Performers
- Emmanuel Rossfelder guitar
- Élodie Soulard accordion
Programme
Joaquín Rodrigo Españoleta and Fanfare of the Neapolitan chivalry, Dance with Axes (mov. II, III) from Fantasy for a Gentleman for guitar and orchestra* [10’]
Joaquín Rodrigo Adagio* [8’]
Manuel de Falla Dance No. 1 from the opera The Short Life (La vida breve)* [5’]
Manuel de Falla Ritual Fire Dance from the ballet The Bewitched Love (El amor brujo)* [4’]
Georges Bizet Carmen, Suite* [6’]
Élodie Soulard, Emmanuel Rossfelder Variations on the La folía theme [6’]
Isaac Albéniz Asturias from the Spanish Suite No. 1, Op. 47* [6’]
* trb. Élodie Soulard i Emmanuel Rossfelder
Concert description
Spain in music? The guitar, castanets, flamenco, old court dances and melodies – think Velázquez and Goya. Music rooted in the country’s local traditions flourished in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the works of Joaquín Rodrigo, Manuel de Falla, Isaac Albéniz or Enrique Granados.
But it influenced art all over Europe long before that. The saraband and the La Follia theme, developed by many renowned composers like Vivaldi, Händel, and Marin Marais, also have Spanish roots. And the most famous musical image of Spain was probably painted by French composer Georges Bizet. Carmen, especially the Habanera and the March of the Toreadors, are almost always associated with the country of Cervantes.
The 20th century also became the age of the guitar – it is one of the few instruments whose performance techniques have evolved so much over the past 100 years. Interestingly, not all of the most emblematic Spanish composers who wrote pieces for guitar actually played it – for example, Rodrigo, the author of Fantasía para un gentilhombre or Concierto de Aranjuez, was primarily a pianist.
– Dominika Micał, “Ruch Muzyczny”