Barcelona The Catalan pianist Alicia de Larrocha is now the unchallenged doyenne of Spanish music. At the tender age of three she is said to have regarded the family grand as her big black toy, something to make a noise with and play under. Daughter of a pupil of Enrique Granados, she began piano lessons with Frank Marshall when she was four. Although she was fascinated by the Spanish piano repertoire, her teacher insisted she start with Bach, Mozart, Chopin, Schumann and Liszt.
Spanish music is very , very , very hard.
If you cannot play Bach and Mozart well, you cannot play Spanish music well. She began touring in 1940, first through Spain and the Spanish colonies, then through the rest of Europe after the end of the Second World War. She also made increasingly frequent recordings with great success, winning eleven Grammys and a raft of other awards. Although she has sometimes played up to 100 concerts a season, her playing has never revealed signs of weariness or routine. One cannot help noticing Alicia de Larrocha's slight stature and small hands.