May 29, 1860:
Isaac Manuel Francisco Albéniz y Pascual is born in Camprodón, Kingdom of Spain, 100 km north of Barcelona and 10 km south of the French border, fourth of four children born to Angel Lucio Albéniz y Gauna, a customs official and published poet, and Dolors Pascual i Bardera, daughter of a soldier.
May 25, 1869:
Isaac Albéniz (8) passes his solfege examination at the Real Conservatorio de Madrid.
February 15, 1872:
The Correspondencia teatral in Valladolid contains the first extant notice of a concert by Isaac Albéniz (11). “Words fail us in praising such mastery, such feeling, such perfection...he will be one of the glories of Spanish art.” However, this is not his first performance.
June 6, 1874:
Isaac Albéniz (14) fails to appear for his solfege examination at the Real Conservatorio de Madrid. He is in the middle of a concert tour of Spain lasting almost a year.
October 16, 1874:
Blanca Albéniz, 19-year-old sister of Isaac (14), kills herself in the Retiro, a large park near the Prado in Madrid. She is a singer and has failed to win a contract at the Teatro de la Zarzuela. Isaac Albéniz will end his concert tour, currently in Barcelona, and return home to Madrid.
April 30, 1875:
Isaac Albéniz (14) departs Spain for the Caribbean with his father where a concert tour is planned.
May 21, 1875:
Isaac Albéniz (14) performs for the first time in the Western Hemisphere, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He will also play in Mayaguez and Cáguas.
May 2, 1876:
Isaac Albéniz (15) enrolls in the Leipzig Conservatory. See 24 June 1876.
June 24, 1876:
Isaac Albéniz (16) leaves the Leipzig Conservatory after only two-and-a-half months of study.
October 17, 1876:
Isaac Albéniz (16) is accepted into the Conservatoire Royal de Musique in Brussels where he will stay for three years. It will constitute the longest period of formal study he will have.
September 12, 1879:
Isaac Albéniz (19) gives a concert in the Teatre de Novetats after returning home to Barcelona from three years of study at the Conservatoire Royal de Musique in Brussels. He has become a local celebrity.
January 16, 1881:
Rapsodia cubana for piano by Isaac Albéniz (20) is performed for the first time, in Teatro Avellaneda, Havana by the composer.
February 10, 1881:
El bien público of Havana includes the first notice of Isaac Albéniz (20) as a conductor, in the Círculo Español.
February 15, 1882:
Cuanto más viejo, a zarzuela by Isaac Albéniz (21) to words of Zapino, is performed for the first time, in the Teatro de Bilbao. It is the first stage work of Albéniz.
March 25, 1882:
Catalanes de Gracia, a zarzuela by Isaac Albéniz (21) to words of Palomino de Guzmán, is performed for the first time in the Salón Eslava, Madrid. It is enthusiastically received by the audience.
June 7, 1883:
Through the efforts of his father, Isaac Albéniz (23) is discharged from the reserves, just two weeks before his wedding.
June 23, 1883:
Isaac Albéniz (23) marries his piano student Rosina Jordana Lagarriga, daughter of a prominent businessman, in the church of Mare de Déu de la Mercè, Barcelona.
January 24, 1886:
Suite española for piano by Isaac Albéniz (25) is performed for the first time, in Salón Romero, Madrid by the composer.
February 20, 1886:
Suite ancienne no.1 for piano by Isaac Albéniz (25) is performed for the first time, in Círculo de la Unión Mercantil e Industrial, Madrid by the composer.
March 30, 1886:
Queen Regent María Cristina appoints Isaac Albéniz (25) assistant professor of piano at the Real Conservatorio, Madrid.
November 11, 1886:
The Dirección General de Bellas Artes creates Isaac Albéniz (26) a member of the Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic. The ceremony will take place 22 November.
March 20, 1887:
Two works for piano by Isaac Albéniz (26) are performed for the first time, in Salón Romero, Madrid: Estudio impromptu and Suite ancienne no.2.
March 21, 1887:
Isaac Albéniz (26) gives a concert devoted to his own music at the Salón Romero, Madrid. Works performed for the first time are Piano Sonata no.3, Piano Sonata no.4, Seis mazurkas de salón (nos. 2 and 6), No. 1 (En El Mar) of Recuerdos de viaje, Rapsodia española for piano and orchestra and Concerto for piano and orchestra no.1. The composer is at the keyboard for the last two.
August 15, 1888:
Isaac Albéniz (28) plays the first eleven of the Douze Pièces caractéristiques pour piano op.92, possibly for the first time, in Barcelona.
March 7, 1889:
Escenas sinfónicas for orchestra by Isaac Albéniz (28) is performed for the first time, in Teatro de la Comedia, Madrid.
April 25, 1889:
Isaac Albéniz (28) gives a concert devoted to his own music in the Salle Erard, Paris.
June 7, 1890:
España, six album leaves for piano by Isaac Albéniz (30) is performed for the first time, in Steinway Hall, London by the composer.
June 26, 1890:
Isaac Albéniz (30) signs a contract with Henry Lowenfeld to place his “entire work and services as a composer and musician under the control of Lowenfeld...in consideration of Lowenfeld agreeing to advance money for his personal expenses and the promotion of his interests.”
November 21, 1890:
Scherzino, number 2 of Rêves for piano by Isaac Albéniz (30), is performed for the first time, in London by the composer.
January 31, 1891:
Chant d’amour, number 3 of Rêves for piano by Isaac Albéniz (30), is performed for the first time, in London by the composer.
March 14, 1891:
Serenata española op.181 for piano by Isaac Albéniz (30) is performed probably for the first time, in St. James’ Hall, London by the composer.
June 20, 1892:
Incidental music to Sylvestre’s play Poèmes d’amour by Isaac Albéniz (32) is performed for the first time, at the Lyric Club, London.
October 6, 1892:
“Oh! Horror! Horror!”, a finale for Act II of the play Incognita by Isaac Albéniz (32) to words of Greenbank, is performed for the first time, in London.
January 19, 1893:
The Magic Opal, a comic opera by Isaac Albéniz (32) to words of Law, is performed for the first time, at the Lyric Theatre, London.
June 15, 1893:
Poor Jonathan, an operetta with 16 numbers by Isaac Albéniz (33) to words of Wittmann, Bauer, and Greenbank, is performed for the first time, at the Prince of Wales Theatre, London, conducted by the composer.
October 26, 1894:
San Antonio de la Florida, a zarzuela by Isaac Albéniz (34) to word of Sierra, is performed for the first time, in Teatro Apolo, Madrid, conducted by the composer. It is strongly applauded but will receive only 20 performances.
May 8, 1895:
Henry Clifford, an opera by Isaac Albéniz (34) to words of Money-Coutts, is performed for the first time, in Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona, conducted by the composer. Although originally in English, it is performed in Italian, the favored language of the Liceu. It is a critical success, but not with audiences.
January 5, 1896:
Pepita Jiménez, a lyric comedy by Isaac Albéniz (35) to words of Money-Coutts after Valera, is performed for the first time, in the Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona. The public is enthusiastic, the critics are disappointed.
November 14, 1898:
The Prelude to Act I of Isaac Albéniz’ (38) unfinished opera Merlin is performed for the first time, in Barcelona, conducted by Vincent d’Indy (47).
January 21, 1899:
La Vega, the first of a projected suite for piano called The Alhambra by Isaac Albéniz (38), is performed for the first time, at the Société National de Musique, Paris.
May 28, 1899:
Catalonia, part of an unfinished suite for orchestra by Isaac Albéniz, is performed for the first time, by the Société National de Musique in Paris, on the eve of the composer’s 39th birthday.
June 15, 1899:
A funeral service in memory of Ernest Chausson held in St. François-de-Sales, Paris is attended by hundreds of artists, among them Gabriel Fauré (54), Henri Duparc (51), Isaac Albéniz (39), Claude Debussy (36), Paul Dukas (33), Charles Koechlin (31), Edgar Degas, and Auguste Rodin. His mortal remains are laid to rest in Père Lachaise Cemetery, Paris.
February 13, 1905:
Merlin, an opera by Isaac Albéniz (44) to words of Money-Coutts, is performed for the first time, in a concert setting in French, at the home of M. Tassel in Brussels. See 18 December 1950 and 20 June 1998.
May 9, 1906:
The first book of the piano suite Iberia by Isaac Albéniz (45) is performed for the first time, at the Salle Pleyel, Paris.
September 11, 1907:
The second book of the suite for piano Iberia by Isaac Albéniz (47) is performed for the first time, at St. Jean de Luz.
October 3, 1907:
Paul Dukas (42) introduces Manuel de Falla (30) to Isaac Albéniz (42) in Paris.
January 2, 1908:
The third book of the piano suite Iberia by Isaac Albéniz (47) is performed for the first time, at the house of Mme Polignac, Paris.
February 9, 1909:
The fourth book of the piano suite Iberia by Isaac Albéniz (48) is performed for the first time, at the Salon d’Automne, Paris.
April 1, 1909:
On advice from his doctors, Isaac Albéniz (48) departs Paris with his family for the resort of Cambo-les-Bains.
June 5, 1909:
The body of Isaac Albéniz arrives in Barcelona by train. The station is transformed into a funeral chapel and the public files by the deceased to pay their respects.
June 6, 1909:
The body of Isaac Albéniz is born by a horse-drawn hearse from the estació de França through the streets of Barcelona. It is attended by a military band playing excerpts from Götterdämmerung, the Requiem of Gabriel Fauré (64), and the Funeral March of Frédéric Chopin (†49), and a multitude of people including many city and Catalonian officials. At the Cementiri del Sud-Oest (Cementiri de Montjuïc), the mayor and the composer’s son speak, and the remains are laid to rest.
March 11, 1911:
New works by Enrique Granados (43) are performed for the first time, in the Palau de Musica Catalana, Barcelona by the composer: the piano suite Goyescas (public premiere), Cant de les estrelles for piano, organ, and chorus, to words of Heine translated into Catalan, and Azulejos for piano by Isaac Albéniz (†1) finished by Granados.
December 14, 1935:
A small number of notable people, including Federico García Lorca, gather at the grave of Isaac Albéniz (†26) in Barcelona and dedicate a sculpture to Albéniz.
December 18, 1950:
Merlin, an opera by Isaac Albéniz (†41) to words of Money-Coutts, is staged for the first time, in Spanish, in Teatro Tívoli, Barcelona 48 years after it was composed. See 13 February 1905 and 20 June 1998.
June 20, 1998:
Merlin, an opera by Isaac Albéniz (†89) to words of Money-Coutts, is performed for the first time in the original English, in a concert setting in Auditorio Nacional, Madrid. See 13 February 1905 and 18 December 1950.