An associate professor at the Federico Moreno Torroba Music School in Madrid, guitarist Pablo Rioja divides his time between his academic work and his performing career. He has given recitals in many different concert halls, in Africa and Asia as well as across Europe. He has made live recordings for Radio Nacional de España, Radio … Pablo Rioja
Particularly interested in Chamber Music, Herminia Navarro has worked with many aggrupations and musicians, such as clarinetists David Salinas and Laura Fernandez Organista, or guitarist Pablo Rioja, with whom she conforms the guitar duo “L’Encouragement”, which tours regularly through Spain. This activity is also held abroad, in countries such as Morocco (Instituto Cervantes in Marrakech … Herminia Navarro
[…] demuestran un gran dominio de su instrumento y una habilidad extraordinaria para expresar las emociones contenidas en cada pieza. el resultado es una grabación excelente, con un sonido suave y equilibrado y con un alto nivel técnico y musical que convierte a 19th Century Guitar Duos en una joya que no solo atrapará a … Una joya que no solo atrapará a los amantes de este instrumento
Herminia Navarro and Pablo Rioja play this music with enormous delicacy, attentiveness and with respect. Very beautiful![…] Luis Briso de Montiano has written the knowledgeable sleeve-notes; The SACD surround technique guarantees the highest technical standard[…]
This is beautiful music of the best kind, performed at its best by this guitar duo. Interesting not only for the guitar enthusiast thanks to a gem of recording.
[Brotons’ concerto] has unusual amounts of melodic emotion and interwoven complex thematic textures. […] Played so powerfully by soloist and orchestra, I am amazed that Brotons’ works are not extensively available on recordings. […] Despite hearing dozens of Tchaikovsky String Serenades in concerts and recordings, I felt that I was hearing it anew, with the … A very fine concert for lovers of a string chamber orchestra
Even in the tightly lined fugue of op. 110 [Colom] brings another number of special aspects of his imaginative approach into play. It may sound strange, but it is as if the composer himself took a seat behind the grand piano and breathed new life into his music; Colom’s playing is so suggestive.[…] The great … As if the composer himself took a seat behind the grand piano
En el Presto agitato con el que concluye la sonata, Valderrama y del Valle tocan con decisión y arrojo, aportando el toque dramático necesario en algunos momentos así como un gran lirismo en otros.[…] en la versión que escuchamos se percibe un cuidado y profundo trabajo intelectual de cada uno de los movimientos.
The inclusion of two rarely heard miniatures by these two composers as well as an absolutely first-rate recording quality, should make this release a most attractive proposition even in the crowded market of Brahms and Franck violin sonatas.[…] What Valderrama and Valle bring to this is a certain fiery intensity which underlines the music’s surprising … An absolutely first-rate recording quality
Valderrama es un violín esencialmente lírico, de una timbración rica que se ilumina en el agudo y se profundiza en el grave. Su musicalidad es impecable[…] Del valle lo hace con señorío y limpieza, hasta con mimo en la timbración como si las cuerdas de su piano fueran también las del violín de su compañera. … Una dichosa referencia
These two gifted Spanish musicians feel completely at home in this repertoire and know how to touch the listener.[…]There are many beautiful autumn colors to admire, but also a very lively lyricism in addition to the settled spirituality in the middle parts.”
This 2018 release features Gallén’s remarkable Paco Marin (2003) 19th century-style instrument which, in a spacious room with lively overtones, yields a sweetness of tone especially in the bright upper register.[…] The finest works on this program are probably the two pieces by Leo Brouwer, Suite No. 2 and Dos temas populares cubanos. The composer … It would be hard to imagine more moving and insightful renditions
Gallén […] viene a regalarnos uno de los discos de este año. Grabar un repertorio así, conocidísimo, […] podría no parecer la mejor idea, pero cuando cada cosa que se va haciendo sitúa el ápice de la interpretación un punto por encima de lo ya hecho, el juicio cambia, y que haga lo que quiera. … Gallén viene a regalarnos uno de los discos de este año
[…] Ricardo siempre ha tenido aquel don de abstraernos cada vez que roza la madera.[…] El jienense consigue la vuelta de tuerca de obras que hemos escuchado en numerosas ocasiones y de pronto, nos descubre una historia dentro de la propia historia.[…] Cada interpretación que compone el disco es una magistral experiencia de menos de … Cada interpretación que compone el disco es una magistral experiencia de menos de cinco minutos
Spanish guitarist Ricardo Gallén is one of those rare musicians that can efface oneself from the musical process. By this I mean that all you hear on this recording is the music’s essence coming through, pure and expressive, without the presence of a person struggling with the instrument. The guitar in this case is the … All you hear on this recording is the music’s essence coming through, pure and expressive
Ricardo Gallén transcends a musical discourse marked in undeniable technical perfection. Each page played delivers unique beauty, giving birth to more than a simple emotion; a true meditation. Here, once again, is an essential guitar recording.
Gallén’s tone, […] is rich, varied and resonantly beautiful. […] I was also very impressed with his ability to make complex polyphonic passages sound as if several instruments were playing. Even when playing fast, virtuosic passages, he makes a minimum of string whistles or fingerboard noises.
Brilliant and plastic at the same time, as these imaginative miniatures reveal themselves to the listener full of imagination and technical mastery.
Colom hace palpable la conexión entre ambos compositores a través de una cuidada y acertada selección […] logrando aportar algo completamente nuevo en una repertorio conocido y familiar.
The listener is invited into the deepest musical thinking by this scrupulous interpreter, but ends up ensorcelled by the pure beauty of the music.[…] It is in the slower pieces, too, that we hear what a majestic instrument this Steinway is, and what an remarkably vivid and detailed recording has been achieved by the sound … Again we must salute Eudora for this excellent recording
The result is that the moment you hear Colom playing in his recital, you are astonished by the natural spontaneity and deep expressiveness produced by his subtle and perfectly judged interpretations. Superb pianism deserves recording of the highest quality.[…] Simply, sound is amazingly natural and full of detail […]
The fact that it is possible to connect different piano works in such an overwhelming way says something about the quality […] of this performance. I was completely overwhelmed by it and that has not really gotten worse after many listening. For me, this is one of the most beautiful examples of unity through diversity, … This version reveals a world that I did not yet know as such
Unas versiones intensas y a la vez cuidadas en extremo, en absoluto rutinarias ni asépticas, y, claro está, una música bellísima.
This is one of those seemingly rare occurrences where the highest fidelity sound is coupled with outstanding performances. […] The excellent clarity of the sound brings out every strand in the instrumental parts allowing one to hear nuances that are normally hidden. […] These players manage to deliver a performance that never sags and never … This goes right to the top of my Want List. Highly recommended!
El resultado global de la grabación es asombroso, tanto en su inmediatez como en su energía cruda, con todos los matices apasionados de la visión romántica de Brahms capturados perfectamente. […] Los intérpretes muestran una interacción particularmente sutil entre sus texturas contrastantes de cuerdas y teclado, creando una dinámica compartida que trae las profundidades expresivas … El resultado global de la grabación es asombroso
El sonido es magnífico. Timbres perfectos, dinámicas poderosas sin exageración, y un gran equilibrio entre las voces de los solistas.
[…]a new reference for this quartets among those of Emil Gilels and the Quatuor Amadeus […]
Here we hear an ensemble that has grown completely with Brahms’ piano quartets and has created a performance in which […] the layeredness of this music seems effortless. […] The recording is warm and clear, leaving no detail unexposed. Magnificent.
I heartily suggest you acquire the double SACD and enjoy the best of Late Romantics. […]Without loosing any of its register, the piano sounds marvellous, all the timbres collected by the DSD256 and balanced so that even at the loudest sound required by Brahms, the recording technician never lets the piano overcome the strings. The … An exemplary recording for a Piano Quartet!
Morelló’s mastery of the flute demonstrated thoughout the album is energetic and flawless, and it perfectly illustrates the requisite virtuosity and dynamic emotion for this genre.
Ambitious program, perfectly defended by flute player Vicent Morello and pianist Daniel del Pino, deploying energy at every moment […]
Flute players and addicts of the instrument shouldn’t miss Eudora’s latest issue, […] Morelló’s performance is remarkable, working through a huge range of techniques and flute capabilities. […] an airy ambience without loss of instrumental detail, and a natural 3-d sonic image of the ensemble.
In short, Petrit Ceku has delivered a stunning performance of these shape-shifting works. These arrangements are a revitalization of the genius of Bach as a living tradition. The engineers have created a sound image that is life-like, immediate and deeply pleasing. This is a recording for the ages.
It seems that guitarist Petrit Ceku has found the “voice” of his artistic soul so as to feel the music of the Leipzig cantor differently,with a new expressive force which subjugates and enchants at the same time. With playing that is astounding in its mastery, Petrit Ceku is sublime by playing on the dynamic contrasts, … It seems that guitarist Petrit Ceku has found the “voice” of his artistic soul
Exceptional playing captured with great clarity. I believe this could be one of those desert island discs you keep hearing about.
This is a performance of a very high level, technically perfect, with great rhetorical skills and a deep understanding of the structure of this music.
Çeku’s playing […] gripped me from his first few bars. His obvious love for Bach’s music brings a self-effacing purity of tone from his six-string guitar; gracious, elegant, endearing, with perfect control of dynamics […]. Çeku’s […] flying fingers of virtuosity and clear fluidity of thought sound almost as if all the Six Suites were … I have already put this 2-disc album into my list of Records of the Year
As expected the Eudora recording is wonderfully detailed and airy, its timbres true.[…] If you’re serious about your Haydn Bagaría’s four sonatas are well worth acquiring. Sonically, […] Eudora’s up-to-the-minute DSD original is streets ahead of the otherwise decent BIS and Hyperion issues.
[…] not a bit of this intricate business slips from Enrique’s prodigious hands. There is some virtuosity in both of the remaining prestos, but even here, the emphasis is on the little surprises, spirited gestures, and tonal command of the instrument.[…] This SACD will confirm that the engineers at this label have achieved some rare … A buoyant Haydn recital
Bagaria presents a very revolutionary, energetic and dynamic Haydn. […] Thanks to an excellent surround recording technique the listener experiences a real musical adventure.
Bagaría nos sumerge en el mundo de Haydn con un gusto admirable. Su sonido es transparente y su expresividad alcanza momentos de gran belleza […] El fraseo está muy bien construido y los pasajes rápidos son interpretados con mucha maestría. Se trata de un claro ejemplo de excelente técnica al servicio de la expresión emocional.
Uno de los mejores pianistas de la nueva generación, Enrique Bagaria hace gala de una exquisita musicalidad interpretando cuatro importantes sonatas de Joseph Haydn.
[…] Bagaría manages to balance [Haydn’s] complex intellectual simplicity by means of a clear straightforwardness: Like a real magician he shows us the trick and we still feel spellbound […]
Enrique Bagaría breathes life into each and every phrase, and assures that none of the notes are made to sound insignificant. His control of nuances, accents, articulation and dynamics is second to none. The music is always characterized by a natural feel for drama at one end and a sense of playful fun at the … A new recording that will make you appreciate Joseph Haydn’s piano music all over again
These are very fine renditions of Haydn sonatas, capturing wit and whimsy, characterisation, beautifully nuanced articulation for fluent ornamentation and giving scrupulous attention to Haydn’s frequent changes of dynamics without exaggeration. […] These beautifully polished performances would provide an excellent introduction to Haydn’s extensive list of piano sonatas; there are very few other examples in … Highly recommended
[…]Bagaría’s attention to detail, balanced rhetoric, dynamic finesse and light of touch creates room for humor, melancholy and lyricism.[…]
The warmth and closeness of the recording is admirable […]. Nordberg is clear in the exposition of the polyphony, natural in the treatment of rhythm, exquisite with the dynamics and the ornamentation.
Jonas Nordberg […] deployes a remarkable mastery deploying a remarkable mastery of precision and musicality. From start to finish the performance […] is a plea to rediscover this music.
A recording as it should be: intimate and detailed, with enough room for the sound to flourish.
High resolution is all about detail and timbre. And that is just what we hear abundantly on this disk. Every note can be pin pointed; one hears the fingers on the strings. The discrete surround (which in fact copies the reflection one hears in a hall, or, in this case, a church) creates lots of … A well-chosen spiritual combination of music, culture and history
The performers here are sublimely sensitive to Rebay’s musical subtleties, from contrasts of dynamic and the weighing of chords against melodic lines, as well as in the democratic interaction between the instruments, elegantly demonstrated in the guitar’s melodic function in the second Variations movement of the Sonata in C minor. The added ambience of 5.0 … A joy from beginning to end
With perfect balance touched by rare delicacy in their playing, José M. Alvarez Losada on the violin, Joaquin Riquelme on the viola, an Pedro Mateo Gonzalez on the guitar make these pieces enchanting at each moment. Let us also praise the sound recording that respects tones in realistic acoustics by which the instruments thrive with … Here is one of the best SACDs of the fall 2015
Dankzij deze drie Spaanse pleitbezorgers – ze spelen meer dan voortreffelijk en zetten zich duidelijk met hart en ziel in voor deze muziek – is het bovendien voortdurend genieten geblazen, nog versterkt door de opname die ik wel als een juweeltje wil klasseren. Goed dat deze muziek er is!
Ferdinand Rebay had a genuine feeling for the guitar, as one can hear in this beautiful and atmospheric performances of his duo sonatas. A much enjoyable disc!
[…] his music is thoroughly tonal, rooted in late romantic, melodious expressions. Well structured, sophisticated and refined. […] The viola player here, Joaquín Riquelme, plays with absolute ‘justesse’, which is rare for a viola player. The same applies to the violin of José Manuel Álvarez Losada. […] Revisiting a thus far mostly unknown composer, these … Not another Mozart Symphony, but a totally new experience. And let me say it straight away: This disk is a wonderful one
Not only interesting, but also a very personal recording which will guarantee a beautiful and enriching experience to any opened-minded listener. Josep Colom is a veteran Spanish pianist, renowned for his recordings of De Falla, Mompou and Brahms. […] On this recording, he surely enjoys the finest sound engineering of his career as he debuts … A recital that bridges the aesthetic worlds of Mozart and Chopin
The product of Colom’s original narrative-based programme, his stunning interpretations and the artistry of Eudora’s DSD recording together produce a truly unique musical experience. […] This disc give pure joy, and induces the listener to immediately play it again.
Gallén’s overall approach to the four sonatas in the Viennese classical style (with Spanish flavours) is wonderfully idiomatic. He understands the kind of Enlightenment rhetoric which Mozart and Haydn used, and brings superb clarity as well as sympathetic expression to the music’s progress. You are never quite sure what Sor is going to do next, … Without doubt, this is the finest classical guitar sound I have heard on disc so far
While there are many recordings of Fernando Sor available, this one really stands out. The works featured are among Sor’s finest concert works; the complete “Sonatas” with all movements – The Grande Sonatas opus 22 & 25, Grand Solo op. 14, and the Sonate op. 15. Ricardo’s playing sounds effortless and graceful, with elegant phrasing, … Ricardo’s playing sounds effortless and graceful, with elegant phrasing
Splendid performances of Fernando Sor’s four sonatas, recorded in a stunningly natural surround sound. Gallén’s playing is rhetoric, elegant and richly nuanced.
This SACD’s stunnning sound […] makes it the best recorded one with Fernando Sor’s music. […] The performance is so intense, so beautiful […] that places Sor in the forefront of the plucked string repertoire of his time […] One of the best guitar recordings of the last years.
[…] this is very good music, and it’s extremely well played by Gallén. The Sonata Op. 25, which has four big movements (the first of them slow and brooding), manages to convey a remarkable degree of contrapuntal interest, and Gallén has the admirable ability to differentiate melody, accompaniment, and inner parts in such a way … Gallén create layers of sonority that are consistently captivating.
First, let us salute the arrival of the Spanish label Eudora to the classical music field. In a layout that is both sober and elegant, the label proposes a DSD recording of the Sonatas for Guitar by Fernando Sor (1778-1839). […] Ricardo Gallén literally embraces these Sonatas in a musical flow of extreme sensibility, offering … This SACD is a small miracle many will hold on to jealously
Cellist David Apellániz has appeared as soloist with the Real Orquesta Sinfónica de Sevilla, Lisbon’s Orquestra Gulbenkian, the Orchestre National de Lyon, Orquestra de València and Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona at some of the music world’s most prestigious events and venues, including the Salzburg and Lyon festivals, the Berlin Konzerthaus and the Quincena Musical Donostiarra (San Sebastián Musical Fortnight). He is also regularly invited to appear as guest principal with the Orquestra de València, Orquesta Sinfónica de Navarra and Orquestra de Cadaqués, among others.
Born in Sabadell in 1979, violinist Josep Colomé began his musical studies with his father at the age of four. At eighteen, he graduated with honours from Barcelona’s Liceu Conservatory, winning all prizes available to him. He continued his studies at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik in Freiburg with Nicolas Chumachenco, and then at Northern Illinois University (Chicago) with Shmuel Ashkenasi and the Vermeer Quartet.
Víctor del Valle, who enjoys a special connection with the world of chamber music, is involved in active collaboration with various musical groups and soloists. However, his growing prominence on the musical scene is undoubtedly due to his career as a concert pianist together with his brother Luis.
Since her debut as a soloist with conductor Zubin Mehta at the celebrations concert of the 70th birthday of Her Majesty the Queen of Spain, Ana María Valderrama has established herself as one of the most acclaimed Spanish violinist of the moment.
Four of the foremost Spanish musicians of their generation, Josep Colomé, Joaquín Riquelme, David Apellániz and Enrique Bagaría join forces in exploring Brahms’s music.
Herminia Navarro and Pablo Rioja formed the L’Encouragement guitar duo in 2005. Having been friends for some years, they decided to pour their combined professional experiences and musical enthusiasms into performing the extensive and exciting duo repertoire.
The chamber ensemble Cammerata was founded in 2009 and its work has been consistently acclaimed by audiences and critics alike ever since. Its young players, trained at the most prestigious music schools in Europe, approach their work with professionalism and a belief in innovation. All were involved in local youth orchestras in Murcia, and it was this network of connections that led to the formation of the ensemble in 2009.
Spanish pianist Daniel del Pino enjoys an international career that has seen him perform throughout Europe (Paris’s Salle Gaveau, Sofia’s Bulgaria Hall, Bucharest’s Romanian Athenaeum, Seville’s Teatro de la Maestranza, Madrid’s Auditorio Nacional, Bilbao’s Teatro Arriaga, Valencia’s Palau de la Música) as well as in Gabon, Morocco, Tunisia and across the Middle East, and in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Guatemala, Taiwan (Taipei’s National Concert Hall), Japan, Australia and the US (New York’s Carnegie Hall).
Vicent Morelló is principal flute of the Royal Seville Symphony Orchestra, a position he has held since October 2007, having previously spent eleven years as a member of the Residentie Orkest (The Hague). He has also appeared with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen; the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Holland Symfonia, Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic and Residentie Bach Ensembles; the Galicia and Castilla y León symphony orchestras, Gran Canaria Philharmonic Orchestra, Barcelona Symphony and Catalonia National Orchestra, and Comunitat Valenciana Orchestra, among others. He has worked with such eminent conductors as Yevgeny Svetlanov, Neeme Järvi, Paavo Järvi, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Valery Gergiev, Lorin Maazel and Zubin Mehta.
Petrit Çeku’s exquisite sensibility and expressiveness have attracted and engaged audiences worldwide. He has performed many recitals throughout Europe and North America and was a soloist with major symphonic orchestras such as Baltimore Symphony, Czech Chamber Philharmonic, State Hermitage Orchestra of St. Petersburg and Zagreb Philharmonic. He also appears regularly with the famed string ensemble Zagreb Soloists and is a founding member of Guitar Trio Elogio, established in 2008.
Winner of the María Canals International Piano Competition (Barcelona, 2006), Enrique Bagaría was born in Barcelona in 1978 and graduated in piano from the city’s Conservatorio Municipal. During his undergraduate years he also spent some time at the École Normale Alfred Cortot in Paris. He went on to postgraduate studies at Barcelona’s Conservatorio Superior de Música del Liceu, under the supervision of Stanislav Pochekin, and then at Madrid’s Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía, where he worked with Dmitry Bashkirov, Claudio Martínez Mehner and Galina Eguiazarova.
Swedish lutenist Jonas Nordberg is a graduate of the Universität Mozarteum Salzburg (MA, 2011) and Stockholm’s Royal College of Music. He is in high demand as both a soloist and an ensemble musician, performing music from the early Renaissance to the Romantic era, on a wide range of historical plucked instruments including Renaissance lutes, Baroque lutes and guitars, archlutes, theorbos and early 19th-century guitars.
Born in Murcia in 1983, Joaquín Riquelme began his musical education at the Conservatory of Murcia with Pedro Navarro, and Antonio J. Clares, continuing his studies with Emilio Mateu and Alan Kovacs at the Royal Conservatory of Madrid (RCSMM), from which he graduated with honours. He then undertook postgraduate studies with Professor Hartmut Rohde at the University of the Arts (UdK) in Berlin, completing his work there in 2010. He also attended masterclasses given by Hartmut Rohde, Ashan Pillai, Jesse Levine, Nobuko Imai and Jean Sulem, among others.
Prize winner of the II International Joaquín Rodrigo Violin Competition (Madrid, 2004), “Primer Palau” International Competition (Barcelona, 2006) and XLI International Course of “Música en Compostela” (Santiago de Compostela, 1998). He also received the Honor Prize of the Ourense Conservatory, two Grand Prizes (in Violin and Chamber Music) at the Barcelona Conservatory and a Postgraduate degree with a final grade of “Distinction” at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz (Austria).
Born in Avila in 1983, he started his musical studies in the Conservatory “Tomás Luis de Victoria”, where he graduated in guitar with Salvador Gómez and composition with Antonio Bernaldo de Quirós and Alejandro Moreno.
I was born in Barcelona in 1947. Unusually for that period in Spain, music was a big part of our everyday family life, as far back as I can remember. Thanks to this, and the unconditional emotional and financial support I received from my parents, who were not themselves professional musicians, I was able to choose my career path at an early age, and have enjoyed it ever since.
Ricardo Jesús Gallén García studied guitar and ancient music at the Universities of Salzburg (Mozarteum) and Munich with the Masters Fisk, Eglhuber, Spiri, Gilbert, Huebscher and Clerch.