Gianandrea Noseda conducts Brahms

Posted by Leticia Martin on December 29, 2008  |  Leave a comment

The Cadaqués Orchestra conducted by Gianandrea Noseda presents the complete symphonies of Johannes Brahms in a double CD.

This symphonic cycle, despite being one of the least extensive, is one of the keys to understanding the transition from classicism to romanticism and orchestral music from the 19th century to the present day.

The ODC ensemble, smaller than usual for this repertoire, becomes a brilliant tool in the hands of the Italian conductor, who knows every nuance of the score and brings out the best in each of the musicians with a splendid labour that results in masterly performances.

Simphnony no.1 Un poco sostenuto – Allegro

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Simphnony no.2 Allegro non troppo

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All the symphonies were recorded at the Auditorio de Zaragoza after a tour of various Spanish cities.

The Orquesta de Cadaqués accepted the challenge of making the first recording of this complete set by a Spanish ensemble, with a magnificent result that is on a par with the key recordings of this repertoire. A recording that was an important undertaking in both its artistic and technical aspects and which will surprise and please both the connoisseurs if this repertoire and those who are listening to it for the first time.

Simphnony no.2 Adagio non troppo

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Simphnony no.3 Andante

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Simphnony no.3 Allegro

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Further information at www.trito.es

Tritó Edicions wishes you a Happy New Year

Posted by Marcel Soleda on December 29, 2008  |  Leave a comment

Albéniz for guitar

Posted by Leticia Martin on December 27, 2008  |  2 Comments

Isaac Albéniz is one of the most emblematic composers of Spanish music of all time and although he never wrote for guitar his music almost immediately aroused the interest of guitarists. The first adaptations for guitar of Albéniz’s music are practically contemporary to the original versions for piano, although there is no doubt that the best known are those realised by Andrés Segovia.

Javier Riba now presents adaptations of some of Albéniz’s masterworks, pieces that have been included in the CD “La guitarra soñada”, which is now being released for the enjoyment of all guitar lovers.

Evocación

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El puerto

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Above all, the guitarist has aimed to respect the style and resources of the guitar of the epoch and the spirit of Albeniz’s piano music.

For the time being, the published works are the following: Evocación and El puerto.

You can download a sample on continuation…

El Puerto

Evocación

Ramón Humet wins the “Ciutat de Tarragona” International Award for Musical Composition

Posted by Leticia Martin on December 19, 2008  |  Leave a comment

The score Gagaku by Ramón Humet has been chosen the winner of the 16th “Ciutat de Tarragona” International Award for Musical Composition. This was the jury’s decision after examining the thirty-two competing scores.
The prize money in this competition, organised by Tarragona City Council and sponsored by Repsol YPF and Spanish National Radio (RNE), amounts to 12,000 euros.

Gagaku, which lasts twelve minutes, is dedicated with thanks and admiration to the maestro Joan Guinjoan. The jury was made up of the musicians Tomás Marco, Héctor Parra, Vincent Paulet, Yves Prin, Zuriñe Gerenabarrena, Jean Pierre Dupuy and J. Mª Mestres-Quadreny. The winning work will be premiered in 2009 by the Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya.

During his career Ramón Humet has won awards such as the Montreal Olivier Messiaen International Composition Prize and the Queen Sofia and the Joaquín Rodrigo-Villa de Madrid Composition Prizes. He has received commissions for the Festival Òpera de Butxaca and the Ensemble Residencias among others.

Among his projects for the future three commissions deserve special mention, a symphony for the JONC (Joven Orquesta Nacional de Cataluña), a chamber work for the Festival Nous Sons (Oriol Aymat – Sílvia Vidal duet) and a commission from the Fundación Caixa Cataluña for the pianist Alberto Rosado.

Reported in the Diari de Tarragona and www.mundoclasico.com. Further information at www.docenotas.es y www.catradio.cat

A talk with Lisa Randall

Posted by Marcel Soleda on December 15, 2008  |  Leave a comment

Yesterday published in The Boston Globe, an interview with Lisa Randall about her present project: the opera Hypermusic Prologue, by Hèctor Parra.

Read the whole interview…

La Rosa del azafrán, by Jacinto Guerrero

Posted by Leticia Martin on December 10, 2008  |  Leave a comment

La Rosa de Azafrán is one of the most performed works in the repertoire of zarzuelas and without doubt one of Jacinto Guerrero’s masterworks. This new edition is base on the original score and its reduction for voice and piano, and has been prepared in collaboration with the Fundación Jacinto e Inocencio Guerrero.

La Rosa de Azafrán was premiered at the Teatro Calderón de Madrid in 1930. It was composed on the same lines as other works such as Los gavilanes and La montería, also by Guerrero. The plot is set in the Castile that the composer, who was born in the village of Ajofrín in the province of Toledo, knew so well.

Around the end of the 19th century a period of Spanish musical theatre came to an end and a new generation of creators came to the fore. This generation was in tune with the predominant aesthetic tastes in Europe and had to meet an incessant call for new works. The orchestral arrangements of the time had to adapt to these demands and also the scarcity of some instruments.

1. Preludio

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2. Canción del sembrador

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3. No me duele que se vaya…

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Today’s listeners may have certain difficulties in appreciating the real magnitude of a “literal” performance of the score, which has been mutilated on numerous occasions in order to adapt it to the formats of the groups and orchestras that performed it.

The present edition, prepared by Miguel Roa, has taken these particularities into account. He has rejected the presentation of a historicist version in favour of a version that certainly does not go against the author’s true intentions.

You can download a sample here…

Hèctor Parra and Lisa Randall: Hypermusic Prologue

Posted by Leticia Martin on December 9, 2008  |  2 Comments

At beginnings of 2008 the DLD (Digital, Live, Design) Conference in Munich provided a platform for the music of composer Hèctor Parra. DLD is one of the world’s leading showcases for digital design and interactions between art, science and technology, with the presence of many of the top names in this new network of creativity.

Hèctor Parra, the only Spaniard present at the conference, appeared with the artist Matthew Ritchie, the art patron and impresario Francesca von Habsburg and the theoretical physicist Lisa Randall, who is collaborating with Mr Parra on a chamber opera project entitled Hypermusic Prologue.

Check the video highlights after the jump…

Cuaderno para un aniversario

Posted by Marcel Soleda on December 1, 2008  |  Leave a comment

The Fundación Guerrero has published the score Cuaderno para un aniversario in which it has tried to link together the two main principles that have marked its work during the last 25 years: the defence of the musical heritage left by Jacinto Guerrero and the promotion of Spanish music, in particular the most contemporary.

To this end, ten composer who have been associated with the Foundation during these years were commissioned the composition of piano works based on themes by Guerrero. Among the composers there are some winners of the Foundation awards given to the best students in composition graduated from the Real Conservatorio Superior de Música in Madrid, others who have won the Fundación Guerrero Music Prize, and others who are currently sponsors of the Foundation itself.

As well as the scores themselves Cuaderno para un aniversario includes a recording of these made by the winner of the last Foundation piano competition, the pianist Xiaofeng Wu, and also a preliminary study by

Antonio Gallego in Spanish and English. The Fundación Canal collaborated on the project by ceding its auditorium for the recording.

Content:

Raquel Rodríguez Fernández – Imprevisaciones sobre temas de Jacinto Guerrero

Tomás Marco – Quodlibet (sobre dos fragmentos de Jacinto Guerrero)

Alicia Díaz de la Fuente – Homenaje

Miguel del Barco – Glosando al Maestro Guerrero

Antón García Abril – Variaciones líricas (sobre un tema de “La montería”)

Daniel Roca Arencibia – Reflexiones sobre un motivo de Jacinto Guerrero

Francisco Novel Sámano – Variaciones libres

José María Sánchez-Verdú – Estudio núm. 2

Luis de Pablo – Caricatura amistosa

Pilar Jurado – De campanas y rosas

1. Imprevisaciones sobre temas de Jacinto Guerrero

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2. Quodlibet (sobre dos fragmentos de Jacinto Guerrero)

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3. Homenaje

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4. Glosando al maestro Guerrero

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5. Variaciones líricas

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