Joaquín Turina - Orchestral Works Vol. 2 (Juanjo Mena)

Information

Composer: Joaquín Turina

• La procesión del Rocío, Op. 9
• Rapsodia sinfónica, Op. 66
• Danzas gitanas, Op. 55
• Canto a Sevilla, Op. 37

Martin Roscoe, piano

María Espada, soprano

BBC Philharmonic Orchestra

Juanjo Mena, conductor

Date: 2014

Label: Chandos

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Review

Juanjo Mena and the BBC Philharmonic continue their exploration of the Spanish repertoire with this programme pinpointing Turina’s Andalusian roots. However, listening to his Rapsodia sinfónica for piano and strings, a fairly late work of 1931, you are reminded that in his early years Turina studied in Paris, where Debussy held sway. While the music has a distinctive, ripe Spanish aroma, on occasion there are reminiscences of a Gallic finesse in texture, harmony and turns of phrase and, indeed, of the ways in which French composers of the early 20th century evoked a Spanish atmosphere. It makes for an attractive amalgam, particularly here with Martin Roscoe as a pianist who recognises the sophistication as well as the rhythmic robustness of the piano-writing.

The fact that Turina was a skilled orchestrator is manifest throughout this disc in performances of La procesión del rocío and the Danzas gitanas that have a shifting, subtle spectrum of colour delineating the music’s light and shade, its sunshine and louring clouds, its sensuality and sinew. What might come across as irksome motivic tics are woven into a rich, multifaceted fabric, no more so than in the Canto a Sevilla, a work that Victoria de los Angeles made her own. María Espada adds a luminous glow to this homage to Seville in all its mystery and magic, exuberance and eerie phantasms.

— 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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Juanjo Mena (born 21 September 1965 in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Basque Country, Spain) is a Spanish conductor. He began his music studies at the Vitoria-Gasteiz Conservatory, and later attended the Madrid Royal Conservatory. He also studied conducting with Sergiu Celibidache in Munich. Mena was artistic director and principal conductor of the Bilbao Symphony Orchestra (from 1999 to 2008), chief conductor of the BBC Philharmonic (from 2011 to 2018), and principal conductor of the Cincinnati May Festival (from 2017 to 2023). He has commercially recorded for Naxos Records and the Chandos label.

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