About this work: (This 2011 version has been superseded by the 2011 version, 2012 update. Please go to the updated version, which is accompanied by additional information.)
This is an improved version of the 1998 "Hispanic Rhapsody" listed in my Compositions.
It is the fourth in a set of ten piano pieces first posted in the last quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009. This 2011 version has numerous small improvements to the score, the playback, and a few in the music itself. More and better fingering numbers and pedal markings.
"Hispanic Rhapsody" was excerpted from a longer composition, modified to be a stand-alone piece, then improved and reformatted for placement in the set. One of the most complex of the ten, it opens with the robust and beautiful main theme, there being no introductory passage. Proceeding from the beginning to the ending measures, the music is variation and elaboration upon the theme, becoming more and more intense as it approaches the ending, in which new but complementary elements are brought in.
The recording here is that of the computer playback of the score, thus the sound quality is not as good as that of a real piano and the play is rather mechanical. All of the pieces in the set sound significantly better when played well on an acoustic piano – the more complex the piece, the more so.
The indicated duration (2 minutes, 56 seconds) is that of the computer playback.
The titles of the ten pieces are:
1. Mazurka March
2. Ballad
3. First Love, in May
4. Hispanic Rhapsody (Excerpt)
5. Hymn of Consolation
6. Nocturne
7. Spanish Sonatina
8. Variations on a Game
9. Venetian Cadence
10. Rondo Refrain (designed for improvisation between the repeated “refrain” section)
If the pieces are all played on one occasion, I recommend that they be played in the given order.
To help the pianist interpret the pieces, performance recommendations and options are placed in boxes on each of the scores.