Measuring just under 5 foot, and with unusually small hands for a piano virtuoso, Alicia de Larrocha won listeners over with the richness and robustness of her sound. (AP PHOTO)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Spanish pianist Alicia de Larrocha, who thrilled music listeners for decades with polished and enthralling interpretations of great classical works and Spanish masters, has died aged 86.

Measuring just under 5 foot, and with unusually small hands for a piano virtuoso, de Larrocha won listeners over with the richness and robustness of her sound.

Critically acclaimed for her technique in performing Mozart, Beethoven, Schuman and Rachmaninov, de Larrocha was also seen as unrivaled in her interpretation of Spanish composers such as Manuel de Falla as well as masters from her native Catalonia like Enrique Granados and Isaac Albeniz.

Gregor Benko, a piano music expert, music producer and family friend, confirmed her death. Benko said de Larrocha had been in poor health for two years, since breaking her hip. She died late Friday in a Barcelona hospital.

De Larrocha retired from public performances in 2003 after 75 years as a professional pianist.

Born in Barcelona on May 23, 1923, she began playing piano at the age of 3, and two years later gave her debut public performance during the International Exposition in Barcelona. Four years later an eager music industry had pressed and marketed her first vinyl record.

The daughter and niece of pianists, as a child de Larrocha received classes from renowned teachers such as Frank Marshall, himself a disciple of the pianist Enrique Granados, and theorist Ricardo Lamote de Grignon.

De Larrocha was invited to play at Barcelona's Palau de la Musica when only 6, and by age 11 she was already a soloist with the Madrid Symphony Orchestra.

By the time she was 20, she was playing to full houses around Spain, displaying a style and skill that transcended her age. In 1947 she began to make an impression on the European circuit, and was soon playing all the major musical centers.

De Larrocha's style combined poetic interpretation, gracefulness and subtlety with technical virtuosity and remarkable focus, which enabled her to produce a beautifully layered sound capable of grand, temperamental flourishes.

She made her first trip to the United States in 1955, invited by Alfred Wallestein, and toured with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. It was this tour that allowed her to break through to gain recognition as one of the world's most outstanding pianists.

De Larrocha went on to become a regular performer at New York's Lincoln Center, featuring in its prestigious Mostly Mozart Festival and interpreters series.

Over the years she was awarded myriad prizes, including the Prince of Asturias Prize in 1994, Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters in Paris in 1988 and the Paderewski Memorial Medal. She was awarded honorary doctorates by the universities of Michigan, Middlebury College-Vermont and Carnegie Mellon.

Her recordings earned her four Grammies and numerous other prizes in Europe.

She was married to the late Spanish pianist Juan Torra, with whom she had two children.