Spanish news outlets report that Spanish pianist Alicia de Larrocha died earlier today in Barcelona at the age of 86. Although best known as a champion of the romantic repertoire of her native land, de Larrocha had a very broad repertoire.

I was in Abbey Road Studio One’s control room in the mid 1990s when de Larrocha recorded two Mozart piano concertos with Sir Colin Davis and the English Chamber Orchestra. Jay Saks was the producer, Tony Faulkner the fewer-mikes-the-better engineer. De Larrocha seemed to be having a terrific time, and Sir Colin seemed more a gentle cajoler than conductor, with everyone taking an “old school,” historically uninformed interpretive approach. After the orchestral session, de Larrocha laid down two different takes of the cadenzas, using up only half the allotted time left in the session, then dropped into the booth to chat, noticeably happy with the day’s music-making.