4/1 Falla and the Theater Many have interpreted the elegance, sensuality, and erotic suggestiveness of Manuel de Falla’s music as overt expressions of his homosexuality. Falla’s works for the stage: "El Amor Brujo "(Love, the Magician) and "El Corregidor y la molinera" (The Magistrate and the Miller’s Wife), a work which would later become "El sombrero de tres picos” (The Three-Cornered Hat) are featured this week.
4/8 Cuba’s Classical Legacy Whether making their homes in Spain, the United States, or never venturing from the Pearl of the Antilles, Cuba’s best-known and best-loved composers, all born in Havana, are featured on this program. Enjoy this musical cornucopia of the melodies and rhythms of Cuba.
4/15 Music for the Festival of Sant Jordi Whether you know April 23rd as St. George's Day, The Day of the Rose, or World Book Day, we celebrate the Catalan national holiday with Catalan classics from the Renaissance through the 20th century. We’ll focus on three Spanish composers from the Catalan region. We'll hear sacred music from the Renaissance by Joan Cererols, piano miniatures reminiscent of Schumann's Album for the Young by Granados disciple Josep Martí i Cristià, and a piano trio by Granados himself, written when he was 27.
4/22 In Memoriam: Guernica On April 26, 1937, Axis forces, with Franco's knowledge and consent, obliterated the quiet Basque town of Guernica, killing 1,654 civilians, mostly women and children. We'll commemorate the anniversary of this tragic event with Octavio Vázquez's Guernica (Piano Trio Number 1.) Born in Spain's Galicia region, Octavio Vázquez chairs the composition department in Nazareth College in Rochester, NY.
4/29 The Red Book of Montserrat The Shrine of the Virgin of Montserrat was a major pilgrimage site in the 14th century. The Red Book of Montserrat, is a 14th-century collection of devotional texts and music for the pilgrims to the Catalonian Montserrat Monastery. We’ll hear selections from the six music folios contained in El Llibre Vermell, presented by La Capella Reial de Catalunya and Hespèrion XXI, under the direction of Jordi Savall. Recorded live in concert November 25, 2013, in Barcelona’s Gothic Santa Maria del Pi Church.
