Enrique Granados

Bio

Enrique Granados (1867–1916) was a Spanish composer and pianist whose works bridged Romanticism and early 20th-century nationalism. Born in Lleida, Catalonia, he studied in Barcelona and later in Paris, absorbing both French and Spanish musical traditions. His piano suite Goyescas (1911) and the opera of the same name remain his best-known creations, drawing inspiration from the paintings of Francisco Goya. Granados also composed numerous songs, chamber works, and zarzuelas that helped establish a distinctly Spanish voice in concert music. He founded the Granados Academy in Barcelona, where he taught until his death. While returning from the New York premiere of his opera in 1916, he perished when a German U-boat torpedoed the ferry Sussex in the English Channel.