Hèctor Parra CD on Kairos

Posted by Leticia Martin on November 17, 2008  |  Leave a comment

The Austrian label KAIROS, in collaboration with the Fundación Caja Madrid, has embarked on an ambitious project for a contemporary music collection which will include 15 CDs dedicated to Spanish composers from the generation born between the 1960s and 1970s, to be released over the next 3 years. The project was presented in Madrid on 12 November with the announcement of the release of the first CDs, featuring composers Mauricio Sotelo, José María Sánchez Verdú, Elena Mendoza and Hèctor Parra.

The recording of Hèctor Parra’s works by is the highly-acclaimed German contemporary music group Ensemble Recherche, founded in 1985. The works on the CD, all composed between 2002 and 2007, illustrate the essence of Mr Parra’s style: Piano Trio nº 2 Knotted Fields (2007), Impromptu for piano (2005), Piano Trio nº 1 Wortschatten (2004), L’Aube assaillie (2005) for cello and electronic instruments, Abîme – Antigona IV (2002) and String Trio (2006).

Jesús Torres resident composer at NEXEduet

Posted by Leticia Martin on November 17, 2008  |  Leave a comment

NEXEduet, the percussion group of Sisco Aparici and Jordi Francés, has picked Jesús Torres as composer in residence for its 3rd PERCUSSION ACADEMY. The course, being held this 5-8 December in Banyeres de Mariola (Alicante), also has guest tutors Christian Dierstein, for Germany, and Daniel Berg, from Sweden.

Percussion occupies a special place in contemporary music, and there now exists a real repertoire for the range of instruments it includes. The works of Jesús Torres are extraordinarily powerful and expressive, as well as being representative of his language, which makes them particularly interesting. The pieces that will be performed at the Academy concerts include Proteus (for solo multi-percussion), Tiento (for marimba and vibraphone), and Dánae (for six percussionists). On 7 December, the students on the course will put on a concert dedicated to the works of Jesús Torres.

Madrid Premiere of “La Tierra”, by Jesús Rueda

Posted by Leticia Martin on November 14, 2008  |  1 Comment

As part of its current season, the National Orchestra of Spain, under the baton of Pedro Halffter, presents in Madrid La Tierra (The Earth) by Jesús Rueda. The piece was commissioned by the Madrid conductor to complement Gustav Holst’s suite The Planets, and originally premiered in June 2007, performed by the Seville Symphony Orchestra.

In composing the suite, Holst drew on myriad sources, mixing symbolism, astrology and even chemistry, with more earthly matters such as the horrors of war (it was written during World War I). This is especially evident in Mars, a score that has been used often as background music, most famously perhaps in “Star Wars”.

Over time, much of the symbolism attached to The Planets has been lost, leaving its most universal and astronomical facets, from which Jesús Rueda drew inspiration for his composition.

La Tierra.mp3

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The result is a piece that both captures the music and spirit of our time, and evokes the music of Holst.

It is a thrilling, fiery piece, reflecting the orderly chaos of our planet and our lives.

Fully published the work of Manuel Castillo

Posted by Leticia Martin on October 28, 2008  |  Leave a comment

Thanks to an agreement with the Music Documentation Centre of the Government of Andalusia, Tritó is publishing the complete works of Manuel Castillo (1927-2005). The latest release, Piano Concerto No. 2, was composed in 1966 and premiered in the Auditorium of the Ministry of Information and Tourism and the Teatro de la Zarzuela in January 1967 with the composer at the piano with the RTVE Symphony Orchestra.
This concerto is the least known of the three that the Sevillian composer wrote for the piano, and in the words of Thomas Marco “lies between the youthful first and masterful third.”

Published Fantasia for Tuba and Piano

Posted by Leticia Martin on October 28, 2008  |  Leave a comment

“Fantasia for Tuba and piano” by Bartolomé Pérez Casas, probably one of the earliest works ever written for these two instruments, is now available from the Tritó catalogue. The project to publish this landmark work for the tuba entailed a major research effort by both the publisher and reviser Miguel Moreno Guna, from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Madrid, to find the composer’s original manuscript as well as the historical documentation essential for the best possible recreation of the score.

Bartolomé Pérez Casas was a leading figure in Spanish music in the first half of the twentieth century, as director of the Royal Lancers Corps Band, professor of harmony at the Royal Conservatory in Madrid, founder and director of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Madrid and director of the Spanish National Orchestra between 1942 and 1947. His knowledge of wind instruments and his music teaching skills make this an essential piece in the tuba repertoire.

New Epigrams in ISCM World Music Days 2008

Posted by Leticia Martin on October 28, 2008  |  Leave a comment

Benet Casablancas‘ “New Epigrams” for chamber orchestra has been included in the programme for “ISCM World Music Days 2008″, being held this year in Vilnius (Lithuania). The piece, Spain’s sole representative at this year’s Festival, is being performed on October 27 by the Cantus Ensemble of Croatia at the Town Hall in the Lithuanian capital. The international jury, charged with making their selection from among over 350 scores submitted by the ISCM’s national sections, includes figures of the stature of Peter Eötvös, Jonathan Harvey, Luca Francesconi, Onute Narbutaire and Helena Tulve. New Epigrams has been performed previously in London (London Sinfonietta Perspective CD), Strasbourg (Festival Musica), Amsterdam (Holland Festival), Düsseldorf (Biennale “Ohren Musik aus Europa”), St. Petersburg (Hermitage State Orchestra), La Tour-de- Trême (Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne), Oberlin (Ohio, USA), Vienna (Portrait Benet Casablancas, Musikverein) as well as in several Spanish cities (Barcelona, Madrid, Alicante, Sabadell and Valencia).
Alter Klang “Impromptu per a orquestra”, was commissioned by the Spanish National Orchestra in 2007, and is published by Tritó Edicions. In 2009 the piece will be performed in Holland, Belgium and Sweden.

“Glossa” by Jesús Torres in the Carlos Prieto’s competition

Posted by Leticia Martin on October 28, 2008  |  Leave a comment

“Glossa” (2004) by Jesús Torres has been selected as the obligatory piece for the 2009 Carlos Prieto International Cello Competition in Mexico. In addition to drawing on the established cello repertoire, each year the competition selects works by contemporary Latin American composers plus one piece by a Spaniard.
The Spanish cellist Asier Polo, a member of the jury, and who has performed Jesús Torres’ work on several occasions, strongly advocated the inclusion of Glosa. Other composers featured in the competition, to be held in August 2009 in the Mexican town of Morelia, are Marlos Nobre (Brazil), Benzecry (Argentina), Ziman (Mexico).

El càntic dels càntics, by Lamote de Grignon: reduction for voices and piano

Posted by Leticia Martin on May 24, 2007  |  Leave a comment

There is already a new version of El càntic dels càntics, by Ricard Lamote de Grignon. It is a reduction for voices and piano by Raül Benavides, based on the original orchestral score of the epithalmion for contralto, baritone, mixed choir and orchestra.

Benguerel sets poems by Àlex Susanna to music

Posted by Leticia Martin on May 24, 2007  |  Leave a comment

Palau d’hivern is the title of the new score by Xavier Benguerel, in which he has written music for four poems by Àlex Susanna: Mans, Joc, Natura i Ponts. These are short pieces for soprano, string quartet and clarinet.