Isaac Albéniz (pronounced EE-saac al-BAY-nith) (born Camprodón, Catalonia, Spain, 29 May 1860; died Cambô-les-Bains, Spain, 18 May 1909) was a Spanish composer and pianist. He wrote a lot of piano music. His best known work is the collection of 12 piano pieces called "Iberia" which have lots of exciting Spanish rhythms. These pieces are very difficult to play. He also wrote several zarzuelas (light-hearted Spanish operas) and he tried to make the zarzuela more serious, but the public did not want that. He helped to make Spanish music more popular in other countries.