Classical Music Playlist, July 27, 2026
Enrique Granados (1867-1916) in 1914
Spanish composer Enrique Granados (1867-1916) is probably best-known for "Goyescas," a suite of six piano pieces inspired by the paintings of Francisco Goya. Difficult to perform, the pieces require insight and subtlety as well as power and they form part of the standard Romantic piano repertoire. Using his melodies from the piano suite, Granados later composed a one-act opera, also called Goyescas. And Mexican songwriter Consuelo Velázquez based her 1940 song Bésame Mucho on a melody in the fourth movement, "Quejas, o la Maja y el Ruiseñor."
The entire piano suite of “Goyescas,” performed by Spanish pianist Alicia de Larrocha, is today’s Midday Masterpiece.
