Hear Lost Bretón and Campo Chamber Music Last week, Fundación Juan March Madrid held a concert of previously lost Bretón work and a Campo quartet, performed by Cuarteto Bretón. As we have previously announced, the Bretón work was discovered and edited by María Luisa Martínez, who is a visiting scholar with the Foundation for Iberian Music, and its director, Antoni Pizà. The concert was a great success. It was broadcast on Spain’s national public radio. The full recording can be streamed for free online, here. At the beginning of the broadcast, you may hear a short interview with Martínez about how she discovered the lost Bretón works. The concert program begins with Campo’s “Oriental” quartet, followed by Bretón’s 1905 piano quintet, at 1’28”. There was a touching surprise at the concert: Bretón’s great-grandson attended the concert with his family! They are shown here with Martínez. (From the left: Jose Ignacio Cortés Bretón, grandson of Bretón’s son, Abelardo; María Luisa Martínez; Concha Cortés Zulueta, Jose Ignacio’s daughter; Jose Ignacio’s wife; Concha’s partner.) You can also read a review of the performance on the blog “El Tema 8,” here.
US Premiere of Galician Bagpiper, Mercedes Peón On December 8, Mercedes Peón will perform at Elebash Recital Hall as a part of the Graduate Center’s Live @ 365 series. This is the US premiere of this award winning multi-instrumentalist. Peón is a master bagpiper, singer, and percussionist. She has collaborated with musicians such as Xosé Manuel Budino, Manu Chao and Carlos Núñez, and the Guardian has called her “one of the Spanish music scene’s true originals.” At her upcoming concert, “Ancient and Contemporary Songs of Galicia Spain,” she will perform both the traditional music of Galicia and her own original songs, based in this tradition. Tickets are $25, or FREE with a CUNY ID! CUNY students from any campus may email gcevents@gc.cuny.edu to reserve a ticket. Just present your ID at the door. Enjoy this preview of some of her original music, from a performance at the Musicport festival: Tickets: $25 7:00 pm, December 7 Elebash Recital Hall, the Graduate Center 365 Fifth Ave, NYC, 10016
Gurumbé Screenings in NYC The date of our Gurumbé film screening and flamenco performance is rapidly approaching and tickets are selling fast. Get tickets here for this special event, December 3rd. Gurumbé: Afro-Andalusian Memories (Canciones de tu memoria negra) is a groundbreaking film that has been screening worldwide. It has been an official selection at more than ten US and international film festivals. Most recently, it screened at the Latin Cinema Festival in Minneapolis, and it is a part of the upcoming African Diaspora Film Festivals in Chicago and New York. Harvey Karten, the founder of New York Film Critics Online just reviewed the film, giving it four out of five stars. Our event at La Nacional is the first opportunity to meet and participate in a Q&A with the director, Miguel Ángel Rosales, dancer Yinka Esi Graves, and our host, K. Meira Goldberg, who will be moderating. In addition to our special screening event at La Nacional, there will be many additional opportunities to see Gurumbé in NYC. The film will run for one week at Cinema Village, December 1–7. It is also being screened at Columbia University on December 10th, in addition to numerous other university screenings in the northeast. Here is a full list of upcoming screenings: Howard University (Washington DC), Nov 27 Scribe Video Center (Philadelphia, PA), Nov 28 La Nacional (NY, NY), Dec 3 Smith College (Northampton, MA), Dec 5 Bryn Mawr College (Philadelphia, PA), Dec 6 The University of Chicago, Dec 8 Columbia University (NY, NY), Dec 10 Lastly, tickets are still available to see Yinka Esi Graves in a full dance program at Gibney Dance, November 30 – December 2. Watch Gurumbé‘s official Facebook page for up to date news and information on screenings, and of course, follow the Foundation on Facebook and on Twitter.
New York Andalus Ensemble Winter Concert The New York Andalus Ensemble, in residence at the Foundation for Iberian Music, will be holding their winter concert with the full ensemble on December 13th. This year’s concert is in the intimate space of La Nacional. Tickets are $18, $15 student and senior, available through Event Brite. We recommend buying your tickets early! NYAE shows frequently sell out, at much larger venues. December 13, 7:30 pm La Nacional, 239 West 14th Street, NYC
Catalan Independence Roundtable The Bildner Center will be holding a roundtable discussion on the current Catalan Independence movement, at the Graduate Center on November 16. The panel will discuss the movement’s background and its prospects. The Foundation for Iberian Music’s director, Antoni Pizà, will be appearing on the discussion panel. Other panelists include José Miguel Martínez Torrejón (Chair, Hispanic Languages and Literatures, Queens College), Mary Ann Newman (Director, Farragut Fund for Catalan Culture in the US) and Jordi Graupera (Research Associate, Lichtenstein Institute on Self-Determination Woodrow Wilson School of Public & International Affairs, Princeton University). You may register for the event at bildner@gc.cuny.edu. Thursday, November 16, 6:30 PM Room C201/02 The Graduate Center, CUNY
NYC Latin American Cultural Week, Nov 10–19 In just over a week, New York City’s annual Latin American Cultural week kicks off. The festival runs November 10–19 and encompasses dozens of concerts, dance and theatrical performances, film screenings, and workshops throughout the city. One participant in this year’s festival is our own colleague Isabel Pérez Dobarro, who contributed to our Granados Celebration and is co-organizing an upcoming conference with us. Her event, “Musica Among Friends,” is Tuesday, November 14th, at 6 pm at Saint Peter’s Church. She will be performing piano works and songs from Isaac Albéniz and Enrique Granados with pianist Rosa Torres-Pardo, who will also be singing.
November NY Andalus Ensemble/Asefa Events Early in November, there are several events in the New York Andalus Ensemble family happening. Under the rubric of Asefa Music (the projects of Samuel Torjman Thomas, who directs the NYAE), there are several music lectures in the coming week, in the northeast: November 1, University of Pennsylvania: Thomas will be giving a lecture at the Traditional Jewish Food Club. (tickets) November 4, Merkin Concert Hall, NYC: Thomas will moderate a Q&A with Israeli singer Yasmin Levy. (tickets) November 5, Rutgers Film Festival, NJ: Thomas will give a musical lecture on the film On the Tigris River. (tickets) November 10, JCC Manhattan: The NY Andalus Chamber Trio kicks off the shabbat with an evening program of food and music, for only $18! (tickets) There will be more NYAE performances by both large and small ensembles in December, so be sure to check back!
“En ocasión de María del Carmen” Conference Program The program for the upcoming Granados conference in Alicante, at the University of Murcia, is now available! The conference, “En ocasión de María del Carmen: Enrique Granados y su época,” will be held October 18–20. For attendance information, please visit the conference website. Here is a full list of the presenters and their papers: CARREIRA, Xoán: “Majas y Geishas. Recepción e influencia del japonismo en la obra de Enrique Granados” CARRERES, Curro: “La ópera murciana de Granados, dramaturgia y personajes revisados ante el descubrimiento de la partitura original inédita” ENCABO, Enrique: “La fuerza del regionalismo: Enrique Granados y la ciudad de Murcia” GALLEGO, Eugenia: “Enrique Granados y su relación con Antonio Noguera: Dos Insensatos en la Mallorca finisecular” GARCÍA TORRES, Andrea: “Fenómenos de adaptación, transculturación y alteridad en La gran vía y Certamen nacional: un instrumento en el desarrollo del género chico en Chile” GONZÁLEZ, Dácil: “Granados en el imaginario de Manuel de Falla” LACÁRCEL FERNÁNDEZ, José Antonio: “Contexto social y cultural en el que nace la ópera María del Carmen de Granados” MARIÑO, Borja: “El tratamiento temático en María del Carmen, un acercamiento al verismo español” MARTÍNEZ BELTRÁN, Zoila: “Una Elegía eterna por Granados” MARTÍNEZ RODRÍGUEZ, Juan Manuel: “La influencia del folklore murciano en la ópera María del Carmen de E. Granados” MATÍA, Inmaculada: “Enrique Granados en el cine: Goyescas” MONTORO BERMEJO, Amparo: “Estreno de María del Carmen en Barcelona (1899): ¿Éxito o fracaso? Un análisis a través de la hemerografía catalana interesada.” MURCIA GALIÁN, Juan Francisco: “Fastos conmemorativos en la España de Franco: “Homenaje a Granados” en la IX Demostración Sindical (1966)” PASCUAL LEÓN, Nieves: “Granados en Valencia: Reflexiones sobre la vida musical en el cambio de siglo desde los autógrafos de sus artistas” ROSAL, Mª Isabel: “Enrique Granados y su presencia en la Revista Musical Hispano-Americana” SANCHO GARCÍA, Manuel: “La actividad y recepción de Enrique Granados en Valencia (1893-1912)” SERRANO, Pilar: “Paul Dukas, un olvidado del París de Granados: argumentos para su desatención” TONNA, Anna: “”¿Desnuda o vestida?”: Restoring context for a performance practice that recuperates Fernando Periquet’s recited text “La maja desnuda” within Enrique Granado’s song “La maja de Goya” from the Doce Tonadillas al estilo antiguo.” VALVERDE FLORES, Tamara: “Giros y retornos: tragaluz penetrante en las trayectorias de Enrique Granados y Joaquín Nin” The advisory committee includes the Foundation for Iberian Music’s director, Antoni Pizà, as well as several of our frequent collaborators: – Dr. Walter Aaron Clark (University of California, Riverside) – Dr. Francesc Cortés i Mir (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona) – Dra. María Encina Cortizo Rodríguez (Universidad de Oviedo) – Dra. Mutsumi Fukushima (Elisabeth University of Music – Hiroshima) – Luisa Morales (FIMTE- University of Melbourne) – Dra. Miriam Perandones Lozano (Universidad de Oviedo) – Dr. Antoni Pizà (The City University of New York) – Dr. Ramón Sobrino Sánchez (Universidad de Oviedo)
Oct 3: Eduardo Frías Performs Grundman at Carnegie Hall October 3rd, pianist Eduardo Frías will perform the complete works of Spanish composer Jorge Grundman at Carnegie Hall. This concert follows the release of his recording of the works of Grundman, Little Great Stories, on Sony Classical. Grundman (b. 1961) writes in an expressive neo-tonal style that has been compared to eminent Catalan composer Frederic Mompou and film composer John Barry. He has won numerous awards for his composition and his collaborations with the Brodsky Quartet are Spanish Independent Music Award-winning. The celestial opening section of his fantasie, “Who Remembers Beauty When Sadness Knocks at Your Door?”, which Frías performs below, whispers a suggestion of early 20th century French composers, such as Satie or Debussy. Though young, Frías has toured throughout Europe, the Americas, and Africa. His appearances include Hochschule der Künste in Bern (Switzerland), SGAE Madrid and Barcelona Auditoriums, as well as the Juan March Foundation and Auditorio Nacional (Madrid), and he has collaborated with Instituto Cervantes and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Spain in the Cultural Centers of Spain in Bata and Malabo (Equatorial Guinea). Enjoy this aperitif: 8 pm October 3, 2017 Tickets: $20 to $35; student and senior discounts available at Box Office Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall
Film and Performance: “Gurumbé: Afro-Andalusian Memories” “Flamenco is synonymous with Spanish culture. Yet, since its inception, theorists have sidelined the fundamental contribution of Afro-Andalusians to this art form.” Gurumbé: Afro-Andalusian Memories, a feature-length documentary from anthropologist Miguel Ángel Rosales, explores the contribution of Afro-Andalusians to flamenco as the art form developed. Gurumbé (72 min, in Spanish with English subtitles) has won numerous awards in the festival circuit and it is currently premiering around the world. December 3rd, 2017, join us at La Nacional at 7 pm for a special screening and flamenco performance featuring dancer Yinka Ese Graves, who is featured in the film. There will also be a round table discussion with the performers and the director, moderated by our visiting scholar, K. Meira Goldberg. In addition to organizing numerous conferences and flamenco events with the Foundation for Iberian Music, Goldberg is the author of Flamenco on the Global Stage and Sonidos Negros: On the Blackness of Flamenco (forthcoming, Oxford Univ. Press). Advance tickets are available for a discount through Eventbrite: $15-20. You can also see Graves perform at Gibney Dance, November 30–December 2. Tickets for Gibney are on sale now.