Seminar with composer Benet Casablancas, March 8 Composer and long-time collaborator with the Foundation for Iberian Music, Benet Casablancas, will be holding a guest seminar at the CUNY Graduate Center on March 8th at 10 am, in room 3492. In this seminar, he will discuss his own compositions, focusing on the works that he has written for New York City: for the Miller Theater, for the Morgan Library and Museum, and for the Foundation for Iberian Music. Graduate Center composition students and faculty have been invited to attend this special seminar, but the public is welcome. Both composers and Spanish music scholars and enthusiasts alike should not miss this opportunity to discuss composition with one of Spain’s most celebrated living composers! (Non CUNY guests must sign in at the front desk, so please be sure to bring a government-issued ID.) This seminar is in advance of Casablancas’ upcoming world premiere on March 10, his latest commission for the Foundation for Iberian Music, Romanza sin palabras: Homage to Granados. The concert will be at 7 pm in the Elebash Recital Hall at the Graduate Center. Admission is free, but reservations are recommended. See post for full program and details. 10 am, March 8 The Graduate Center 365 Fifth Ave Room 3492 NY, NY 10016
The Life and Music of Enrique Granados: International Conference On March 10, 2016, the Foundation for Iberian Music will host an international conference, The Life and Music of Enrique Granados (1867-1916): A Centennial Celebration, in the Skylight Room (9100) of CUNY’s Graduate Center. Walter Aaron Clark (author of Enrique Granados: Poet of the Piano) will be the keynote speaker. Presenters include: Francesc Cortès, José María Curbelo González, Óliver Curbelo, Carolina Estrada, Adam Kent, Ariadna Martín Alfaro, Cristina Martín, John Milton, Mary Ann Newman, Mònica Pagès, Anna de la Paz, Miriam Perandones, Antoni Pizà, Mario Quijano, Douglas Riva, Anna Tonna, and Ricardo de la Torre. The conference will conclude with a screening of Enrique Granados: A Musical Portrait by director Stephen Halpern. Click here to view the full program and abstracts. The conference is free and open to the public. No registration is required. Directly following the conference will be a concert of Grandos’ works with pianist Douglas Riva and Perspectives Ensemble (in residence at the Foundation), featuring the world premiere of Benet Casablancas’ Romanza Sin Palabras: Homage to Granados. The concert is free; reservations are recommended. Click here for program and full details.
From Barcelona with Passion: Enrique Granados in New York (Concert) Perspectives Ensemble (artist in residence at the Foundation for Iberian Music), under director Ángel Gil-Ordoñez, will be joined by Douglas Riva and Spanish dancer Anna de la Paz to present a program of works by Enrique Granados and the world premiere of Benet Casablancas’s new work, Romanza sin palabras: Homage to Granados. Program Barcarola (Barcarolle), DLR V:4 Vals de concierto (Concert Waltz), DLR VII:9 Douglas Riva, piano Trio, C Major (1895) Poco allegro, con espressione Scherzo, vivace molto Duetto, andante con molta espressione Finale, allegro molto Benet Casablancas (b. 1956), Romanza sin Palabras (Homage to Granados) WORLD PREMIERE Danza de los Ojos Verdes (Dance for Green Eyes) with Anna de la Paz, classical Spanish dance Elisenda El jardín de Elisenda (Elisenda’s Garden) Trova Elisenda PERSPECTIVES ENSEMBLE Ángel Gil-Ordoñez, Conductor Sato Moughalian, Artistic Director Perspectives Ensemble is generously supported by the Danièle Doctorow Prize for Music and the Jarvis and Constance Doctorow Family Foundation. The concert closes the celebration’s international conference, “The Life and Music of Enrique Granados (1867-1916): A Centennial Celebration.” Admission is free, but reservations are recommended. 7 pm, March 10 Ticket Reservations Elebash Recital Hall CUNY Graduate Center 365 5th Ave NY, NY 10016
Granados Centenary Celebrations Commencing December 8th Our upcoming year (plus) long celebration of the 150th anniversary of Enrique Grandos’ birth and centenary of his death is steadily coming together, with a growing roster of events throughout the world that includes conferences in New York, Madrid, and Tokyo. For a full, updated list of events, please see and bookmark this page (and, of course, watch the Brook Center site or our Facebook and Twitter for announcements). The festivities will kick off December 8th here in NYC, with a song and dance music performance at Instituto Cervantes, featuring classical Spanish dancer Anna de la Paz. Stay tuned! Instituto Cervantes 211 E 49th St NY, NY 10017 $10 ($5 for IC members) 7 PM
Medieval Music Besalú: July 2016 Medieval Music Besalú, one of the Foundation for Iberian Music’s many early music partners, has just opened registration for its 5th Annual Course in July 2016. Medieval Music Besalú is an extensive course in medieval music performance, held in the beautiful medieval town of Besalú, Spain (Catalonia). At the festival, students may take classes in all aspects of medieval music, from medieval Latin and Pythagorean tuning to reading music manuscripts, with of course, many opportunities for coaching in vocal and instrumental performance. Highlights of the upcoming course will include workshops in the Carmina Burana and liturgical drama. The course is July 8–23, 2016. Space in the workshops is extremely limited, so early registration is recommended. Click here for tuition information, and have a look at their photo and video page for a look at the festival’s many activities!
Andalus Ensemble Fall Concert The New York Andalus Ensemble, a resident ensemble at the Foundation for Iberian Music, has a confirmed fall concert date! Please join us November 10th at Elebash Recital Hall at 7:15 pm. Tickets are $15.50 ($12 students/seniors). Click here to purchase advance tickets. November 10, 2015, 7:15 pm Elebash Recital Hall The Graduate Center, CUNY 365 Fifth Ave NY, NY 10016
Violin Masterclass with Raymond Erickson: “Rethinking Bach’s Violin Ciaccona” Extending our lineup of early music workshops this October, Professor Raymond Erickson (Queens College,The Graduate Center) will present a violin masterclass on Bach’s ciaconnas. The presentation will include a video of the ciaccona with baroque dance. Violinists wishing to participate in the master class should contact raymond.erickson@qc.cuny.edu before October 10. This lecture/masterclass is free and open to the public. Masterclass participation is open only to violinists but all Baroque music scholars and enthusiasts are invited to attend. The lecture will be held in Elebash Recital Hall on October 13th, 1–3 pm, following the morning workshop with La Fontegara. Presented in partnership with the Bildner Center and the New York Early Music Celebration.
Early Music Performances and Workshops in October This year’s New York Early Music Celebration, “El Nuevo Mundo,” which runs October 9–18, is bringing a wealth of opportunities to hear and practice Spanish early music! Below is a master list of the lecture-performances being co-sponsored by the Foundation for Iberian Music and their related festival concerts. Check back for additional information as it becomes available. Detailed information about all New York Early Music Celebration (NYEMC) events can be found on the NYEMC website. October 10, 2015 Early Music New York Opening keynote concert. Chamber Orchestra, with Frederick Renz Guest singers will join the orchestra in a featured tonadilla [theatrical form related to the zarzuela] along with Boccherini’s “Night Music from the Streets of Madrid,” an opera overture and dance suite by the Guadeloupian-born composer, Chevalier de Saint- Georges and works by Spain’s enlightened symphonists. 8 pm Cathedral Church of St John the Divine 1047 Amsterdam Ave (112th Street) October 13, 2015 La Fontegara From Mexico City, La Fontegara presents a lecture and workshop on instrumental works from Spanish American colonies (especially Mexico). The Graduate Center, Elebash Recital Hall 10 am – 1 pm NYEMC Concert: presented by the Mexican Cultural Institute 6 pm Mexican Consulate, Galeria Octavio Paz 27 E. 39th St, 3rd Floor New York, NY 10016 Raymond Erickson Professor Erickson, of Queens College, will present a lecture and violin master class, “Rethinking Bach’s Violin Ciaccona.” The presentation will include a video of the Ciaccona with baroque dance. Violinists wishing to participate in the master class should contact raymond.erickson@qc.cuny.edu before October 10. Elebash Recital Hall 1 pm – 3 pm October 14, 2015 Tembembe Ensamble Continuo Temembe will present a performance workshop on the relationship between instruments and performance practices of the 17th century Hispanic fandango and its contemporary counterpart. The Graduate Center, room C197 10 am – 1 pm NYEMC Concert: 7 pm The Americas Society 680 Park Avenue, at 68th St New York, NY 10065 October 16, 2015 Musica Temprana In their US debut, Dutch group Musica Temprana presents this performance and workshop on the research and application of historical performance practices in bailes, cachucas, and tonadas. The Graduate Center, Segal Theater 10 am – 1 pm October 18, 2015 Musica Temprana NYEMC Concert: Corpus Christi Church 529 W. 121st Street New York, NY 10027
Workshop in Baroque Mexican Music with La Fontegara Another early music workshop has been added to our list of offerings coming up in October, in partnership with the New York Early Music Celebration. October 13, don’t miss the opportunity to learn more about early Colonial Mexican music with La Fontegara. 10 am to 1 pm, in Elebash Recital Hall. La Fontegara is a Mexican ensemble dedicated to Renaissance, Baroque, and Gallant music of Colonial Mexico. They have performed extensively both in Mexico and internationally, as staples of the early music festival circuit. Click the photo below to watch their delightful performance of Baroque composer Dario Castello’s second sonata:
Date and Program of Music in 21st Century Society Lecture As previously announced, the speaker at this fall’s Lloyd Old and Constance Old Lecture—an annual series in which we invite speakers to discuss the evolving place of music in contemporary society—is notable philosopher Roger Scruton. We now have a confirmed date and a tentative program for this lecture. “No time to rejoice for those who walk among noise and deny the voice” Ash Wednesday T. S. Eliot Walking Among Noise Tonality, Atonality, and Where We Go From Here Friday, October 16, 2015, 7:30pm Elebash Recital Hall The Graduate Center, CUNY 365 Fifth Ave, New York NY 10016 Taking a cue from Eliot’s famous line, Walking among Noise: Tonality, Atonality, and Where We Go from Here will discuss the exceptional role of beauty, art and music in our everyday experience. The talk will address what tonality is and why it was declared a dead language. It asks, what are the lessons learned from the avant-garde, how can composers of “serious” music reconnect to the concert-going audience, why are symphony audiences declining, and finally, how can composers today connect with popular culture and the music that appeals to the young? The program will feature a musical interlude with members of the Perspectives Ensemble, who will be performing selections from works by Rochberg, Webern, and Tippett. Admission is free, but reservations are required. We will send out a community notice when reservations are open, about a month before the lecture. Please be sure to check back with us for updates.