Iberia, Book III / IV

Iberia, twelve piano "impressions" composed between 1905 and 1908 and published in four books, is the summit of Albeniz's late years and a cornerstone of Spanish piano music. Books III and IV — El Albaicin, El polo, Lavapies, Malaga, Jerez and Eritana — weave flamenco rhythm, guitar-like strumming and Andalusian street noise into piano writing of notorious difficulty. Debussy and Messiaen both admired the collection extravagantly.