Joaquín Turina; Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco - Souvenir d'Espagne (Quatuor Byron)

Information

Composer: Joaquín Turina; Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco

• Turina - La oración del torero, Op. 34
• Turina - String Quartet, Op. 4 "De la guitarra"
• Turina - Serenata, Op. 87
• Castelnuovo-Tedesco - Guitar Quintet, Op. 143

Quatuor Byron

    Wendy Ghysels, violin

    François James, violin

    Robin Lemmel, viola

    Coralie Devars, cello

Date: 2023

Label: Aparté

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Review

Music of Turina and Castelnuovo-Tedesco is featured on Souvenir d’Espagne, the outstanding new CD from the Quatuor Byron with guitarist Matteo Mala. The four works – “shot through with Hispanic musical reminiscences” – show a range of influences from Franck and Debussy to Ravel and Andalusian music, with the spirit of the guitar never far away (Aparté AP308 apartemusic.com/produit/souvenir-despagne).

The three works by Turina, who was born in Seville, are all extremely attractive: La oración del torero Op.34 (The bullfighter’s prayer) from 1925; the String Quartet “de la guitarra” Op.4 from 1911; and the Serenata Op.87 from 1935, a dramatic and unsettled work perhaps reflective of the contemporary events in Spain. 

The Italian Castelnuovo-Tedesco would have to go back several centuries to find his Spanish roots, but no matter: his Guitar Quintet Op.143 from 1950, dedicated to the great Spanish guitarist Andrés Segovia, is indeed shot through with Spanish colour and warmth.

— Terry Robbins

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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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Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (3 April 1895 — 15 March 1968) was an Italian composer. A student of Ildebrando Pizzetti, he gained recognition in the 1920s but was forced to emigrate to the U.S. in 1939 due to Mussolini's anti-Semitic laws. Settling in Hollywood, he composed concertos for piano, violin, cello and guitar, and wrote overtures for 12 Shakespeare plays. He also set Shakespeare's poems and sonnets to music and composed two Shakespearean operas. Castelnuovo-Tedesco's chamber and piano works are noted for their symphonic scope, while his vocal music reflects the melodic tradition of the Italian school.

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Formed in Geneva under the guidance of Gábor Takács-Nagy, the Byron Quartet takes its name from Lord Byron, honoring his modern European spirit. The ensemble studied at the Geneva University, earning a master's degree in string quartet performance in 2010, and also trained with the Ysaÿe Quartet at the Paris Conservatory. They have participated in masterclasses with renowned quartets and musicians such as György Kurtág and Eberhard Feltz. The Byron Quartet performs widely across Europe in prestigious venues and festivals and frequently appears on major European radio stations, while also engaging in music education.

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