PIANIST FEDERICO MOMPOU was born in Barcelona, Spain, in 1893. Because of his basic shyness and reserved nature, he didn’t perform publicly. Instead, he found his true destiny: composition. His music, though totally unique, is somewhat reminiscent of Erik Satie and has some shades of Debussy, but his own indescribable and unique voice always shines through brightly.
I initially discovered Mompou’s music on the Decca album Andrés Segovia Guitar, where the virtuoso classical guitarist performs “Cuna,” from Mompou’s Suite Compostelana. This is part of the Mompou story for me. Since I was diving into the wealth of Spanish guitar composers — Enrique Granados, Francisco Tárrega, Fernando Sor, Isaac Albéniz and more — I came to realize Spanish composers created a music that called my name. Their music was easy for…
