Goyescas

"Some recordings of Goyescas also add an additional piece, El pelele: scena Goyesca (The puppet: Goya scene), which the composer wrote some years later. Collard does not do so, which is a shame as there would have been room for it, and it makes a good pendant to the main work. However, although for me no one will ever replace de Larrocha in this repertoire - her second Decca recording is now available as a Presto CD - it is good to hear another version, and Collard is fully in command of this music. I hope he goes on to give us his account of Albeniz's Iberia".

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"The powerful audio image accorded to José Menor for this long-playing CD is both its blessing and its curse. A blessing because not a detail escapes such close-up attention; a curse because the illusion of quiet playing can only be suggested in token rather than consummately achieved. If your taste runs to sound that has you at dazzlingly close-quarters with the piano then you are in for a treat ... Make no mistake, there are delights here ... Menor's remains a unique and potently dramatic Goyescas ... Another thing that marks out this disc as of great value is the choice of fillers ... An estimable Goyescas and related outliers but make sure before buying that you are happy with the fearlessly forward sound".

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"Editor's choices - May 2019: The piano suite which provides much of the melodic material may get regular outings, but recordings of Granados's 1916 one-act opera are pretty thin on the ground, and Pons and his Hispanophone cast make a terrific case for it here: the flamenco-infused interludes crackle with dangerous energy, and Nancy Fabiola Herrara is magnificent as the heroine Rosario, particularly in the Act Three 'nightingale' aria which takes her into dramatic soprano territory".

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"Everything comes dramatically together for Perianes in 'El amor y la muerte', the cycle's longest and most substantial piece ... Perianes's inspired way with this movement plus his invigorating El pelele are worth the disc's price, as well as prominent places on one's streaming or download lists".

"In Pérez you have a major interpreter of a unique and richly challenging masterpiece".

"Vurdering: Diapason d'or".

"Besides being a great colourist and technician, Collard is an honest performer, who usually takes Granados's mercurial tempo and expressive directives to heart ... You don't get the fire and internalised poetry ... Collard comes off like a classicist by comparison, and that's perfectly valid ... Other Goyescas recordings include the Goya-inspired 'El pelele' as a bonus. Collard's does not; but it doesn't really matter when you consider this pianist's seasoned mastery".

"Editor's choice: Regarding Granados and Goyescas, José Menor is as much a scholar as a pianist ... For all his erudition, however, Menor's artistry is anything but pedantic. He revels in the music's joyous exuberance and penetrates its dark introspection, embracing the dynamic extremes and contouring the labyrinthine textures to gorgeously three-dimensional effect ... Menor fleshes out the disc with four splendidly played works ... Enthusiastically recommended".

"This performance ... is excellent in every respect. José Antonio López oozes braggadocio as the majo Paquiro ... Fabiola Herrera sounds neither as youthful nor ingenuous as María Bayo ... but her creamy tone suggests regal bearing and her entreaties in the love duet convey considerable ardour ... The tight vibrato in Gustavo Pena's upper register gives his voice an attractive glint and he phrases intelligently, playing effectively with light and shade ... Pons wrings a fair amount of drama from the score ... This is a most enjoyable disc and I have no hesitation in recommending it".

"While Pizarro's Goyescas provides a worthy modern alternative to Larrocha, my alllegiences ermain with Hamelin in Iberia".

"It is difficult not to fall for Pizarro's lyrical grace, the even temperament of his approach and the unfailingly lovely sound he produces (he has been very well recorded), a distinct advantage over de Larrocha".