Conducted by Pablo Heras-Casado, the hr-Sinfonieorchester (Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra) performs Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio Espagnol, Op. 34. Recorded during “Europe Open Air” by hr-Sinfonieorchester and European Central Bank at Weseler shipyard, Frankfurt on 24 August 2017. Published by the hr-Sinfonieorchester channel.

Conducted by Pablo Heras-Casado, the hr-Sinfonieorchester performs Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio Espagnol, Op. 34

Capriccio Espagnol

Russian Romantic-era composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov composed this five-movement orchestral suite, based on Spanish folk melodies, in 1887. The Russian title of the piece can be translated literally as “Capriccio Notes 1 on Spanish Themes”“Capriccio Espagnol” common Western title of the piece. Rimsky-Korsakov originally intended to write the work for a solo violin with orchestra, but later decided that a purely orchestral work would do better justice to the lively melodies.

The work can be divided into two parts comprising the first three and the latter two movements respectively – a total of five movements, to be played without pause.

  1. Alborada, is a festive and exciting dance, typically from traditional asturian music to celebrate the rising of the sun. It features the clarinet with two solos, and later features a solo violin with a solo similar to the clarinet’s.
  2. Variazioni, begins with a melody in the horn section. Variations of this melody are then repeated by other instruments and sections of the orchestra.
  3. Alborada, presents the same asturian dance as the first movement. The two movements are nearly identical, in fact, except that this movement has a different instrumentation and key.
  4. Scena e canto gitano (“Scene and gypsy song”) opens with five cadenzas — first by the horns and trumpets, then solo violin, flute, clarinet, and harp — played over rolls on various percussion instruments. It is then followed by a dance in triple time leading attacca into the final movement.
  5. Fandango asturiano, is also an energetic dance from the Asturias region of northern Spain. The piece ends with an even more rousing statement of the Alborada theme.
Conducted by Pablo Heras-Casado, the hr-Sinfonieorchester performs Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio Espagnol, Op. 34
Conducted by Pablo Heras-Casado, the hr-Sinfonieorchester performs Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio Espagnol, Op. 34

Notes

  1. capriccio is a piece of music, usually fairly free in form and of a lively character.

Sources

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  1. Clara Andrada de la Calle is one of the leading Flute players of her generation currently holding Solo Flute positions of both the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra. Born in Salamanca, she commenced her musical studies with Pablo Sagredo and Magdalena Martínez at the Syrinx School of Music. Scholarships from the Spanish Ministry of Culture and the London Wall Trust Foundation enabled her to continue her studies at the Geneva Conservatory of Music under Prof. Emmanuel Pahud and Prof. J.D Castellon as well as the London Royal College of Music under the guidance of Jaime Martín. As a Principal Flute player she has worked with many leading orchestras, including the London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic, Swedish Radio, Rotterdam Philharmonic, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra , under esteemed conductors including N.Harnoncourt, V. Gergiev, C.Davis, B.Haitink, V. Ashkenazy, M.W Chung, L. Maazel etc. She is an active Chamber musician, performing regularly as a member of the “Hindemith Wind Quintet” as well as various other ensembles including the “Auryn Quartet”, “Miró Wind Quintet”, “Plural Ensemble”, “Trio Arbós” and the “Duo Neopercussión”. She has appeared as a soloist with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, Tenerife Symphony Orchestra and with the Symphony Orchestra of Castilla & León, of which she was soloist on the Orchestras tour of Colombia and the Dominican Republic and subsequently recorded her first CD with the orchestra of Flute concertos by Spanish and South American composers. As artist in residence with the orchestra for the 2015/16 season, she premiered the Flute concerto by Iñaki Estrada which was commissioned by the orchestra and dedicated to her. Clara Andrada de la Calle has given masterclasses at the Royal College of Music (London), the Buchmann Mehta School of Music (Tel Aviv), at the Conservatories in Valencia, Zaragoza, Badajoz and Salamanca, worked as a coach for the National Youth orchestras of Barcelona (JONC) and the National Spanish Youth Orchestra (JONDE) and held the position of Flute Professor at the “Centro Superior de Musica”at the Musikene in Basque Country.

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