Alex Alguacil

Link to review. Pedro Téllez – “With this new album, pianist Alex Alguacil offers us a unique recording that encompasses, for the first time on a single disc, all the music inspired by the universe of Goya that Enric Granados composed for piano. This work is based on the Boileau edition conducted by Alicia de Larrocha, with whom Alex Alguacil had the opportunity to study for several years. One of the strengths of this album is its unifying intention. It is not simply another performance of Goyescas, but an overall vision that incorporates less common pieces such as Crepúsculo, Jácara, Serenata Goyesca and Reverie–Improvisation, in addition to the popular El Pelele. In this sense, the expanded repertoire is an additional attraction, allowing a deeper approach to Granados’ Goyaesque aesthetic. Alguacil’s interpretation stands out for its dramatic character, opting for a tragic and dense vision. His approach emphasizes the Wagnerian influence in the work, highlighting the continuity of the leitmotifs and the narrative unity. which underlies the suite Los Majos enamorados (“the Majos in Love”). In this regard, the libretto, written by Alguacil himself, is another great added value of the album, as it not only contextualizes the pieces but also offers a personal and detailed analysis of their thematic development. Alguacil’s technique is impeccable, with precise articulation and a complete command of pianistic color, which allows for a clear differentiation of the different sound environments. His approach might surprise those expecting a version more in line with the French tradition. Here we find a more robust interpretation with heightened drama, emphasizing the expressiveness of the lament and its evolution throughout the cycle. This Goyescas by Alguacil is a bold and revealing interpretation, offering a new perspective on Granados’s work without renouncing the Spanish performance tradition. A recording that, without a doubt, deserves a careful listen. Read the full review at Melómano

Link to review. Felix de Azúa – “Wagnerian reading of the Goyescas by Alex Alguacil, who studied in Barcelona before going to the United States to perfect his technique. The CD booklet is one of the album’s greatest attractions, written by Alguacil himself, in which he analyzes the pieces and discusses their interpretation, which could be described as Wagnerian. On this point, his version is very different from that of Alicia De Larrocha, with whom he studied, and who tended more towards the French school. In contrast, Alguacil leans more towards the tragic tone and from the beginning his touch and dynamics are much more percussive, as if he conceived the story in some way inspired by Tristan und Isolde as a distant, but active horizon. A version more Germanic than French. The other attraction of this album is that it contains other pieces that are part of Granados‘ “Goyaesque” inspiration. There are six compositions of maximum interest due to their rarity, since only “El Pelele” is usually included in recitals. (…) A very excellent note for Sheriff, whose personality has overtaken that of his teacher. Read the full review in Scherzo

Link to Review. Núria Serra – “Goyescas (both the piano suite and the opera) are testimony to the profound admiration that Enric Granados professed for the work of Francisco de Goya (1746-1828). Subtitled Los majos enamorados, the six pieces that make up the suite “Los Majos enamorados” tell a tragic story. This brilliant recording includes, in addition to the Goyescas, other less well-known pieces, such as Intermezzo, Jácara, Crepúsculo, Serenata goyesca, Rêverie-Improvisation, and the famous El pelele (subtitled Escena goyesca). From a musicological perspective, it is worth reading Alguacil’s own article, which is included in the album notes. There is no denying that Alex Alguacil’s version should be given attention. His performance demands it. The Barcelona pianist demonstrates his profound knowledge of Granados’ music. It is an inspiring version that culminates his studies – a A lifetime of work and personal experience—on the Catalan composer’s music. In reality, Alex Alguacil is truly fascinated by the Goyescas. Listening to his phrasing—the delightfully differentiated imitative writing of Quejas or La Maja y el Ruiseñor, the broad and organic rubatos—and the balanced yet intense expressiveness, we can conclude that his interpretation is one of absolute precision and of a vital, grand, and direct musicality. A performance of great pianistic invention. Read the full review in Sonograma Web

Link to video. Video of the CD presentation on the 3cat platform – Alex Alguacil plays a selection of Granados‘ works on the Pleyel piano that once belonged to the composer. To mark the presentation of the CD, Goyescas, the 3cat platform recorded the pianist’s performance at the Biblioteca de Catalunya. The event was also attended by musicologist and popularizer Xavier Chavarría and writer and journalist Mónica Pagès. Link to video

Link to review – Review in Revista Musical Catalana. Santi Riu – Granados’ music is the focus of the new album that Catalan pianist Alex Alguacil has just released on Solfa Recordings. While the magnum opus featured is the Goyescas, the recording—which runs for around eighty minutes—includes for the first time all the pieces in which the Lleida-born composer drew inspiration from the Goyaesque universe. Also worth noting is the article written by the pianist himself in the booklet accompanying the CD, entitled Goyescas or the Laments of Granados, which analyzes the works, reviewing the themes and leitmotifs that emerge in the suite, along with some interesting ideas of his own that will help us better understand the album. Alguacil offers a romantic and elegant performance, without losing its meaning, with an evocative and seductive vision, imbued with sensitivity and elegance along with a careful sound and a wide tonal palette. He is able to narrate in detail this colorful and melancholic world with a measured use of the pedal and a light touch. From Los Requiebros of beautiful melodic and rhythmic flair that do not shy away from rubato, the pianist offers a romantic vision, with clear ornamentation based on the jota, where Granados transports us with luminosity and vitality to 18th-century Madrid. Subtlety, poetry, and evocativeness stand out in Quejas or La maja y el ruiseñor with carefully crafted timbre and luminous trills. From an almost improvised introduction, Alex Alguacil draws us into El amor y la muerte, a darker version imbued with drama and pain, with a contrasting performance as elegant and sublime as it is passionate. The album closes with an extroverted version, without excesses, but imbued with energy and a frenetic rhythm, of El pelele, which rounds out a recording made at the Josep Carreras Auditorium in Vila-seca last January. If you want Goyescas without gimmicky effects, with refined sound planes, subtleties, and a beautiful rhythmic and melodic sense, this is a great option, which will also be presented in concert soon in both Catalonia and Japan. Read full review

October 25th, 19h – Recital at the Bechstein Centrum in Tokyo with pianist Yukiko Akagi featuring music by spanish composers such as Xavier Montsalvatge, Frederic Mompou, Salvador Brotons, Benet Casablancas, Ramon Humet and Enrique Granados.  More info and tickets here

October 20th, 19h – Recital in the Cripta de l’ermita in Cambrils, Tarragona. In the first half music of Richard Strauss. A selection of pieces for piano. These early works are influenced by the language of Mendelssohn and Schumann, but already show traits of Strauss’s style, including symphonic and sometimes operatic features. The second part is dedicated to the complete suite of Goyescas by Granados, a masterpiece of Spanish piano literature, full of drama and passion, and which was transferred to the genre of opera by the author himself. Tickets here

October 5th, 21h – Recital in Manlleu at the Auditori Fundació Caixa Manlleu, Barcelona. In the first half music of Richard Strauss. A selection of pieces for piano. These early works are influenced by the language of Mendelssohn and Schumann, but already show traits of Strauss’s style, including symphonic and sometimes operatic features. The second part is dedicated to the complete suite of Goyescas by Granados, a masterpiece of Spanish piano literature, full of drama and passion, and which was transferred to the genre of opera by the author himself. Tickets here.

September 16th – PROKOFIEV: ROMEO AND JULIET, 2 PIANOS – TEATRE ROMEA – ROSTRES. With YUKIKO AKAGI AND PERE ARQUILLUÉ. Transcription of Prokofiev’s ballet Romeo and Juliet for two pianos and performance by actor Pere Arquillué. “In the scene, two pianists are on the Romea stage tuning their piano. After a few minutes, we see Pere Arquillué come out and, in silence, sit in the chair. Pere Arquillué begins to tune his face, to show the faces. Minutes later, the pianist begins to perform a series of pieces from Romeo and Juliet by Sergei Prokofiev and Pere Arquillué, through the face and in silence, he transmits to us the history of the piece performed. The face, understood as a storyteller. , as a narrator, but also as a free space to give free rein to emotions”. TICKETS

COMING SOON – New album with all the works that Enrique Granados composed inspired by the world of Goya, including the popular suite “Los Majos Enamorados” and other related works such as Crepúsculo, Jácara, Serenata Goyesca, Reverie-Improvisation and the famous El Pelele. This recording is based on the Goyescas edition of Boileau Musica, directed by Alicia De Larrocha, with whom Alex Alguacil had the opportunity to study for several years, working on Spanish piano repertoire and some of the works presented in this CD. The booklet includes an article written by Alguacil himself analyzing the works of this recording, going through the themes and leitmotifs of the suite “Los Majos Enamorados” while connecting its musical transformation with the emotional development of this piano drama. Alguacil also highlights the musical unity of the work through the motif of the ‘lament’ and points out the appearance of musical themes of a Wagnerian nature, which give the work its operatic scope.