Cantos y Revueltas, Pacho Flores’ new disc for Deutsche Grammophon

Cantos y Revueltas, Pacho Flores’ new disc for Deutsche Grammophon

On November 20 at the Auditorio de Galicia, Pacho Flores and Manuel Hernández-Silva will present, together with the Royal Galician Philharmonia, Cantos y Revueltas, Pacho Flores’ new album for Deutsche Grammophon with the Galician orchestra conducted by Hernández-Silva that includes, among other works and as a centerpiece, the homonymous concert for trumpet and Venezuelan cuatro by Pacho Flores himself.

Cantos y Revueltas

Cantos y Revueltas is a fantasia concertante for trumpet, Venezuelan cuatro and strings, premiered last January 2018 in Santiago, Vigo and A Coruña by the Royal Galician Philharmonia under Hernández-Silva, together with cuatro player Leo Rondón and, of course, Pacho Flores’ trumpets. It is a work rooted in old work songs and popular Venezuelan tunes, but also in modern Caribbean-like rhythms. The album begins with the Concerto para corno da caccia by Johann Baptist Georg Neruda, continues with the Aria from Bachiana Brasileira No. 5 by Villa-Lobos, Cantos y Revueltas, El Diablo suelto by Heraclio Fernández and Piazolla’s Winter in Buenos Aires, and was recorded live at the Palacio de la Ópera in A Coruña on January 13, 2018.

This is a double CD-DVD that includes a video recording of the concert and various extras, including interviews revealing the origin of Pacho’s work as well as curiosities about the process that led to its premiere in Santiago and its recording. Cantos y Revueltas is the fourth recording for Pacho Flores with Deutsche Grammophon after Cantar, with the Konzerthausorchester in Berlin conducted Christian Vásquez, Entropía, with guitar player Jesús ‘Pingüino’ González, and Fractales, with the Arctic Philharmonic conducted by Christian Lindberg. These concerts also counted on Pablo Barreiro for the audio recording and Antonio Cid and Joaquín Calderón for the video recording and production, which allowed to obtain a result that met Deutsche Grammophon’s highest artistic and technical standards.

Pacho Flores

Every so often, sometimes after several generations, some artists appear who are a milestone in their respective disciplines. This is the case with Pacho Flores, the great trumpet player of the 21st century so far, who is improving the performance technique and the expressive possibilities of the instrument to unknown levels. In collaboration with his brand, his STOMVI team, he is carrying out a formidable development and technical improvement of the trumpet, with new instruments in different keys and with four pistons that expand its register and palette. Many of these instruments are prototypes only available to Pacho, and only some, once tested, get produced for the market sale.

Pacho is also actively promoting an unprecedented expansion of the repertoire for solo trumpet and orchestra. After releasing some works dedicated to him by composers such as Efraín Oscher (Concierto Mestizo, 2010; Soledad, 2013, included in the album CANTAR; Barroqueana Venezolana nº 2, 2017; and Apex, double concert for trumpet and clarinet, 2018), Giancarlo Castro (Stunning trumpet, 2017), Alain Trudel (Preach pour trumpet et orchestre), etc., Pacho decided to take over and launch a project of shared commissions to some of the most relevant composers nowadays such as Arturo Márquez, Roberto Sierra, Paquito D’Rivera, Efraín Oscher, Christian Lindberg or Daniel Freiberg, which allows a systematic and scheduled update of new works with technical and musical requirements according to the possibilities offered by the new instruments. This program has already begun to bear fruit: Arturo Márquez and Paquito D’Rivera’s works have already been premiered, and the concerts by Roberto Sierra and Efraín Oscher’s will be presented this season. In addition, and in collaboration with his label, Deutsche Grammophon, Pacho is producing the most complete discography on the trumpet performed by the same artist, recording reference versions of the repertoire classics, as well as the new works that, by his own efforts, are joining the literature for this instrument.

 

 

 

 

Christian Vásquez and Pacho Flores with the Bogota Philharmonic

Christian Vásquez and Pacho Flores with the Bogota Philharmonic

Christian Vásquez and Pacho Flores are working together again, this time with the Bogota Philharmonic Orchestra, on November 8 and 9 at the Auditorio León de Greiff. The program includes the following works: Gershwin: Cuban Overture; Márquez: Concierto de Otoño; Villalobos: Aria de la Bachiana nº 5; Flores: Morocota; Piazzolla: Invierno Porteño  (from Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas); and Ginastera: Suite from ballet Estancia.

Christian Vásquez and Pacho Flores have known each other since their infancy, when they were together at EL SISTEMA in Venezuela. After developing an international career and being both based in Europe, they have had the chance to collaborate on different occasions with orchestras such as the Philharmonic of Turku in Finland, the Stavanger Symphony in Norway or the Het Gelders Orkest in the Netherlands, in addition to Pacho Flores’ record debut for Deutshe Grammophon with CANTAR, which they recorded with the Funkhausorchester in Berlin in 2013.

Christian Vasquez, Pacho Flores, Filarmónica de Bogotá

If Christian Vásquez and Pacho Flores recorded what was Pacho’s first record for the yellow label, this program includes two works, Aria de la Bachiana nº 5 by Villalobos and Invierno Porteño by Piazzolla, which are part of CANTOS Y REVUELTAS, his fourth record for the German label that will be launched very soon. This new album was conducted by Manuel Hernández-Silva with the participation of Venezuelan cuatro player Leo Rondón and the Royal Galician Philharmonia. In between these two were published the albums ENTROPÍA, in 2017, with guitarist Jesús ‘Pingüino’ González, and FRACTALES, in 2018, with the Arctic Philharmonic and Christian Lindberg. This program also includes Arturo Márquez’s Concierto de Otoño, which is part of a large and ambitious project of shared commissions for new trumpet concerts that Pacho himself is promoting and that includes composers such as Roberto Sierra, Paquito D’Rivera, Efraín Oscher, Christian Lindberg and Daniel Freiberg. The main target of this project is to expand and improve the repertoire for solo trumpet with orchestra.

 

 

 

Pacho Flores with the Philharmonique de Strasbourg and K. Karabits

Pacho Flores with the Philharmonique de Strasbourg and K. Karabits

Pacho Flores debuts with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg next Friday, September the 27th, at the KKL of Lucerne, with the Concerto for trumpet and orchestra by Henri Tomasi, conducted by Kirill Karabits. Pacho has just arrived from Cracow, where he played works by Lindberg, Piazzolla and Arturo Márquez with the Beethoven Academy Orchestra conducted by Lee Reynolds; and after Lucerne Pacho is going to Fort Worth, Texas, to participate in the Latin American Music Festival, organised by the Texas Christian University, where Pacho will teach, play recitals, chamber music and concert con orchestra .

Pacho Flores is a first-prize winner of the Maurice André International Competition, the world’s most important trumpet contest, as well as the first prize at the International Competition Philip Jones and First Prize at the International Competition Citta di Porcia. Recently he was awarded with the Gold Medal by the Global Music Awards for ENTROPÍA, his last recording for Deutsche Grammophon with guitar player Jesús ‘Pingüino’ González. A product of the ground-breaking ‘El Sistema’, he is becoming increasingly recognized for his outstanding performing and recording activity that spans the solo, chamber, and orchestral media. Equally at home in the classical and folk styles, Pacho captivates audiences with his energetic delivery and colourful tone.

D. Freiberg, A. Márquez, P. D'Rivera, P. Flores y C. M. Prieto durante la grabación de Mestizo para Deutsche Grammophon

D. Freiberg, A. Márquez, P. D’Rivera, P. Flores and C. M. Prieto during the recording of Mestizo for Deutsche Grammophon

His solo performances include appearances with orchestras such as Turku Philharmonic, Arctic Philharmonic, Norrköping Symphony, Norddeutschen Philharmonie Rostock, Salzburger Philharmoniker, Kiev Philharmonic, St. Petersburg Camerata, Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, NHK Symphony, Tokyo Symphony, Osaka Philharmonic, Kymi Sinfonietta, Het Gelders Orchestra, Tucson Symphony, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, , Orquesta de RTVE, Hyogo PAC Orchestra, Sinfónica Nacional de México, Sinfónica Nacional de Puerto Rico, Filarmónica de Málaga, Sinfónica de Baleares, Real Filharmonía de Galicia, Sinfónica de Bilbao, Sinfónica de Tenerife, Stavanger Orchestra, Filarmónica de Gran Canaria, Orquesta del Teatro Colón de Buenos Aires, Oviedo Filarmonía or Simón Bolívar Orchestra of Venezuela. In recital, he has performed in venues such as the New York Carnegie Hall, the Paris Salle Pleyel and the Tokyo Opera City. Next engagements include the, Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra, Basel Symphonieorchester, Orchestre National de Lille, Sinfónica de Navarra, San Diego Symphony, National Orchestra of the Polish Radio, Sinfónica do Estado de São Paulo or Swedish Chamber Orchestra.

Pacho Flores y Paquito D'Rivera grabando   el Concerto Venezolano de D'Rivera

Pacho Flores and Paquito D’Rivera recording D’Rivera’s Concerto Venezolano

A founding member of the Venezuelan Simón Bolívar Brass Quintet, he has toured with the quintet extensively in Europe, South America, the United States, and Japan. An experienced orchestral musician, Mr. Flores has played first trumpet in the Simón Bolívar Orchestra of Venezuela, the Saito Kinen Orchestra, and the Miami Symphony, under the direction of Claudio Abbado, Sir Simon Rattle, Seiji Ozawa, Giusseppe Sinopoli, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, and Gustavo Dudamel, among others. A founding director of the Latin American Trumpet Academy in Caracas, he mentors a promising generation of budding musicians and is a frequent guest at conservatories in Finland, Spain, France, Japan, and Latin America, as permanent jury member in prestigious international competitions. Pacho Flores is an avid champion of new music and is bringing about important innovations to trumpet performance and fabrication. His repertoire includes commissions and premieres of works by composers such as Roger Boutry, Efraín Oscher, Giancarlo Castro, Santiago Báez, Juan Carlos Nuñez, Sergio Bernal, Arturo Márquez, Roberto Sierra or Paquito D’Rivera. His first album La trompeta Venezolana has been released by the label GUATACA Producciones.

A Stomvi artist, he performs with instruments tailored specially for him by this prestigious firm and actively participates in the development and innovation of their instruments. Pacho Flores is a Deutsche Grammophon exclusive artist with already three recordings, Cantar, with Konzerthaus Orchester Berlin and Christian Vásquez; Entropía, Gold Medal of the Global Music Awards 2017 and Melómano de Oro; and Fractales, with the Arctic Philharmonic Orchestra and Christian Lindberg, Gold Medal of the Global Music Awards 2019. Next releases are Cantos y Revueltas, with the Real Filharmonía de Galicia and Manuel Hernández-Silva, and Mestizo, with the Sinfónica de Minería and Carlos MIguel Prieto.

 

 

 

Pacho Flores, premiere of Paquito D’Rivera with Minería and Prieto

Pacho Flores, premiere of Paquito D’Rivera with Minería and Prieto

Pacho Flores will play four trumpet concertos in the same concert.

Pacho Flores will premiere the Concierto Venezolano, by Paquito D’Rivera, with the Minería Symphony Orchestra and Carlos Miguel Prieto at the Palacio de Bellas Artes de México DF on September 1. This concert is the result of a commission shared between four orchestras that already has its first two premieres scheduled, because after Mexico it will be released in the US by the San Diego Symphony Orchestra with Rafael Payare. This commission is part of the large project of shared commissions that Pacho Flores is carrying on prominent composers such as Paquito D’Rivera, Arturo Márquez, Roberto Sierra, Efraín Oscher, Christian Lindberg and Daniel Freiberg. 

But the concert is not only news for the premiere of the Concierto Venezolano by Paquito D’Rivera as Pacho Flores will also play four trumpet concertos in the same session. The program begins with Arturo Márquez’s Concierto de Otoño, the first of the shared commission project concerts, which was recently premiered in Europe by the Oviedo Filarmonía and Lucas Macías, in the fourth commissioned orchestras engagement, and begin its public performance tour, precisely in Mexico with Carlos Miguel Prieto, the maestro who premiered it with the National Symphony exactly one year ago.

Paquito D'rivera y Pacho Flores en la fábrica de trompetas STOMVI

Paquito D’Rivera and Pacho Flores at the Stomvi factory working on the Concierto Venezolano

After Danzón nº 2 by Márquez, Pacho returns to the scene to play the premiere of the night, the Concierto Venezolano by Paquito D’Rivera. After the break he will play Crónicas Latinoamericanas, by Daniel Freiberg, which premiered last January with the Het Gelders Orchestra and Christian Vásquez and after the Huapango de Moncayo, Pacho will return to the stage to deliver the fourth concert of the night, the Concierto Mestizo by Efraín Oscher, that he has already played over 30 times throughout the world.

pacho_flores_encargos_marquez_drivera_sierra_oscher_lindberg_freiberg

It is a physical feat of more than an hour of solo trumpet music that will shortly be released in a new Pacho Flores album for Deutsche Grammophon, his exclusive label, also accompanied the Minería Symphony Orchestra and Carlos Miguel Prieto; but beyond an athletic demonstration, it is an important step forward in Pacho’s effort to expand the repertoire of solo trumpet and orchestra. The shared commission project includes new milestones such as premieres of Efraín Oscher’s Danzas Latinoamericanas  by the Galician Royal Philharmonic and Manuel Hernández-Silva in November; and Salseando, Roberto Sierra’s new trumpet concerto, with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and Domingo Hindoyan in January 2020. After the concert, Pacho, Prieto and Minería Orchestra will record these concertos for Deutsche Grammophon.

 

 

 

 

Hernández-Silva at Teatro Colón with the Buenos Aires Philharmonic

Hernández-Silva at Teatro Colón with the Buenos Aires Philharmonic

Manuel Hernández-Silva returns to Teatro Colón to conduct the Philharmonic Orchestra of Buenos Aires in the absolute premiere of Ave Fénix by Argentinian composer Claudia Montero, winner of four Grammy awards. In addition, maestro Hernández-Silva will accompany Croatian pianist Martina Filjak by Saint-Säens Concert No. 2, op. 22 in G minor and conduct Dvořak’s Symphony No. 8 in G major. This concert will take place on next Thursday, June the 27th at 20:00 hrs.

This trip to Argentina is a prelude to the upcoming debut of Hernández-Silva with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra in the US at the 2019/20 season, as well as to future visits to Norway, France, Germany or Australia. The album Cantos y Revueltas by Pacho Flores with cuatro player Leo Rondón and the Real Filharmonía de Galicia under Hernández-Silva will be released next July by Deutsche Grammophon. This album contains the homonymous work by Pacho Flores, Cantos y revueltas, that was premiered in January 2018 and recorded live for this double CD / DVD, together with other highlights by Pacho, Neruda, Villalobos or Piazzolla. Hernández-Silva is also going to premiere on next November Efraín Oscher’s Danzas Latinas for trumpet and orchestra, a commission of the Real Filharmonía, withPacho Flores.

Hernández-Silva will complete this month his first and fifth season as Principal and Artistic Director of the Navarra Symphony Orchestra and the Malaga Philharmonic Orchestra respectively, but an intense summer awaits him. After returning from Buenos Aires, he will continue with one of the activities he’s most passionate about: working with young people; on the one hand with a series of concerts with the Young Baroque Orchestra of Andalusia; and on the other hand with the Masterclass in Orchestral Conducting organised by the Malaga Philharmonic Orchestra. Hernández-Silva will then make his debut at Pollença Festival in Mallorca, along with Pacho Flores and the Symphony Orchestra of the Balearic Islands, and conduct a Homage to Gayarre with the Navarra Symphony Orchestra.