Alicia De Larrocha

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If you don't like piano music - it's too loud, too percussive, to clangy, you say - you might want to give the playing of Alicia De Larrocha a try¹.

Alicia's music is quite easy on the ear. Certainly when she practiced she didn't want to disturb her neighbors. In her apartment she made sure she hung plenty of drapes and the floors were well carpeted - including several layers directly under the piano. However, once one neighbor left a note on her door asking her to play louder since they couldn't hear her.

Alicia was born in 1923 into the musical family of Eduardo de Larrocha and Maria Teresa de la Calle. Her aunt was a pianist and taught at the school which had been founded by the composer Enrique Granados and taken over by Frank Marshall when Enrique died in 1916. Alicia showed her talent early and would throw fits when her aunt locked the piano lid down. Seeing Alicia was going to play the piano come infierno o agua alta, they took her to Frank. Her first public recital was when she was six years old, and five years later she was performing with a full orchestra at the Barcelona's Municipal Palace of Fine Arts . She later married pianist Juan Torra (who was her biggest fan) and they had two children.

There has been some controversy about how someone as small as Alicia - she reached 4'7" - could actually play the piano. Her hands were small - "tiny" one commentator said and added she sometimes had to "fake" fingerings that required a stretch. However, the latter comment has been refuted by other scholars who point out that she had a "stretch" of 10 notes - an octave and a third - a respectable span even if it wasn't the gigantic reach of Van Cliburn who said he could span 13 notes (C to A) but could actually play 12 (C to G).

Her hands, although small, had relatively long fingers which were of near equal length. Her thumb and little finger were about the same length as her ring finger. In an interview she did say that as she grew older her span decreased and she pointed out that when she first recorded Enrique Granados's "Goyescas" she played a 10-span but in a later recording she dropped the 10th.

The stretches that gave her the most difficulty were getting her arms - which were quite short - to range from one end of the keyboard to another. She had to sit higher and closer than usual to play the range of the keyboard.

Alicia's schedule was hectic and was managed by Herbert Breslin who had another client named Luciano Pavarotti, whoever he was. The touring certainly had its hazards. A night watchmen once accidentally locked her in the rehearsal studio. In total darkness she finally found a telephone where she called the concert promoter to come let her out. She was once playing a concert in Africa and due to the commercial flight mix up had to charter a small plane. When she landed at the local airport she told the pilot she was going to call her hosts to pick her up. He said that was fine but she should wait inside the phone booth to avoid the lions that tended to come walking by. She waited about twenty minutes before her driver showed up.

Alicia's repertoire was quite extensive, and included not only the regular chaps like Mozart, Liszt, Grieg, Schumann, Chopin, Ravel, Mendelssohn, Stravinsky, Rachmaninov, and Bach, but Spanish composers like Granados, De Falla, Turina, Soler, and of course, Isaac Albeniz. Some classical guitarists express surprise when they find themselves liking Alicia's playing of Suite Espanola as much, if not more, than the guitar transcriptions.

One thing Alicia couldn't stand was music videos. You should listen to the music not watch it.² But in the television age concert videos can't be avoided and her televised concerts were well received by the critics.

Alicia finally decided to retire in 2003 at age 80. After all, after having a job for 75 years it's time to take it easy.

References and Further Reading

"Alicia de Larrocha", Dictionary of World Biography.

"Alicia de Larrocha", Encyclopedia.com.

"At Home With Alicia de Larrocha", Jame Barron, The New York Times, November 23, 1995.

Alicia de Larrocha, aliciadelarrocha.com.

"Alicia De Larrocha", Discogs.