Nights in the Gardens of Spain

Falla was Andalusian and the work refers to the Hispano-Arabic past of this region (Al-Andalus).

In the years leading up to World War I Falla was living in Paris where he began this work as a set of nocturnes for solo piano in 1909.

On the suggestion of the pianist Ricardo Viñes he turned the nocturnes into a piece for piano and orchestra.

The Paris premiere took place in January 1920, with the pianist Joaquín Nin playing under Fernández Arbós.

The composer himself was the soloist at the London premiere in 1921, at a Queen's Hall concert under the baton of Edward Clark.