The emerging quartet Gaman Ensemble shows in this album the evolution and cross-influences of that strong Spanish presence in the French capital over the last century. It's four members (Jesus Reneses -soprano saxophone-, Carlos Zaragoza -alto saxophone-, Daniel Sanchez-Manjavacas -tenor saxophone- and Luis Maria Gonzalez -baritone saxophone-) have studied in Paris, allowing themselves to be nourished musically and intellectually by the cultural life of the city. So did the five composers who make up the disc: Joaquin Nin, Jesus Guridi, Enrique Granados, Eduard Toldr� and Felix Ibarrondo. Gaman Ensemble records for the first time their own versions for saxophone quartet of the pieces by Nin and Guridi, originals for piano or string quartet, as well as the arrangement of the dance by Granados and the work commissioned by themselves to Ibarrondo. From these five scores, the versatile and rigorous Gaman Ensemble aims to illustrate the fruitful and long-lived sound encounter between Spain and France without losing sight of the musical regionalisms that were forged in the final stages of Romanticism. Basque, Andalusian and Catalan popular references emerge more or less explicitly in the languages of the five composers. On the other hand, as well as showing it's commitment to contemporary creation through Ibarrondo's work, Gaman Ensemble wants to contribute to the revaluation of the production and legacy of composers not yet sufficiently recognised, such as Nin or Guridi. And all this, through the original and suggestive formation of the saxophone quartet, a mirror of contemporaneity.

After completing his Goyescas, the pianist and composer Enrique Granados wrote that he had happily succeeded in "writing something significant". And who would want to contradict him? The six scenes, some of them very extensive, are based on drawings by the great Spanish artist Francisco Jose de Goya. They form a cycle that is glowing with inspiration from the first to the last bar, and whose technical difficulties achieve the kind of transcendence that Franz Liszt in particular had achieved in the 19th century. His technical prowess is entirely devoted to picturesque and highly emotional expression, from humorous whimsy to the most grave of tragedies. The young Dina Stojilkovic has recorded Goyescas for cpo on a Steinway B built in 1895, an instrument that Granados might well have had under his virtuoso fingers at the time.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Sony Music Entertainment is pleased to announce another ten releases in its increasingly comprehensive series of Classical Masters. These new box sets contain classic interpretations by some of the most celebrated musicians of the 20th century. No pianist has been more closely associated with the music of Granados than Spain’s beloved Alicia de Larrocha. Praising her in this repertoire, wrote ClassicsToday.com “is tantamount to giving fresh air a good review”. The new release collects her last traversals of this music in the studio, made for RCA in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The most substantial of these haunting works is Granados’ masterpiece Goyescas. In Alicia de Larrocha’s valedictory recording from 1989, “her seasoned mastery of Granados’ complex textures and innate affinity for his colorful idiom assert themselves in every measure. You won’t find a more recommendable Goyescas” (ClassicsToday.com).

Cantos de Espana

Enrique Granados was one of the great composer-pianists of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. A deeply nationalist musician, his works primarily mine the rich heritage of Catalan and Spanish folk music for their inspiration. Today, Granados is best remembered for his evocative solo piano works; however his output also includes a great deal of orchestral music and six operas. Many of his piano compositions, due to their rich Spanish flavor, have been transcribed for the classical guitar - including the work recorded here by the young French virtuoso Guillaume Coppola, the Danzas espanolas. In preparing for this recording, Coppola carefully studied original manuscripts and critical editions. In this powerful and insightful recording, his piano shimmers with the colors and the warmth of Spain.

Classical Music

This is not a historical recording. Yet mysteriously the music is performed in an interpretation which is historically authentic down to the last detail. The key to this mystery is: The original performer was present at the recent recording session, but not physically: The music is heard on a modern Steinway. Never has music stored in the Welte-Mignon system sounded so "right" or so good. Thanks to TACET's much-praised recording technique, and because the Welte-Mignon memory system and sound production mechanism have now been newly adjusted for the first time by the leading expert in the field - and are thus able to meet TACET's requirements. (Welte-Mignon was invented in 1904.) the Welte-Mignon mystery can now speak to US without distortion.

Classical Music

Classical Music

In his piano transcriptions of harpsichord sonatas principally by Scarlatti, Granados tackled the task of presenting virtually unknown works to a contemporary public.

Classical Music

Classical Music