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Iberia is a suite for piano composed between 1905 and 1909 by the Spanish composer Isaac Albéniz. It is composed of four books of three pieces each; a complete performance lasts about an hour and a half.

It is Albéniz’s best-known work and considered his masterpiece. It was highly praised by Claude Debussy and Olivier Messiaen, who said: “Iberia is the wonder for the piano; it is perhaps on the highest place among the more brilliant pieces for the king of instruments”. Stylistically, this suite falls squarely in the school of Impressionism, especially in its musical evocations of Spain. Technically, Iberia is one of the most difficult pieces in the repertoire, requiring immense strength from its interpreters and flexible hands.

Evocación, El puerto and Fête-dieu à Seville (Book 1)
Rondeña, Almería and Triana (Book 2)
El Albaicín, El Polo and Lavapiés (Book 3)
Málaga, Jerez and Eritaña (Book 4)

Vision of Spain presented: The topic of the work is Spain. (He could not call it España, since two pieces had recently appeared with that title.) Yet the vision of Spain it presents is primarily Andalusian. Non-Spaniards may not realize how unusual this is, how this is really “taking a position” with regard to the ongoing debate within Spain over just what Spain is. Cádiz (“El puerto”), Granada (“El Albaicin”), Ronda, Málaga, Jerez, Almería, are all Andalusian, and three of the twelve pieces are dedicated to Seville, that most musical of Spanish cities, where more operas have been set than in any other city : Fête-Dieu à Seville, Triana, and Eritaña. The only appearance of Madrid is the working-class Lavapiés neighborhood.