Augustín Charles, José Luis Greco, Ramón Lazkano & Claudio Prieto

Album review

AUGUSTIN CHARLES was born in Manresa. He received his training from Sarti and Soler and also took lessons with Halffter, Guinjoan, and, in Italy, with Nono and Donatoni. He has won important awards in Spain (Reina Sofia Prize, SGAE-Sociedad General de Autores y Editores Prize). His oeuvre is already considerable in size. The "DIVERTIMENTO para ocho violonchelos", dedicated to Elias Arizcuren and his Octet, won the Francesc Civil First Prize in 1993. The octet is based on "Particella" for cello solo, rearranged for the timbres and the great possibilities of the CONJUNTO IBERICO. Its point of departure is a musical cell at the beginning of the work, which forms the axis around which the entire piece develops. JOSE LUIS GRECO Jose Luis Greco was born in New York as the son of the renowned dancers Jose Greco and Nila Amparo. He was educated at Columbia University. In 1984 he settled in Amsterdam. He received prizes and commissions such as "Trouble", a string quartet; "Swallow", written for the Netherlands Wind Ensemble; and his opera "Cuentos de la Alhambra". Since 1994 he has lived and worked in Madrid. His two ballets, "Mujeres" and "Mouvement perpetuel", as well as a number of symphonic works, were recently performed in Spain with great success. "INVISIBLE" consists of 6 movements which are performed in uninterrupted succession. The work does not attempt to demonstrate all the technical possibilities of the cello; it displays a wide palette of timbres and registers. It also evokes feelings associated with a journey through Andalusia. "INVISIBLE" was composed on commission for Elias Arizcuren at the CDMC-Center for Contemporary Music in Madrid.