Joan Manén; Robert Gerhard; Xavier Montsalvatge - Cello Sonatas (Guillermo Pastrana; Daniel Blanch)

Information

Composer: Joan Manén; Robert Gerhard; Xavier Montsalvatge

• Manén - Sonata di concerto, Op. A-42
• Gerhard - Sonata (Version for Cello & Piano)
• Montsalvatge - Sonata concertante

Guillermo Pastrana, cello

Daniel Blanch, piano

Date: 2019

Label: IBS

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Description

At the beginning of the 20th century in Catalunya, several approaches to music lived side by side, some succeeding and overlapping each other: a German-influenced post-romanticism, of Wagnerian tradition; a Spanish nationalism, promoted by Felip Pedrell; and a “novecentist” style which sought to reconnect with the truest traditional roots, crystallizing into a language of great originality.

All these aesthetic approaches co-existed naturally and became entwined in the works of composers whose language was constantly evolving. Within this musical context, the artistic lives began of three important Catalan composers of three consecutive generations: Joan Manén (1883-1971), Robert Gerhard (1896-1970) and Xavier Montsalvatge (1912 -2002): composers whose extensive output has been performed and received international recognition, and who set out to find their own personal voice from the starting points of different musical styles.

All three composed sonatas for cello and piano – works that depart from Spanish traditional music and look to Europe, assimilating the stylistic influences that most suited their contrasting sensibilities and thus making an authentic and original contribution to 20th-century musical composition.

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Joan Manén (14 March 1883 – 26 June 1971) was a Spanish violinist and composer. A prodigy, he played piano, violin and conducted by age seven. After studying with Ibarguren, he focused on the violin and achieved major success in Europe. Alongside performing, he composed operas, two symphonies, concertos and many transcriptions, notably of Paganini. Manén also completed an early Beethoven violin concerto and wrote an autobiography and a book on violin technique. His recordings reveal a refined musician with pure tone and discreet vibrato, maintaining high performance standards well into later life.

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Robert Gerhard (25 September 1896 – 5 January 1970) was a Spanish-British composer. Born in Valls, he studied with Enrique Granados and Felip Pedrell in Barcelona, and later with Arnold Schoenberg in Vienna and Berlin. He produced Spain's first serial works and collaborated with artists like Joan Miró and the Ballets Russes. After the Republican defeat in the Civil War, he emigrated to Paris and then settled in Cambridge. His 1930s–40s music blends Catalan elements with personal serial techniques. Widespread acclaim arrived in the 1960s, with renewed interest and major recordings following in the 1990s.

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Xavier Montsalvatge (11 March 1912 – 7 May 2002) was a Spanish composer. Born in Girona, he studied at the Barcelona Conservatory with leading Catalan musicians. Although he began composing before the Spanish Civil War, most of his work came after 1940, blending early 20th-century modernist techniques with his own personal style. A versatile musician, he wrote across many genres and collaborated with renowned Spanish singers, including Victoria de los Ángeles and Montserrat Caballé. Widely honoured with national awards, Montsalvatge became one of Spain's most important composers of the 20th century.

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Guillermo Pastrana (born 1983) is a Spanish cellist. He studied with Jan Halsdorf (Luxembourg), Gustav Rivinius (Germany), and Ivan Monighetti (Switzerland). He has appeared as a soloist with major orchestras, including Orquesta radio Televisión Española, the Belgian National Orchestra and the Chile Symphony, and has worked with conductors such as Kazuki Yamada, Antoni Wit and Michael Schønwandt. A passionate chamber musician, he has collaborated with artists like Vladimir Mendelssohn and Mischa Maisky. He has made several recordings and currently performs on a 1670 Antonio Cassini cello.

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Daniel Blanch is a Barcelona-born piano soloist and chamber musician. Trained by Maria Canals, Raquel Millàs, Maria Tipo and Brigitte Engerer, he has won prizes such as El Primer Palau and multiple awards at the Maria Canals Competition. He has performed internationally in major venues and with orchestras across Europe and the Americas. A dedicated researcher, he has championed forgotten Catalan repertoire through numerous premiere recordings, including works by Nin-Culmell, Montsalvatge, Suriñach, Blancafort and Manén. Blanch is the president and founder of the Joan Manén Association.

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