La Follia nuova

It is an honour to be able to present this project thanks to the support of the Colegio de España in Paris and the INAEM. The album represents the results of many years of work and evolution, countless musical experiences and encounters with musicians from different countries alongside an intense search for an individual style and high standard.

The aim of “Follia nuova” is to further explore and expand the saxophone's repertoire and to present a transcription of an important violin sonata on the soprano saxophone. The title of the album refers to "follia', one of Europe's oldest musical themes that has been used repeatedly by composers throughout history. The theme adopts new variations and characters making it an ever evolving theme in Europe.

Further to the main idea of this project the saxophone’s traditional repertoire is renewed through; the presentation of Villa Lobos in its original key, a personal interpretation of Decruck, a version of a piece more and more frequently performed in modern saxophone recordings by Albright and a transcription and reinterpretation of one of the major works in the chamber music repertoire, the Franck Sonata.

Utópico

YENDO QUARTET

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In September 2015, Gaëlle Le Gallic invited us on “France Musique” during her broadcast “Génération Jeunes Interprètes” where we had the opportunity to present our project around the “Danzas Españolas” with Baptiste Herbin.

Whilst adapting Enrique Granados’s “Danzas Españolas” originally for piano, we met Argentine composer Luis Naón, this led to the commissioning of a series of dances (co-commission from Radio France). From this our project “Utópico” was born, mixing romantic and contemporary music and providing a relation between two styles of music which are very different. In both the twelve “Danzas Españolas” of 1890 and the five “Tangos Utópicos” of 2015, popular music is an important inspiration. We soon had the idea of mixing these two pieces together to make our first CD, following our concerts at the festival SaxOpen in Strasbourg 2015 the jazz saxophonist Baptiste Herbin gave a third dimension to the project with improvisations over the dances of Granados. His virtuosic poesy joins us on several tracks completing what is an exceptional “crossover”.

Musique espagnole pour saxophone

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During his studies in France, Antonio discovered new musical styles and cultures, musicians with diverse backgrounds and composers from different schools. These influences helped him to incorporate and apply new knowledge and experiences allowing him to improve as a musician and saxophonist. Throughout this period of discovery he never left behind the music of his country.

Throughout his career he has had the chance to build an artistic relationship with a number of Spanish composers, performing their compositions and premiering them. A notable premiere was "VIA” written by Catalan composer Joan Magrané.

Similarly, he is deeply attracted by the works of composers such as Falla, Albéniz and Granados, etc. their relation and influence on Spanish traditional music is of great interest to the saxophonist and inspired him to release this CD.

The aforementioned elements are the origin of a project in which Antonio joins together two trends: Spanish music by contemporary composers, presented alongside Isaac Albéniz’s romantic music.