Lecture for May 2 Rodrigo Concert Douglas Riva’s pre-concert lecture for our last concert with the Hispanic Society for the Rodrigo Festival are now available to read. The May 2 concert highlighted Rodrigo’s dance music, arranged for guitar, flute, and voice. Click here to view or download a PDF of the lecture.
Antoni Pizà and His Writing There is another new interview with Antoni Pizà out this week, in the digital literary magazine La Lectora. Lectora spoke with him about his essay collections, which include El doble silenci: Reflexions sobre música i músics (Edicions Documenta Balear, 2003), Nits simfòniques (Ensiola, 2010), En la república del ruido: crónicas musicales de Nueva York (Documenta, 2012) and La dansa de l’arquitecte (Ensiola, 2013). These books collect some of Pizà’s columns, program notes, and other popular writing, covering the full spectrum of music, from medieval manuscripts to contemporary pop culture. Read the interview here (Catalan).
New Interview with Pizà and Upcoming Talks The magazine Codalario has published a new interview with Antoni Pizà about his work with the Foundation for Iberian Music (en español). They discuss some of the Foundation’s history, our ongoing projects, and Pizà’s work on Literes. You can read the full article here. On a related note, Pizà will be giving a free lecture on Literes and Los Elementos in Palma de Mallorca at the Caixa Forum. The lecture is May 10 at 8:00 pm; Teatre Principal will be performing Los Elementos the following week, May 17 and 18, with Forma Antiqva. While in Mallorca, Pizà will also be doing a presentation with Francesc Vicens on their edition of Baltasar Samper’s 1935 jazz lectures, at the book store Drac Màgic. Guests will be treated to a live performance of some of the music, by Honey Pie Swing Quartet. The presentation is May 14 at 7:00 pm.
Perspectives Ensemble Falla CD Release Perspectives Ensemble’s new album, featuring their recent production of Falla’s El Amor brujo (1915 version) and El retablo de Maese Pedro, is now available to order from Naxos! The original 1915 version of Amor brujo features a part for cantaor, filled by renowned flamenco artist Esperanza Fernández. Fans in the US can take advantage of a pre-order discount from Naxos Direct and order the album for only $11.69. Customers in other countries, see their list of international merchants. The CD will be released on May 10. Our friends in Madrid will have the opportunity to join the Ensemble for a special release party. Conductor Angel Gil-Ordóñez will present a few numbers with baritone Alfredo García and pianist Julio Alexis Muñoz, plus special guests Sato Moughalian (creative director of Perspectives Ensemble), Esperanza Fernández, Benet Casablancas, and Antonio Muñoz Molina. The event will be held May 16 at Residencia de Estudiantes de Madrid. See the announcement for full details.
Final Rodrigo Concert at the Hispanic Society Just as a reminder, next week, May 2, we will have our final concert in the series co-sponsored by the Hispanic Society! The final concert will feature classical Spanish dances for guitar, flute and voice. Anna de la Paz will be dancing, with mezzo-soprano Anna Tonna, Graduate Center guitarist Federico Díaz, and flutist Svjetlana Kabalin. The program will include: For solo guitar- Invocación y Danza[Invocation and Dance], Junto al Generalife [By the Generalife],En los trigales [In the wheat fields] and Entre Olivares [Within the Olive Grove] For flute and guitar- Dos poemas de Juan Ramón Jiménez [Two Poems by Juan Ramón Jiménez], Coplas del pastor enamorado[Ballad of the Shepherd in Love] and the Cuatro canciones sefardíes[Four Sephardic Songs] Anna de la Paz will join for Pequeña Sevillana [Small Sevillian Dance] Tres canciones españolas[Three Spanish Songs] and the exquisiteAranjuez ma pensée[Aranjuez in my thoughts]. As with the previous events, Douglas Riva will present a pre-concert lecture at 6:30. The concert is at 7:00. Admission is free but you must RSVP with the Hispanic Society. Please visit their page to RSVP. 6:30 PM lecture 7:00 PM concert American Academy of Arts and Letters 632 West 156 Street New York, NY 10032
New York Andalus Ensemble Spring Concert, May 1 Our resident New York Andalus Ensemble‘s annual spring concert with the full ensemble is upcoming at La Nacional May 1st. The title of their spring concert is “Ya Qalbi” (Oh my heart). Join them for a musical celebration of inter-cultural unity! For five hundred years, Christians, Jews, and Muslims lived side by side in medieval Iberia, sharing their arts and sciences to create a scintillating, multicultural tradition of music and poetry. Singing in Arabic, Hebrew, and Ladino to reflect this cultural pluralism, the New York Andalus Ensemble presents spiritual texts and songs of love and everyday life in Al-Andalus, emphasizing the expressive quality of the region’s shared tradition even as it respects the individual cultures that comprise it. Meticulous attention is paid to authenticity of style and pronunciation as ensemble members, hailing from Algeria, Syria, Israel, Morocco, and the United States, pool their linguistic and musical expertise. Advance tickets are $20 ($16 student/senior) and available through Eventbrite. Get your tickets early! Space is limited and NYAE shows always sell out. $20 ($16) 7:30 PM, 1 May 2019 La Nacional 239 W. 14th St, NYC
Niño de Elche Residence at the Graduate Center Spanish cantaor and sound artist Niño de Elche has a short residency upcoming at the James Gallery at the Graduate Center, from 30 April to 2 May. He will present his work “En un cuartito los dos,” which was specifically conceived for the James Gallery, in a project organized by Daniel Valtueña and Katherine Carl. About the work: The notion surrounding the Spanish term cuarto –partially translated for “room” in English– is the main premise for this project. The cuartos flamencos used to be marginalized performing spaces where dissident bodies and practices used to take place in fin-de-siècle Spain. Related spaces such as cafés cantantes contributed to articulate traditional imaginaries on Iberian culture which ignored the individuals who inhabited them. Niño de Elche aims to explore the non-normative practices spaces censor by working on sound experimentation and performative actions in the gallery space. By calling on other cuartos such as black holes and dark rooms he will explore notions such as tradition, intimacy, and queerness. The artist’s residency will open on May 1 with a roundtable discussion, “Towards a Desanctification of the Gallery Space,” with curator Regine Basha and architect Lluís Alexandre Casanovas Blanco (Princeton University), moderated by Daniel Valtueña. The performance of the work will be May 2 at 6:30. Niño de Elche is a multi-disciplinary artist who combines flamenco singing with poetry, minimalism, electronic and rock music. He has collaborated with philosophers, poets, dancers, and Spanish pop/rock artists. The residency is co-sponsored by the Foundation for Iberian Music with the James Gallery, the Latin American, Iberian, and Latino Cultures Department, the Theater and Performance Department, the Lucille Lortel Chair, and the Doctoral Students’ Council. Free 1 May, 6:30 PM – Opening Discussion 2 May, 6:30 PM – Performance The James Gallery, The Graduate Center
Veracruz Conference This Week! We are looking forward to seeing everyone in Mexico in Thursday! You can view the program here.
Samper “Música de Jazz” Book Review As we announced last month, Antoni Pizà and Francesc Vicens have just published an edition of Samper’s 1935 jazz lectures, Música de Jazz (now available from Lleonard Mutaner for only 13€). The book received a feature review in Ultima Hora last week, which you can read online here, or download as a PDF. (And we’re touched to see that it has a current user rating of 4/5 stars!) We also have a YouTube playlist to accompany the lectures! Reference it as you read to hear the songs and artists that Samper mentioned (or played) in his lectures, or just enjoy the collection of hot jazz.