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Anna Cazurra’s Hesperia for piano

Hesperia was the Foundation for Iberian Music’s 2007 Composer’s Commission. This work was premiered in a special the concert dedicated to the music of Spain at Instituto Cervantes.

Hesperia I: Azahara
Hesperia II
Hesperia III: El Basar
Hesperia IV: Mediterranea
WQXR Promo 1
WQXR Promo 2

Carlos Surinach and The Creation of Modern Dance in New York

“My music, even the most serious pieces, all suggest, in some way, dance.” – Carlos Suriñach, February 1987

” Finally, a homage to Carlos Surinach.” –Alicia de Larrocha

Carlos Suriñach and the Creation of Modern Dance in New York will explore the composer’s unique contribution to the world of dance from the 1950s through the 1980s. A roundtable discussion exploring the many aspects of Suriñach’s musical personality will be followed by a recital featuring the concert version ofEmbattled Garden, in celebration of the 50th anniversary of its premiere. Born in Barcelona, Spain on March 4, 1915, Carlos Suriñach came to the U.S. in 1951, making his home for many years in New York City. Well-known in Europe as a conductor, pianist and composer of opera, he is best remembered for his compositions for dance written after his immigration to the United States. Martha Graham, Alvin Ailey, Doris Humphrey, Robert Joffrey, John Butler, Pearl Lang, Francisco Moncion and Antonio are among the choreographers who commissioned Suriñach. Countless others, including Paul Taylor, Norman Morrice, Garth Fagan, and Doug Varone have created dances to Suriñach’s music. As Suriñach himself once said, “Dance is in my blood.” His death in 1997 came as a shock to all who knew him.

Panel Discussion

Ninotchka Devorah Bennahum, dance historian and author, Antonia Mercé “La Argentina”: Flamenco and the Spanish Avant Garde Stuart Hodes, veteran Martha Graham dancer and teacher, choreographer and writer Carmen de Lavallade, dancer, choreographer, actor Antoni Pizà, Foundation for Iberian Music, The City University of New York Aaron Sherber, Music Director and Conductor, The Martha Graham Company  Candice Agree of 96.3FM WQXR, the classical station of The New York Times, will moderate the panel.

Panel discussion to be followed by Concert

PROGRAM
—Trois Chansons et Danses Espagnoles:  No. 3 Adagio–Allegro tranquillo for piano
—Flamenco Cyclothymia for violin & piano
Adam Kent, piano & Airi Yoshioka, violin

—Ritmo Jondo
—Embattled Garden (conducted by Paul Hostetter)
Perspectives Ensemble
Sato Moughalian, musical director

Panel Discussion
Concert
WQXR Promo 1
WQXR Promo 2

Oscar Esplá and the Guitar

A lecture-recital by Jan de Kloe including works by Esplá and other Spanish and Latin American composers

To make a living during war years, the Spanish composer Oscar Esplá (1886-1976) was a music critic and he used his vast knowledge of the repertoire and music history to document his articles, some of which contain references to the guitar. In Spain he was in contact with the major players of his days and this lecture goes through the contacts and correspondence with guitarists such as Andrés Segovia and José de Azpiazu who played and edited transcriptions.   During the troublesome period of the Spanish Civil War and the Second World War, Esplá lived in Belgium.  The lecture is illustrated musically.Jan de Kloe was born in The Netherlands and lives in Belgium. He studied guitar at the Conservatoires of Brussels with Nicolas Alfonso and Liege with Gonzales Mohino and did master classes with Julian Bream and Turibio Santos.  He performed in Europe and the USA. He wrote two books about Oscar Esplá which cover the years this Spanish composer lived in Belgium (1936-1949) and articles on the same subject which appeared in musicological journals in Belgium and Spain.

Please visit www.dekloe.be

Program:

Oscar Esplá (1886-1976)
-Three levantinas (2, 5 and 8 from Melodías y temas de danza para piano, 1931)
-Antaño (impresiones musicales para piano)

Joaquín Montero (c1740-c1815)
-Sonata in D (adagio, allegro)

Vicente Sojo (1887-1974)
-Five pieces from Venezuela – Cantico, Aguinaldo, Canción, Aire venezolano, Galerón

Agustín Barrios (1885-1944)
-Vals No. 3
-Chôro da Saudade
-Gavota
-Una limosnita por el amor de Dios

Concert

Sepharad: New Approaches to a Musical Identity

The Sephardic Scholarship Series hosts two scholars and two bands together for a performance-based forum on Sephardic music today. In conjunction with this festival, the Sephardic Scholarship Series provides an opportunity to explore aspects of Sephardic musical culture.  Performances by Smadar and Asefa are followed by an audience-interactive panel discussion with the artists and with ethnomusicologists versed in the field of Sephardic Jewish music. The primary focus of discussion centers on the role of modernity in Sephardic music, including how these artists negotiate preservation and innovation. Curated by Samuel R Thomas.

Concert

Schoenberg in Barcelona

2 March, 2006

Program notes

Like Paris and Berlin, interwar Barcelona (c.1920-1936) was a cauldron of international modernist creativity: Schoenberg composed Moses und Aron, Webern conducted the Pau Casals Workers’ Orchestra, and Alban Berg’s Violin Concerto was premiered.  This powerful momentum shaped a generation of composers (Robert Gerhard, Joaquim Homs, and Josep Soler, among others) and inspired the work of a generation of visual artists and literary minds (Antoni Tàpies, Joan Brossa, J.E. Cirlot, and other members of the “Dau al Set” group).

The program includes:

Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951)
Drei Klavierstücke, Op. 11
1. Mässig; 2. Sehr langsam; 3. Bewegt

Robert Gerhard (1896-1970)
Dos Apunts / Two Sketches for piano

Arnold Schoenberg
Klavierstück, Op. 33b

Joaquim Homs (1906-2003) in celebration of his centennial
Tres invenciones sobre un acorde
Set peces / Seven Pieces
Díptic II: 1. El vent no té repòs; 2. Plany
Impromptu No. 6 for piano trio

Robert Gerhard
“The Cave of Montesinos,” from Don Quixote
Three Impromptus: I. Giochevole

Concert (part 1)
Concert (part 2)

A Panel discussion moderated by Antoni Pizà with Walter Frisch, Adam Kent, and members of the Damocles will follow the performance.  Sponsored by the Institut Ramon Llull of Barcelona

Panel discussion