Joaquín Turina - Chamber Music (Nash Ensemble)

Information

Composer: Joaquín Turina

• Piano Quartet in A minor, Op. 67
• Violin Sonata No. 2 in G major 'Sonata espagnola', Op. 82
• Escena andaluza, Op. 7
• Piano Trio No. 1, Op. 35
• La oración del torero, Op. 34

Nash Ensemble

    Marianne Thorsen, violin

    Laura Samuel, violin

    Lawrence Power, viola

    Vicci Wardman, viola

    Paul Watkins, cello

    Ian Brown, piano

Date: 2012

Label: Hyperion

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Review

Bravo to the Nash Ensemble for championing these chamber works by Joaquín Turina. Neither of Turina’s compatriots and mentors, Albéniz and Falla, contributed much to the chamber repertoire themselves but they were instrumental in guiding Turina towards his Andalusian roots and discouraging him from aping early-20th-century French contemporaries.

Much of the Gallic finesse that Turina acquired during his time as a pupil of d’Indy in Paris certainly shines through in this music in terms of texture and harmony but his harnessing of folk music to the classical cause gives all these pieces a distinctly Spanish aroma. The G major Violin Sonata, superbly played here by Marianne Thorsen and Ian Brown, is actually subtitled Sonata espagnola and conjures up characteristic images of Spanish fervour, drama, gaiety and sensual lyricism in a highly attractive melange of local colour, be it Andalusian or, in the first movement, Basque as well. Turina’s manner of dealing with these elements is sophisticated and rich in variety. He could scarcely have imagined that one day an ensemble would produce an entire CD of his music but the Spanish traits by no means become wearing or predictable. The Escena andaluza for viola and piano quintet, while clearly Andalusian in inspiration, manages to manipulate the folk-like material with subtlety and in a way that sounds both finely crafted and spontaneous. Like the A minor Piano Quartet, the First Piano Trio is a substantial, ear-catching and individual work, La oración del torero for string quartet a little gem.

— Geoffrey Norris

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Joaquín Turina (9 December 1882 – 14 January 1949) was a Spanish composer. He pursued his early studies in Seville and Madrid before relocating to Paris in 1905, where he trained under Moritz Moszkowski and Vincent d'Indy. Influenced by Isaac Albéniz, Turina developed a distinctly Spanish idiom that combined Andalusian folk traditions with French impressionism. His music frequently pays homage to his native Seville, like in Sinfonía sevillana and Canto a Sevilla. Known for orchestral pieces such as Danzas fantásticas and La oración del torero, Turina also composed operas, songs, piano miniatures and chamber music.

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The Nash Ensemble of London is an English chamber ensemble. It was founded by Artistic Director Amelia Freedman and Rodney Slatford in 1964, while they were students at the Royal Academy of Music, and was named after the Nash Terraces around the academy. The Ensemble has won awards from the Edinburgh Festival Critics and the Royal Philharmonic Society, as well as a 2002 Gramophone Award for contemporary music. In addition to their classical repertoire, the Ensemble performs works by numerous contemporary composers, and has given premier performances of more than 200 works.

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