The Spanish composer and pianist Issac Albéniz (1860-1909) played an important part in the creation of a national Spanish music. His most famous work is the piano suite Iberia.

Isaac Albéniz was born in Camprodón, in the province of Gerona, on May 29, 1860. An extraordinarily precocious child, he made his debut as a pianist in Barcelona at the age of four. When he was six his mother took him to Paris, where he took lessons from Antoine Marmontel, professor of piano at the Conservatoire. She tried to have him admitted as a student there, but, although he did brilliantly on his entrance examinations, the jury felt he was too young. On his return to Spain in 1868 he went on a concert tour of Catalonia with his father and was hailed as a child wonder. In 1869 the family moved to Madrid, where Albé...