Venezuelan conductor Christian Vásquez returns to Spain to lead the OSPA, Symphony Orchestra of the Principality of Asturias, in a program that includes Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture, Grieg’s Piano Concerto with Vadim Kholodenko as soloist, and Brahms Symphony No. 3. The concerts will take place on February 11 and 12 at the Prince Felipe Auditorium in Oviedo and the Jovellanos Theater in Gijón, respectively.
Christian Vásquez has been Principal Guest Conductor of the Gävle Symphony Orchestra in Sweden and the Het Gelders Orkest in The Netherlands, as well as Principal Conductor of the Stavanger Symphony in Norway, and continues to lead the Teresa Carreño Symphony Orchestra in Venezuela. In the upcoming months his engagements will take him to four continents: Asia, Oceania, Europe and America. Vásquez has conducted important orchestras such as the philharmonic orchestras of Los Angeles, Rotterdam, Helsinki, Tokyo, Luxembourg, Arnhem, Turku and Poznan, the Philharmonia Orchestra, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Danish Royal Orchestra, Residentie Orkest, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Camerata Salzburg, Royal Northern Sinfonia, National Arts Center Orchestra of Ottawa, Warsaw Beethoven Festival Orchestra, Vienna, Prague, and Norway Radio Symphony Orchestras, RTE National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, Singapore, New Jersey, and State of Russia Symphony orchestras, Estonian National Orchestra, and the Norwegian and Danish National Operas. He also appears on the album Cantar by Pacho Flores with the Berlin Konzerthausorchester.
Christian Vásquez, who has already conducted the Galicia Symphony Orchestra, the Castilla y León Symphony Orchestra and the Gran Canaria Philharmonic Orchestra in Spain, appears for the first time with the Orchestra of the Principality of Asturias and will soon make his debut with the Navarra Symphony Orchestra, which had to be cancelled last season due to the lockdown declared to prevent the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hernández-Silva and Pacho Flores will premiere Salseando, the new trumpet concerto by the US-based Puerto Rican composer Roberto Sierra. It will be next December 17 at the Víctor Villegas Auditorium together with the Orquesta Sinfónica de la Región de Murcia. In addition to Salseando, Hernández-Silva will also conduct Sibelius’s Symphony No. 5. This premiere is part of the ambitious project of shared commissions for new trumpet concerts to outstanding composers, that Pacho Flores has started and managed together with ACM Concerts and that has involved orchestras from all over the world as well as important conductors such as Hernández-Silva, Carlos Miguel Prieto, Domingo Hindoyan, Lucas Macías, etc.
This project by Pacho Flores is being carried out in several rounds, the first two of which are being completed with important composers such as Arturo Márquez, Paquito D’Rivera and Roberto Sierra on the one hand; and Efraín Oscher, Christian Lindberg and Daniel Freiberg on the other. Contacts for a third round have been made and will be announced in due course. The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic participated in the commission of Salseando with its new principal conductor, Domingo Hindoyan; the Orquesta Sinfónica de la Región de Murcia will be led by Hernández-Silva; the Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo, with a conductor to be determined; and the Orchestre National de Bordeaux-Aquitaine, which will close the series of premieres, will also count on Hernández-Silva as conductor.
Composer Roberto Sierra
The first of these new concertos to complete its series of premieres was Concierto de otoño by Arturo Márquez, which Pacho Flores premiered throughout 2018 with the National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico under Carlos Miguel Prieto; the Tucson Symphony Orchestra with José Luis Gómez; the Hyogo PAC Orchestra of Japan under Michiyoshi Inoue; and the Oviedo Filarmonía under Lucas Macías. After the committed premieres, Pacho Flores is playing this piece all around the world, highlighting the version by Hernández-Silva with the Real Filharmonía de Galicia.
D. Freiberg, A. Márquez, P. D’Rivera, P. Flores and C. M. Prieto during the recording of Mestizo for Deutsche Grammophon
After having been premiered by the Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería with Carlos Miguel Prieto, D’Rivera’s Concerto Venezolano saw its calendar affected by the pandemic, as Pacho Flores himself, now waiting for premieres with the Valencia Orchestra and Vicent Alberola; the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and Domingo Hindoyan; and the San Diego Symphony under Rafael Payare. Season 2020/21 will see the premieres of Christian Lindberg’s concert by the Real Filharmonía de Galicia with Paul Daniel, and the Bilkent Symphony Orchestra with the composer himself on the podium. More Lindberg as well as Freiberg premieres are planned for future seasons, including the Arctic Philharmonic with Hernández-Silva or the Swedish Chamber Orchestra with Lindberg, among others.
Marina Heredia is playing again Candelas, the character in El Amor Brujo by Manuel de Falla, this time with the Orquesta Ciudad de Granada under the baton of the Andalusian conductor Lucía Marín. In recent times Marina Heredia has become the most important interpreter of El Amor Brujo internationally, after singing this work together with some of the most important orchestras in the world such as the Chicago Symphony, the San Francisco Symphony or the Chamber Orchestra of Lausanne, to mention just a few, and after recording it for the label Harmonía Mundi with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra under Pablo Heras-Casado.
As a result of the extension of the COVID-19 prevention measures in Andalusia announced on 22 November, which limit theatres, auditoriums and concert halls to a 40% of their capacity up to a maximum of 200 people, the concerts scheduled for 26 and 27 November at the Auditorio Manuel de Falla will be postponed to another date. However, the Ciudad de Granada Orchestra, in order to keep in contact with its audience, has decided to record the concert in an empty hall and broadcast it on the orchestra’s YouTube channel on Friday, 27 November at 8:00 p.m. The program includes El Amor Brujo as well as the Suite No. 1 from El Sombrero de Tres Picos, also by Manuel de Falla.
Marina Heredia’s most recent performance of El Amor Brujo took place in France with the Orchestra of Lille led by maestro Josep Vicent. New invitations will take her back to France to play this same role later this season. Upcoming events include the presentation of the cantaora’s new album.
Christian Lindberg and Pacho Flores have released a new recording for the label European Grammophon featuring arrangements of Bach’s Inventions for trumpet and trombone, which will be available on Spotify since October 21. This is not the first recording collaboration between Flores and Lindberg, who released the album FRACTALES for Deutsche Grammophon at the end of 2018 together with the Arctic Philharmonic Orchestra. This recording included, among other concerts of the trumpet repertoire such as those by Haydn or Arutunian, the piece Akban Bunka, composed by Lindberg himself, which Pacho has performed all over the world. The album awarded Pacho the gold medal in the category of best instrumentalists at the Global Music Awards.
The Swedish composer, trombonist and conductor is writing a new concert for trumpet dedicated to Pacho Flores. The composition, which will soon be recorded, is a joint commission by various international orchestras such as the Real Filharmonía de Galicia in Spain, conducted by Paul Daniel, the Bilkent Symphony Orchestra in Turkey and the Swedish Chamber Orchestra, both led by Lindberg himself. In March 2019, Pacho Flores and Christian Lindberg, accompanied on that occasion by trombonist Ximo Vicedo and the RTVE Symphony Orchestra, participated in the world premiere of Un Sueño Morisco, a double concert for trumpet and trombone.
Christian Vásquez will conduct the Gran Canaria Philharmonic Orchestra on 5 and 6 November at the Auditorio Alfredo Kraus in Las Palmas in a program which consists on Schumann’s Genoveva Overture and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5. This will be Christian Vásquez’s second visit to the Gran Canaria Philharmonic after his celebrated concert last September 2019, in which he conducted a varied program of Latin American and European music. The Venezuelan conductor has already worked with important Spanish orchestras such as the Galicia and the Castilla y León Symphony Orchestras, and he will soon make his debut with the Orchestra of the Principality of Asturias.
Internationally, Christian Vásquez has been Principal Conductor of the Stavanger Symphony in Norway, as well as Principal Guest Conductor of the Gävle Symphony in Norway and the Het Gelders Orkest in the Netherlands. He is also to this day Principal Conductor of the Teresa Carreño Symphony Orchestra in Venezuela. Christian Vásquez has also worked with other ensembles such as the Philharmonia Orchestra, Residentie Orkest, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, Salzburg Camerata, Russian State Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, National Arts Center Orchestra (Ottawa), Los Angeles Philharmonic, Royal Northern Sinfonia, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Berlin Konzerthausorchester, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, Warsaw Beethoven Festival Orchestra or Turku Philharmonic.
In recent seasons, Christian has made important debuts with orchestras such as the Luxembourg, Rotterdam, Poznan, Turku and Helsinki Philarmonics, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Estonian National Orchestra, Royal Danish Orchestra, Norway Radio Orchestra or the RTE National Symphony Orchestra in Ireland. After this visit to the Gran Canaria Philharmonic, Christian Vásquez will travel to Italy for his debut with the Sicilian Symphony Orchestra. Other engagements, both in Spain as well as in Europe and America, will be announced soon.
Less than a year after his acclaimed Fidelio in Malaga, Manuel Hernández-Silva conducts again Beethoven’s only opera at the Baluarte Auditorium in Pamplona with the Navarra Symphony Orchestra and the Orfeón Pamplonés in the opening concert of the OSN season. Soprano Berna Perles and tenor César Gutiérrez, who on that occasion debuted the roles of the heroine Leonore and Florestán, her unjustly imprisoned husband, will once again play the leading roles. Along with Perles and Gutiérrez, the cast is completed by Damián del Castillo (baritone) as Don Pizarro, Enric Martínez-Castignani (bass) as Rocco, Andrea Jiménez (soprano) in the role of Marcelina, Javier Povedano (bass) as Don Fernando and Pablo García-López (tenor) in the role of Jacquino. The performances, in concert version due to the Covid-19 restrictions, will take place next 14 and 15 October.
In addition to Fidelio, Hernández-Silva has already conducted other titles in Spain such as Così fan tutte at the Teatro Cervantes in Malaga; The Magic Flute at the Murcia Opera Season; Don Giovanni at the Gran Teatro de Córdoba and the Kursaal Auditorium in San Sebastian during the festival Quincena Donostiarra; or Doña Francisquita (again at the Gran Teatro de Córdoba), among others. He also recorded Haydn’s La Vera Costanza for CAPRICCIO with the WDR Rundfunkorchester Köln and singers such as Simone Kermes, Chen Reiss, Rainer Trost and Paul Armin Edelmann. Manuel Hernández-Silva will soon return to the pit in Pamplona to conduct Manon Lescaut by Puccini, within the season of the Asociación Gayarre de Amigos de la Opera and with Ainhoa Arteta in the leading role.
Sevillian harpist Cristina Montes Mateo will make her debut with the Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias on 8 and 9 October at the Teatro Jovellanos in Gijón and the Auditorio Príncipe Felipe in Oviedo, respectively. Under maestro Miguel Romea, she will perform the Concerto Capriccio for harp and orchestra (1975) by Xavier Montsalvatge. This concert was commissioned by the Orquesta Nacional de España and Nicanor Zabaleta -to whom it is dedicated-, who premiered it together with Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos at the Teatro Real in Madrid on 18 April of that same year.
Cristina Montes completed her studies in London and at the Orchestra Academy of the Staatskapelle Berlin under the direction of maestro Daniel Barenboim. Based in Los Angeles, the Sevillian harpist has given recitals throughout Europe, the US, Japan and South America, and has worked with major international orchestras such as the Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, Orquesta Simón Bolívar in Venezuela, Orquesta de Santiago de Chile, Orchester des Theater für Niedersachsen Hannover or Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. In Spain she has performed with the Orquesta de Cordoba, the Malaga Philharmonic, the Valencian Community Orchestra and the JONDE (National Youth Orchestra of Spain).
Her recordings include the album Obras para arpa, with 11 premieres by Spanish female composers; Voyage (NAXOS), with works by Bach, Sancan and Prokofiev, or her most recent album for the Spanish label IBS Classical, which includes among other the harp concerto Pour le jour de l’an, with the Moonwinds Wind Ensemble conducted by Joan Enric Lluna, and the Partita op. 80 for solo harp, both by Salvador Bacarisse. Since 2013, she teaches at the Joaquín Rodrigo Conservatory of Music in Valencia and gives master classes at the Berklee College of Music, Birmingham Conservatoire or Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln.
Manuel Hernández-Silva begins his symphonic season with the RTVE Orchestra at the Teatro Monumental in Madrid, along with flamenco star Estrella Morente and guitarist Pablo Saiz Villegas. The repertoire of this concert, wich will take place at the Teatro Monumental in Madrid next Saturday, September 19, includes several works such as El Sombrero de Tres Picos and El Amor Brujo by Manuel de Falla, as well as Concierto de Aranjuez by Joaquín Rodrigo.
Manuel Hernández-Silva will then travel to Pamplona to resume his activity as principal conductor of the Navarra Symphony Orchestra. He will begin with a recording of works by both current and past Navarrese composers, followed by the opening concert of the season. After that, he will conduct the first subscription concert, which will this year feature a concert version of Beethoven’s Fidelio with Berna Perles and César Gutiérrez in the main roles, the same leading couple he had in the staged version he conducted last year at Teatro Cervantes with the Malaga Philharmonic and the stage direction of José Carlos Plaza.
Later in the season he will conduct Manon Lescaut by Puccini for the opera season of the Asociación Gayarre de Amigos de la Ópera —also in Pamplona—, with the voices of Ainhoa Arteta and Roberto Aronica in the main roles. In the symphonic field he will return to work with orchestras such as Extremadura, Murcia, RTVE or Bogotá, and will recover his postponed debut with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, along with new debuts in Norway, France and Germany. This symphonic activity includes several premieres by composers such as Roberto Sierra, Pacho Flores, Manuel Moreno Buendía, Paquito D’Rivera, Koldo Pastor, etc.
Enrico Onofri has recently been appointed Principal Conductor of the Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini, with which the Italian conductor and violonist hopes to rediscover the paths and values he has built in the course of his past experiences as concertmaster of La Capella Reial with Jordi Savall, as a member of Concentus Musicus Wien with Nikolaus Harnoncourt, as concertmaster and soloist of Il Giardino Armonico, as well as through his work als conductor of specialized and modern ensembles and orchestras throughout Europe, Japan and America.
This new position is thus added to those that Enrico Onofri already held as Principal Guest Conductor of the Haydn Philharmonie, Resident Conductor of the Bochum Symphony Orchestra, Principal Guest Conductor of the Seville Baroque Orchestra, Musical Director of the Montis Regalis Academy and Founder and Director of the Ensemble Imaginarium. In addition to his work as an opera conductor, a field in which he is increasingly in demand, Enrico Onofri has also worked with ensembles such as Arion Baroque, Balthasar Neumann Project, Castor Ensemble, Croatian Baroque, Riga Sinfonietta or Montis Regalis Academy; and with modern orchestras such as the Orchestra Metropolitana de Lisboa, Orchestre National de Pays de la Loire, Orchestre d’Auvergne, European Union Baroque Orchestra, Portland Baroque Orchestra or Kammerorchester Basel.
After the success he achieved last season conducting Haendel’s Agrippina at the Teatro de la Maestranza together with the Orquesta Barroca de Sevilla, as well as with the last recording of his group Imaginarium Ensemble, published by Pasacaille with the title Into Nature and dedicated to the Italian instrumental music of the 17th and 8th centuries, Enrico Onofri will visit, in between his commitments with the Filarmónica Toscanini, the Real Filharmonía de Galicia, an orchestra to which he has been invited on several occasions and where he will conduct next December a Christmas program with works by Haydn and Vivaldi.
Pacho Flores opens his 2020/21 symphonic season with the Taipei Symphony Orchestra in Taiwan, together with maestro Christian Lindberg —trombonist, conductor and composer as well as a friend and mentor to Pacho. The program includes Haydn’s Concerto for trumpet and Akban Bunka for trumpet and orchestra by Lindberg himself. Both works appear on the album FRACTALES (Deutsche Grammophon), which was recorded by both artists together with the Arctic Philharmonic Orchestra.
Pacho Flores and Christian Lindberg have a long history of collaboration that will be continued with further concerts, commissions and recordings. Christian Lindberg takes part in Pacho’s project of shared commissions for new trumpet concerts, with premieres already scheduled in Turkey, Spain and Sweden which will later be recorded with other works by Lindberg such as Un Sueño Morisco. This double concert for trumpet, trombone and orchestra was commissioned and premiered by the Orquesta Sinfónica Radio Televisión Española together with Pacho, trombonist Ximo Vicedo and Lindberg himself as a conductor.
Pacho’s agenda will continue, if the COVID-19 allows it, with his usual concert and educational activities in Spain and Europe, Asia and North and South America. Among the upcoming premieres are the world premiere of his Ma-Jokaraisa (My Other Heart), a concert for flugelhorn, together with the National Orchestra of Chile and Rodolfo Saglimbeni, which will then have its European premiere with the Orquesta de Extremadura and Manuel Hernández-Silva; the premieres in Asia, Spain and Sweden of Christian Lindberg’s new trumpet concerto; the Spanish premieres of Salseando by Roberto Sierra with the Orquesta Sinfónica de la Región de Murcia and Hernández-Silva, and of the Concerto Venezolano by Paquito D’Rivera with the Valencia Orchestra and Vicente Alberola, etc.
Meanwhile, Pacho Flores continues with the project of shared commissions for new trumpet concerts with a new commission by Daniel Freiberg. A new phase of this project is now about to begin, with new composers to be incorporated, which will be announced in due time.
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