Enrique Granados' sad ending

SeleniumFalcon

Most of the time when I read a record's liner notes they usually tell a little bit about the composition, maybe a thumb nail sketch of the performer. Nothing too heavy. Yesterday I played Granados piano composition "Goyescas" by one of my favorite pianists Alicia de Larrocha on a record. These are six difficult to play pieces inspired by different paintings done by Francisco Goya. Well it seems this composition became very successful for Granados who was a very good pianist. He came to the US on tour and became a fairly big star, so successful that he was invited by then president Wilson to delay his return to Spain and play at the White House. This caused him to have to take a different route home, going first to England and then taking a ferry to Spain. The ferry he and his wife were on was torpedoed and began to sink. His wife was too heavy to be put in a lifeboat, so Enrique found a small raft floating and got her to kneel on it while he stayed with her. The surviving passengers described how they helplessly watched the two people drown in the rough sea.

msg

That's a terribly sad and touching story, Ken, love and devotion like that in the midst of senseless aggression.