Joaquín Rodrigo - Chamber Orchestra Works (Joan Enric Lluna)

Information

Composer: Joaquín Rodrigo

• Soleriana
• Tres viejos aires de danza
• Zarabanda lejana y Villancico

Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana

Joan Enric Lluna, conductor

Date: 2020

Label: IBS

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Review

When it comes to the orchestral music of Joaquin Rodrigo, people may know the Concierto de Aranjuez and the Fantasia para un gentilhombre. There also is the Concierto andaluz for four guitars and orchestra, composed especially for Los Romeros. Beyond these works, however, there is a wealth of rarely performed and rarely recorded music which deserves its place in the sun. Rodrigo’s songs and piano music are well worth investigating, and many of the orchestral works are the equal of the more famous pieces. We must thank Naxos and Brilliant Classics for their effort to bring this wonderful music to the listener.

Here we have four works for chamber orchestra, without a guitar in sight, which showcase the composer’s orchestral and stylistic colour. The latest piece is Soleriana from 1953, a suite based upon music by Antonio Soler. There are only five movements here but volume 1 of Rodrigo’s complete orchestral works series (on Naxos 8.555844, played by Asturias Symphony Orchestra and Maximiano Valdés) actually contains eight pieces. The three additional movements are Fandango a lo alto, Contradanza and Boleras. This is a shame because there is room for them on this disc.

This recording is slightly more relaxed than that of Maximiano Valdés, still with a summery Spanish outlook. The same can be said of the other work also on the Naxos disc. Zarabanda lejana was originally composed in 1926 as a piece for guitar, but arranged for string orchestra four years later, when the composer added the Villancico with its dance-like theme contrasting well with the mellow wistfulness of the first movement. Here, the opening Zarabanda lejana movement is half again as long as the Valdés account, giving it a sense of a summer siesta.

The remaining two works appear in the Naxos survey, too: Tres viejos aires de danza on volume 6 (played by the Castille and León Symphony Orchestra and Max Bragado-Darman, on Naxos 8.555962); volume 8 includes Dos miniaturas andaluzas (again with Maximiano Valdés, on Naxos 8.557801. By the way, both those discs are fine, although the flute version of the Fantasia para un gentilhombre in volume 8) does take some getting used to. In comparison, Joan Enric Lluna’s performances are once again slightly slower without detracting from the music. (It is strange to think that Dos miniaturas andaluzas had to wait seventy years for its premiere in 1999.) These two short pieces show great charm and Andalusian flavour; like Soleriana, Tres viejos aires de danza once again harks back to the past.

This most pleasant disc proves to be a wonderful introduction to the less usual aspects of the composer’s orchestral music. The performance is crisp and clear. The Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana and Joan Enric Lluna bring to life this beautiful Spanish heart of this music. Never mind the incomplete Soleriana and the slowish tempi, this disc is highly recommendable. First-rate performance and sound, coupled with the informative booklet notes, make this winner a disc to investigate.

— Stuart Sillitoe

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Joaquín Rodrigo (22 November 1901 – 6 July 1999) was a Spanish composer. Despite losing his sight at age three, he pursued music from childhood and later studied with Paul Dukas and Manuel de Falla. In 1940 he gained international acclaim with his Concierto de Aranjuez, which established him as Spain's leading post-Civil War composer. Rodrigo served as adviser for national radio and held the Manuel de Falla Chair at the Complutense University of Madrid. Though celebrated for his guitar works, he also composed concerti for various instruments, as well as an opera, ballet, piano pieces, and numerous songs.

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Joan Enric Lluna is a leading Spanish clarinetist and conductor known for his commitment to rediscovering forgotten Spanish music. Founder and artistic director of MOONWINDS, he has recorded major works such as Mozart's Clarinet Concerto, Brahms' Clarinet Sonatas and Quintet, and Weber's concertos. Also notable are his collaborations with ensembles such as the Alexander Quartet, Tokyo Quartet, Brodsky Quartet and Jerusalem Quartet. Lluna has held principal positions with major orchestras and frequently appears as guest principal. He teaches at ESMUC in Barcelona and Trinity College of Music in London.

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