Goyescas

This article is about the piano suite. For the 1916 opera, see Goyescas (opera). For the film, see Goyescas (film).
Goya's painting of "El Pelele" The mannequin or straw dummy.

Goyescas, Op. 11, subtitled Los majos enamorados (The Gallants in Love), is a piano suite written in 1911 by Spanish composer Enrique Granados. It was inspired by the work of the Spanish artist Francisco Goya. The piano pieces have not been authoritatively associated with any particular paintings with two exceptions:

  • El amor y la muerte (Love and death) shares its title with one of Goya's prints from the series called Los caprichos
  • El pelele (The straw man) is one of Goya's paintings.
Goya's painting of 1777 known as El Paseo de Andalucía or La Maja y los embozados.[1]

This piano suite is usually considered Granados's crowning creation. It forms part of the standard Romantic piano repertoire and is sometimes recorded by pianists who are not particularly associated with Spanish music as well as being a major staple of the repertoire of those who have specialized in Spanish repertoire. It is often considered to be one of the two crown-jewels in Spanish piano repertoire along with the Iberia Suite of Isaac Albeniz.

  1. ^ "An avenue in Andalusia or the Maja and the cloaked men". Prado Museum.