One of the most important figures in Spanish musical history, Isaac Albeniz helped to create a national idiom and an indigenous school of piano music.

He studied at the Brussels Conservatory and with Liszt, Dukas and d'Indy. Other important influences were Felipe Pedrell (who inspired him to turn to Spanish folk music), 19th-century salon piano music and impressionist harmony.

However, Albeniz was not simply a follower of the French school and exchanged ideas with Debussy and Ravel in Paris. Most of his many works are for piano solo, the best known being the Suite Iberia (1906-8), distinguished by its complex technique, bold harmony and evocative instrumental effects.

Albeniz also wrote a notable opera, Pepita Jiménez (1896). He was a virtuoso pianist with a highly personal style.