Terry Riley’s “In C” at the Ateneo de Madrid
Juan Carlos Garvayo, new president of the music section of the Ateneo de Madrid, organises a performance of Terry Riley’s “In C”, as a presentation of his proposal. Since October 30, Juan Carlos Garvayo, one of the founders of the Trio Arbós (created in 1996 by violinist Ferdinando Trematore, cellist…
Lecture in Madrid on “Nixon in China”
Gabriel Ménendez offers a commented listening of “Nixon in China”, by John Adams, to conclude his course on minimal music at the International Institute. Tomorrow, Tuesday 11 April, from 19:00 to 21:00, the third and final part of the course on American musical minimalism that has been held since before…
Concert by Suso Saiz in the monastery of Uclés
Suso Saiz: “Whoever sees one of my concerts knows that they have seen something that will never happen again”. Suso Saiz, the great Spanish composer of ambient music, a genre in which he is considered one of its truly international figures, performs this Saturday at 20:30 in the cloister of…
Interview with Thomas Adès about the Frontiers of Knowledge Award
Thomas Adès: “If I’m conducting, I can get as close as I can to what I want”. Together with the press release, the BBVA Foundation has sent to the media the interview with the English composer, which is reproduced below, after notifying him of the award. The jury has highlighted…
Fabio Álvarez performs tomorrow his album with music by Philip Glass
Spanish pianist Fabio Álvarez performs at the International Institute of Madrid presenting “Mad Rush”, his album with music by Philip Glass. Spanish pianist Fabio Álvarez (Orense, 1988) will perform tomorrow, Friday, at 8 p.m. at the International Institute (Miguel Ángel, 8), the American cultural centre founded in Madrid in 1903,…
Solo piano concert by Clara Peya
The Spanish pianist and composer performs tonight at the Sala Clamores in Madrid with a solo piano concert. Two years have already passed since the release of Periferia and the new album of songs by the Spanish pianist and composer Clara Peya (Palafrugell, 1986) is not long away. But before…
Rescues from the archive: Blixa Bargeld in 2019
Blixa Bargeld: “Being on a tour is very much like working on an oil rig platform in the North Sea”. For once, and without serving as a precedent, we in Spain have beaten the UK to the publication of a book that has, in principle, music as its central theme….
Rescues from the archive: Carles Santos in 1987
Carles Santos: “The audience I’m interested in is the one that comes from pop and rock”. Today, 1 July, the pianist and composer Carles Santos (Vinaroz, 1940-2017), would have been 82 years old. To remember him and to encourage anyone reading this to listen to his music, I am rescuing…
Rescues from the archive: Steve Reich in 1987 (& 2)
Steve Reich: “In our [20th] century, the greatest artist who ever lived was born in Spain”. Coinciding with my review on Steve Reich‘s book Conversations, I wanted to recall the interview I conducted with him in 1987, when he visited Madrid to perform at the Autumn Festival. The interview was…
Rescues from the archive: Steve Reich in 1987 (I)
Steve Reich: “Tuning [ethnic instruments] to our scale is a musical violation”. Coinciding with my review on Steve Reich’s book Conversations I wanted to recall the interview I did with him in 1987, when he visited Madrid to perform at the Autumn Festival. Unfortunately, I was still a journalist and…
Rescues from the archive: Luis de Pablo in 1989
Luis de Pablo: “In general, I listen to these works with satisfaction. I don’t want to be inmodest”. Today will be the premiere at the Teatro Real of El abrecartas, the sixth and last opera composed by Luis de Pablo, who died last 10 October without ever seeing the work…
Interview with Clara Peya on her piano solo albums
Clara Peya: “What am I going to do on a solo tour? I’m going to die of grief!” Clara Peya (Palafrugell, 1986) is a leading figure on the music scene of Cataluña (the region in the NE of Spain). In 2019, at the age of thirty-three, she received the Catalan…