arm weight to play octaves. It is only at that moment when the student is considered to be a professional.
Also now it is time to reflect on the new pianoforte´s possibilities:
“The improvement and range of the pianos nowadays, which embrace the whole scale, offer us the possibility of producing unexplored sounds for our ancestors. Their five-octave pianos, with feeble strings and dry and short sounds, did not have a performer worthy of their inspirations” [50]
This quote is interesting for two reasons. First of all, Pedro Albéniz certainly liked the development of the instruments, something that can be observed in his catalog. He tends to explore the range of the instrument through deep octaves bass notes and long lines of scales located in the high register. Furthermore, at the end of the quote, he seems to insinuate that there were not good performers who played five octaves pianos. He is probably referring to what was happening in Spain if we consider the lack of repertoire and the information we have about performers.
He also presents a more extensive text of his ideas on fingering (Doaté). It is impossible to standardize it but he offers twenty general rules where we can see influences by Hummel[51] and Adam[52]. By this quote we can understand the concept:
“Fingering is the exact, regular and comfortable order with which the fingers must be sequenced in a precise and expressive execution on the piano. The principles on which it is essentially built are easiness and beauty. The easiness means the choice of natural fingering to press the keys º and correctly. The beauty depends on easiness and excludes every movement that it is not sweet, modest and elegant”.[53]
At some point, he presents what it could be translated as “the Great Artist Grade” [Grado de Grande Artista], a compendium of etudes (153-170) where all the difficulties presented in the method come together: speed, octaves, ornaments, arpeggios, melody and accompaniment with the same hand, easiness and relaxation in the wrist with octaves and chord writing, staccato, left hand challenging writing, double notes, independence of the fingers (especially 4th and 5th), jumps, chords, trills, repeated notes, chromatic scales, finger changes and dexterity in execution. This is considered a test after which he considers the student as a graduate. With this in mind, he offers the reader pieces to work on after finishing the method. This is not new, it is again the result of his research, it is something Hummel also did. (Hummel offers two lists, one for beginners and another one for advanced players, where you can find pieces by Pleyel, Wanhall, Dussek, Clementi, Gelinek, Häser, Haydn, Mozart and Haslinger).The study program that Albéniz proposes is:
1º Method
2º Bertini etudes
3º Cramer etudes
4º Clementi and Kalkbrenner etudes
5º Moscheles y Herz etudes
6º Smith, Kessler, Hummel, Field, Czerny, Alkan, Prudent, Ravina etudes
7º Thalberg and Liszt etudes
8º J. S. Bach, Haendel, Albrechtsberger and Cherubini fugues
9º Weber y Beethoven works
*He also suggests playing other instrumental pieces, such as Paganini caprices.
After going through the content of the method, we can conclude that it is an exhaustive research work, done by someone extremely intelligent and analytical who was aware of the deficiencies of piano teaching in Madrid during the first half of the 19th century. The method was a clear guideline for teachers in Spain and South America during the second half of the century. It was the only official method adopted in the conservatory during the first half of the 19th century and certainly the only one that was relatively close to Hummel, Herz and Kalkbrenner´s.
It was not by chance that Spanish pedagogy got a new impulse from 1856 when there was a clear increase in the publication of methods for the instrument: Miró, Aranguren, Román Jimeno, Pedro Tintorer or Unión-Artístico Musical published methods for piano.
[25] Gemma Salas Villar. "Aproximación a la enseñanza de piano a través de la cátedra de Pedro Albéniz en el Conservatorio de Madrid". Revista de musicología vol 22, nº1. 1999. pp. 209-246. P. 20.
[26]Sigismond Thalberg (1812-1871) is considered one of the most important 19th- century virtuosos. He started going on tour when he was very young and he traveled to Brazil and the United States. In his concerts, he mostly played his own compositions. He was often praised by his technique and his legato and he transcended to the history of piano technique due to a concrete texture that can be found in his music: the three hands of Thalberg. It consists of playing the melody in the middle of the keyboard and surrounding it with fast notes. As well as Pedro Albéniz, he composed a considerable number of fantasies based on Opera themes.
[27] Alexandre Goria (1823-1860) studied in the Conservatoire de Paris with Adolphe-Francois Laurent (1796–1867), who taught Jules Massenet, and Pierre-Joseph-Guillaume Zimmerman, teacher of Charles-Valentin Alkan and Cesar Franck. As well as Pedro Albéniz, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of Charles III by the Queen of Spain. He wrote a large number of works and he was especially known by his étude de concert op. 7 and the piano fantasies on theatrical works.
[28] José Miró Añora (1815-1878) was a Spanish composer and pianist. He studied with the organist Eugenio Gómez in Sevilla and Kalkbrenner in Paris. He also was known as a virtuoso and succeeded in critics and audiences in France, Belgium, England, Portugal, Cuba, and Spain. He came back to Spain twice. The first time, in 1842, he offered a concert series in the Academia Filarmónica Matritense and el Liceo. The second time he was named the teacher of the Conservatorio de Madrid. Apart from this, he was director of the Liceo Artístico and Literario in La Habana, published a method (Método completo para piano, Madrid, Salazar) and also several piano works.
[29] Commentary found in Gemma Salas Villar. "Aproximación a la enseñanza de piano a través de la cátedra de Pedro Albéniz en el Conservatorio de Madrid". Revista de musicología vol 22, nº1. 1999. pp. 209-246. P. 21.January 24th, 1848, Madrid.
[30] Joaquín Espín y Guillén (1812-1881) was a Spanish musician considered one of the pioneers of the modern zarzuela. He was choir and orchestra teacher at the Conservatorio de Música y Declamación “María Cristina”. He was also organist of the Royal Chapel and co-founder, together with Mariano Soriano Fuertes, of one of the first Spanish musical magazines, La Iberia Musical y Literaria (1842-1846).
[31] Gemma Salas Villar. "Aproximación a la enseñanza de piano a través de la cátedra de Pedro Albéniz en el Conservatorio de Madrid". Revista de musicología vol 22, nº1. 1999. pp. 209-246. P. 7.January 24th, 1848, Madrid.
[32] Ramón Carnicer (1789-1855) was a Spanish composer and opera conductor. He conducted Italian Opera in Madrid and Barcelona and he composed nine operas, very influenced by zarzuela. In 1830 he became the first teacher of composition at the Conservatorio de Música y Declamación in Madrid and he is best remembered today by the compositions of Chile´s National Anthem.
[33] According to Gemma Salas (Ibid. P. 8)He also arranged music from other composers: four-handed pianoforte variations by Latour, duo for violin and pianoforte on Spanish themes by Bochsa, concertos nº 3, 4 and 5 by Dussek for pianoforte and string quartet.
[34] For example, La gimnasia de los dedos [The gymnastics of the fingers], by Casimiro Martín. The method develops the mechanism of the fingers together with a gadget created by him, similar to the dactilyon or the guidemains.
[35]Ángela Albéniz (1818-1871). His daughter was the only one in the family dedicated to music apart from him. All her music education was under the guidance of his father, graduating as one of the most brilliant students of the first years in the school. She got good marks and awards, becoming a distinguished pianist and acquiring considerable fame in Madrid. Baltasar Saldoni, a recognized musical personality of the time, wrote a few lines about her on his monograph:
“[…] She grew into one of the most distinguished amateur pianists of Madrid in the 1850s. She was also one of those who honored her teacher most and conquered with modesty and kindness the sympathy of those who applaud her as a remarkable pianist and elegant Young lady”
[36] List of the piano students found in Archivo del RCSM. Libro del parte mensual que dan los señores maestros del Real Conservatorio de Música Mª Cristina de la conducta y aplicación de los alumnos de sus respectivas clases. Oficio, 7 de enero de 1831. [Archive of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Madrid. Book of monthly happenings given by the masters of the Royal Conservatory of Music “Mª Cristina” on the behavior and application of the students. Office, January 7th, 1831].
[37] Program of public exams, 1831.
[38] José Golfín. Author of a method called Instrucción y recreo para pianoforte o colección de preludios y piezas, de una dificultad progresiva, para todos los tonos de ambos modos, extractados de las óperas modernas. [Instruction and enjoyment for pianoforte or collection of preludes and pieces, progressively difficult in every key, taken from the modern operas].
[39] Manuel de Mendizábal (1817-1896) was a substituted professor at the Conservatorio de Música y Declamación in Madrid since 1854. He became a life-long member since 1857 and he was one of the impulsors of the new study programs for piano where the goal was integrating the best works of the most important composers. In this context, Mendizábal published the Introducción al Clavecín Bien Temperado de Bach [Introduction to the Well-Tempered Clavier of Bach) in 1879. He was also founding member of the Sociedad Artístico-Musical de Socorros Mutuos [Artistic-Musical Mutual Aid Society] and collaborated as a performer in many of its concerts. As a pianist, he also took part in the Sociedad de Cuartetos (Society of Quartets).
[40] Pedro Tintorer (1814-1891) studied with Ramón Vilanova in Barcelona and Pedro Albéniz and Ramón Carnicer at the Conservatorio de Música y Declamación in Madrid. Later, he completed his studies with Pierre Zimmermann in Paris and he apparently took some advice from Liszt in Lyon.
When he returned to Barcelona in the 1850s, he assumed the piano chair at the Real Liceo, a position he would hold until his death. Precisely in this institution, he devoted himself to composition and piano teaching and setting in place the basic foundations for the future Catalan Piano School. He had a considerable number of renowned students such as Martínez Imbert or Joan Bautista Pujol, the future teacher of Enrique Granados.
[41] Eduardo Compta (1835-1882) studied at the Conservatorio de Música y Declamación in Madrid with Pedro Albéniz and Manuel Mendizábal. In 1856, he traveled to Paris and one year later, headed to Brussels to finish his studies with Marmontel, Dupont, and Fétis. In Europe he received great acclaim as a great pianist, even playing for Napoleon III in 1861. On his return to Spain, in 1865, he was named assistant teacher at the Conservatory in Madrid, where he became a life-long member. An admired pianist and famous for his impeccable technique, he was still more well-known as a teacher of great pianists like Isaac Albéniz, Teobaldo Power and José Tragó. He was a well-respected member of numerous national and international artistic associations and also wrote the Método Completo de Piano (Unión Musical Española, 1873) who brought very positive criticism.
[42]According to the information found in : Archivo del Real Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid. Índice de Reales Ordenanzas y Expedientes Generales desde el 15 de julio de 1830. R. O. 5-X-1854. Leg. 9 nº79. [Archive of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Madrid. Index of Royal Orders and general records from July 15th 1830. R. O. October 5th 1854. Leg. 9, nº 79].
[43]Manuel de Mendizábal was the official and private teacher of Isaac Albéniz while he was in the capital (since 1868).
[44] José Tragó y Arana was official teacher of Manuel de Falla during his stay at the Royal Conservatory.
[45] Pedro Albéniz. Método completo de piano. Book 1. (Madrid, Carrafa, 1840). P. 4.
[46] Pedro Albéniz. Método completo de piano. Book 1. Madrid, Carrafa, 1840. P. 12.
[47] Pedro Albéniz. Método completo de piano. Book 2. Madrid, Carrafa Lodre y, 1842. P. 4
[48] Friedrich Wilhelm Kalkbrenner. Méthode pour apprendre le piano-forte à l´aide du guide-mains, op. 108. París, J. Meissonier Fils, 1830.
[49] François-Joseph Fétis and Ignaz Moscheles. Méthode des Méthodes. París, M. Schlessinger, 1837.
[50] Pedro Albéniz. Método completo de piano. Book 3. Madrid, Carrafa and Lodre, 1842.
[51] Johann Nepomuk Hummel. Curso completo teórico y práctico del arte de tocar el piano-forte. Translation to spanish by Santiago de Masarnau.1833.
[52] Jean Louis Adam. Méthode ou príncipe général du doigté pour le forte-piano. París, Sieberpère, 1798.
[53] Pedro Albéniz. Método completo de piano. Book 3. Madrid, Carrafa and Lodre, 1842.
Pedro Albéniz. Método completo de piano del Conservatorio de música. Primer cuaderno. [Complete method for piano. Book 1 Madrid, Carrafa, 1840]
Pedro Albéniz. Método completo de piano del Conservatorio de música. Tercer cuaderno. [Complete method for piano. Book 3. Madrid, Carrafa and Lodre, 1842].