Spain Inside a Piano
- Date
- Saturday 30 April 2022, 7:30pm - 9:30pm (Pre-concert talk: 6:45pm)
- Tickets
- £15 | £10 | Free
Spain Inside a Piano. A Musical Journey through Spain between the 18th to 21st Centuries
an original concert by the renowned Spanish pianist, composer, music critic and writer Luis Agius.
Premiered at the Casa Granada in Madrid in July 2018, this programme includes fundamental and highly significant pieces by composers from Spain, or with strong connections to Spain, alongside music by composer-pianist Luis Agius. The geographical-musical route that Agius presents covers the entire Spanish territory, from Cádiz to Finisterre, passing by Córdoba, Jaén, Granada, Barcelona, Toledo, Aranjuez, Madrid, Valencia and Mallorca.
Luis Agius' music -as the pianist himself affirms- "is melodic and impressionistic, and easily connects with an audience that always enjoys it". Both in his compositions and in the range of selected pieces, the music that make up Spain Inside a Piano “flee from clichés and the hackneyed, in search of rigor, musical sense and exceptional sensitivity, and try to offer a comprehensive worldview of Spain, from its landscapes to its culture and its art, which has been and still is a source of inspiration for national artists, and also for others from all over the world who found no impediment for their cultural baggage to intertwine with the insights they found in Spanish lands".
First Journey
Valencia: Luis Agius - On the Mediterranean Coast
Levante: Enrique Granados (1867-1916) - Spanish Dance no 2 "Oriental". Tribute to painter Joaquín Sorolla
Granada: Isaac Albéniz (1860-1909) - Granada
Jaén: Luis Agius - The Wind Among the Olives
Second Journey
Toledo: Luis Agius - El Greco and Rilke in Toledo
Aranjuez: Domenico Scalatti (1685-1757) - Sonata K263
Ávila: Luis Agius - The Walls of Heaven. Tribute to Saint Teresa of Jesus
Third Journey
Lanzarote, Canary Islands: Luis Agius - Sunrise in Timanfaya
Barcelona: Luis Agius - Sunset in Güell Park. Tribute to Gaudí
Cádiz: Luis Agius - Sailor’s Dream
Fourth Journey
Charterhouse of Valldemossa, Mallorca: Fréderic Chopin - Prelude no 15, op 28 “Raindrop”
Córdoba: Luis Agius - Córdoba, distant and lonely. Tribute to García Lorca
Sevilla: Luis Agius - Morning promenade in María Luisa’s Park
Galicia: Luis Agius - Finisterre, finis terrae
Luis Agius (Madrid, 1969) is a pianist, composer, cultural critic and writer, as well as a playwright. He directs the cultural magazine "El parnaso de las musas". He graduated in Law from the Complutense University of Madrid. He began his musical studies in 1981 and composed his first musical work in 1990. Agius has been a concert pianist since 1996, and in his career he has achieved great national and international recognition, performing in many Spanish (Madrid, Seville, Toledo, Lanzarote, Ciudad Real, Cuenca, etc.) and European cities: Bratislava, Brussels, Lisbon, Berlin, Leipzig, Munich, Malta, Paris, Toulouse, Bordeaux; in and a long etcetera. Agius has published two piano albums including his compositions, "Doce Klavierstücke" (Twelve Klavierstücke) and "Interiores". He has also recorded a piano recital with pieces by Chopin, "En busca de Chopin" (In Search of Chopin, 2010); and a large-format piece paying homage to the victims of the 2011 tsunami and earthquake in Japan, "Tsunami en Sendai y amanecer en Tokio" (Tsunami in Sendai and Dawn in Tokyo). Likewise, Luis Agius has published two plays, "Todos somos Albert Camus" (We Are All Albert Camus, 2010) and "Mi nombre es Sarah" (My Name is Sarah, 2013). The last book he published is "Músicos frente al Abismo" (Musicians Before the Abyss, Oportet Editores, 2014).
6:45pm - Pre-concert talk: Music is not played, it is lived
By Luis Agius
Music is a passion that has to be transmitted.
Throughout my long musical and artistic career, both in its training period and as a professional, I have progressively discovered that in addition to developing the cognitive-intellectual capacities related to the realm of music (sound, language, technique, aesthetics, musical forms, history of music and its interpretation, harmony, etc.), it is essential to cultivate our sensitivity and take note, in some way, of the delicate connections between our mind -or our soul, spirit, whatever we want to call it, according to our beliefs or convictions- and our body. Connections which, sometimes, are interrupted and imprisoned by the intellect and by the external noise of the chaotic and complex world in which we live.
That is why my way of working, both as a performer and as a composer, is mainly based on experience (Music is not played, it is lived), in a way that close and direct contact with the rest of the artistic disciplines (Painting, Literature, Theatre, Cinema, Photography, etc.) become a laboratory of experimentation to embody all musical learning; making, in fact, as a translation as a "performance" or interpretation of a musical piece (and also of "creating it ex nihilo"); and that as it exists or is produced is the miracle of achieving an emotional imprint, an "indelible musical mark" on the listener, and of course on the performer. As Music is an abstract art that is crystallised in its interpretation from the music score to the vibration of sound - otherwise it is just literature on a page, incomprehensible and invaluable to an uninitiated, to a non-musician).
Personally, I am attracted to this work, because as a piano teacher, interpretation and composition, as well as rigorously and honestly transmitting my knowledge and experiences, I have always attached great value to the fact of sharing with my students our common passion for music and the way of living it. For this reason, I use this opportunity to express my own vision: that it is essential that it is adopted, in Conservatories, Academies and Schools of Music of all kinds, as a specific objective or in the medium and long term, the creation of a musical community in which the joy of music is present and shared with the discovery and enjoyment of the rest of the Fine Arts, almost in the manner of Classical Greece. Because Art forms and shapes the painter, the poet, the playwright, the filmmaker and the musician equally. There is not and there should not be anything that differentiates them in relation to the service they do for the immortal ideals -the canons of Art- exposed throughout History, among many others, by Schiller: Freedom, Beauty and Truth. Our mission should be to set these values in stone into the soul of the spectator/recipient so from then on they would cultivate their spirit and enrich their earthly life and that of their peers.
“Music fathoms the sky” – Charles Baudelaire – checked the quote
“Music is indeed the mediator between the spiritual and the sensual life” – Ludwig van Beethoven
COVID-Safety
The health and safety of our audiences, visiting musicians, students and staff remain our priority. We are currently restricting the capacity of Clothworkers Centenary Concert Hall to 120 people (50%), have strict cleaning regimes in place, and have enhanced ventilation. We encourage audiences to wear face coverings, socially distance, and use hand sanitiser when attending our concerts. We ask audience members not to attend a concert if they have tested positive for covid or have any symptoms.
BOOK TICKETS
Throughout my long musical and artistic career, both in its training period and as a professional, I have progressively discovered that in addition to developing the cognitive-intellectual capacities related to the realm of music (sound, language, technique, aesthetics, musical forms, history of music and its interpretation, harmony, etc.), it is essential to cultivate our sensitivity and take note, in some way, of the delicate connections between our mind -or our soul, spirit, whatever we want to call it, according to our beliefs or convictions- and our body. Connections which, sometimes, are interrupted and imprisoned by the intellect and by the external noise of the chaotic and complex world in which we live.
That is why my way of working, both as a performer and as a composer, is mainly based on experience (Music is not played, it is lived), in a way that close and direct contact with the rest of the artistic disciplines (Painting, Literature, Theatre, Cinema, Photography, etc.) become a laboratory of experimentation to embody all musical learning; making, in fact, as a translation as a "performance" or interpretation of a musical piece (and also of "creating it ex nihilo"); and that as it exists or is produced is the miracle of achieving an emotional imprint, an "indelible musical mark" on the listener, and of course on the performer. As Music is an abstract art that is crystallised in its interpretation from the music score to the vibration of sound - otherwise it is just literature on a page, incomprehensible and invaluable to an uninitiated, to a non-musician).
Personally, I am attracted to this work, because as a piano teacher, interpretation and composition, as well as rigorously and honestly transmitting my knowledge and experiences, I have always attached great value to the fact of sharing with my students our common passion for music and the way of living it. For this reason, I use this opportunity to express my own vision: that it is essential that it is adopted, in Conservatories, Academies and Schools of Music of all kinds, as a specific objective or in the medium and long term, the creation of a musical community in which the joy of music is present and shared with the discovery and enjoyment of the rest of the Fine Arts, almost in the manner of Classical Greece. Because Art forms and shapes the painter, the poet, the playwright, the filmmaker and the musician equally. There is not and there should not be anything that differentiates them in relation to the service they do for the immortal ideals -the canons of Art- exposed throughout History, among many others, by Schiller: Freedom, Beauty and Truth. Our mission should be to set these values in stone into the soul of the spectator/recipient so from then on they would cultivate their spirit and enrich their earthly life and that of their peers.
“Music fathoms the sky” – Charles Baudelaire – checked the quote
“Music is indeed the mediator between the spiritual and the sensual life” – Ludwig van Beethoven
COVID-Safety
The health and safety of our audiences, visiting musicians, students and staff remain our priority. We are currently restricting the capacity of Clothworkers Centenary Concert Hall to 120 people (50%), have strict cleaning regimes in place, and have enhanced ventilation. We encourage audiences to wear face coverings, socially distance, and use hand sanitiser when attending our concerts. We ask audience members not to attend a concert if they have tested positive for covid or have any symptoms.
BOOK TICKETS
Personally, I am attracted to this work, because as a piano teacher, interpretation and composition, as well as rigorously and honestly transmitting my knowledge and experiences, I have always attached great value to the fact of sharing with my students our common passion for music and the way of living it. For this reason, I use this opportunity to express my own vision: that it is essential that it is adopted, in Conservatories, Academies and Schools of Music of all kinds, as a specific objective or in the medium and long term, the creation of a musical community in which the joy of music is present and shared with the discovery and enjoyment of the rest of the Fine Arts, almost in the manner of Classical Greece. Because Art forms and shapes the painter, the poet, the playwright, the filmmaker and the musician equally. There is not and there should not be anything that differentiates them in relation to the service they do for the immortal ideals -the canons of Art- exposed throughout History, among many others, by Schiller: Freedom, Beauty and Truth. Our mission should be to set these values in stone into the soul of the spectator/recipient so from then on they would cultivate their spirit and enrich their earthly life and that of their peers.
“Music fathoms the sky” – Charles Baudelaire – checked the quote
“Music is indeed the mediator between the spiritual and the sensual life” – Ludwig van Beethoven
COVID-Safety
The health and safety of our audiences, visiting musicians, students and staff remain our priority. We are currently restricting the capacity of Clothworkers Centenary Concert Hall to 120 people (50%), have strict cleaning regimes in place, and have enhanced ventilation. We encourage audiences to wear face coverings, socially distance, and use hand sanitiser when attending our concerts. We ask audience members not to attend a concert if they have tested positive for covid or have any symptoms.
BOOK TICKETS
“Music is indeed the mediator between the spiritual and the sensual life” – Ludwig van Beethoven
COVID-Safety
The health and safety of our audiences, visiting musicians, students and staff remain our priority. We are currently restricting the capacity of Clothworkers Centenary Concert Hall to 120 people (50%), have strict cleaning regimes in place, and have enhanced ventilation. We encourage audiences to wear face coverings, socially distance, and use hand sanitiser when attending our concerts. We ask audience members not to attend a concert if they have tested positive for covid or have any symptoms.
BOOK TICKETS
COVID-Safety
The health and safety of our audiences, visiting musicians, students and staff remain our priority. We are currently restricting the capacity of Clothworkers Centenary Concert Hall to 120 people (50%), have strict cleaning regimes in place, and have enhanced ventilation. We encourage audiences to wear face coverings, socially distance, and use hand sanitiser when attending our concerts. We ask audience members not to attend a concert if they have tested positive for covid or have any symptoms.