8/5 Ocultos a plena vista: Julián Orbón y Joan Manén This edition of The Spanish Hour features works by two composers “ocultos a plena vista;” that is, hidden in plain sight: Concerto grosso, written in 1958 by Spanish-born Cuban composer Julián Orbón, and Concierto Espagnol for violin and orchestra, dedicated to Fritz Kreisler, written in 1923 by Barcelona native Joan Manén.
8/12 Baroque Zarzuelas Not to be confused with the operettas and lyric operas popular in Spain from the 1850s through the mid-20th century, the zarzuelas on this program date from the 18th century, combining Spanish folklore with Greek mythology. This week, it’s a program of selections of baroque zarzuelas by the father of Spanish opera José de Nebra, Mallorca's Antonio de Literes, master of the sacred zarzuela Tomás Milans, and "the Valencian Mozart,” Vicente Martín y Soler.
8/19 Spanish Violin Romances The late 19th-century was a golden age for the Spanish virtuoso performer-composer. This week on The Spanish Hour, we sample an array of some of the great Spanish works written for violin in the second half of the nineteenth century: romantic violin show-stoppers from Sarasate, Monasterio, and three concert pieces for violin and orchestra by Enrique Fernández Arbós, performed by Gil Shaham, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Manuel Guillén, Ara Malikian, and Jesús Lopez Cobos.
8/26 Treasures from Medieval and Renaissance Spain Roman, Germanic, Byzantine, French, Arabic, and Jewish cultures all contributed to Spanish music. This week’s The Spanish Hour brings a program of vocal music from 13th-17th century Spain reflecting the mix of cultures throughout the Five Kingdoms of Spain. We’ll hear settings of secular and sacred texts by Tomás Luis de Victoria and Mateo Flecha the Elder plus anonymous Sephardic and Navarrese love songs.
