José Miguel Rodilla - elegance with an electrifying brilliance.
José Miguel Rodilla And Orquesta Sinfónica de la Región de Murcia Play Music Of Turina And Moreno-Buendia -2009- Past Daily Mid-Week Concert
Into the realm of the reasonably unfamiliar (at least to some of us) this week. A concert broadcast by Radio Nacional de España on December 4, 2009 featuring The Orquesta Sinfonica de la Region de Murcia lead by its Music Director Miguel José Rodilla in music by Joaquin Turina and Manuel Moreno-Buendía. Turina’s Sinfonia Sevillana and two works by Moreno-Buendia: Concerto for Flute and orchestra (with Juan Antonio Nicolas, flute) and Celtiberia (Suite de Danzas).
A little background on Miguel José Rodilla (via his website):
Rodilla made his debut as a conductor with the Orquesta del Conservatorio de Murcia in 1990, where is the Chief Conductor from 1996, touring in Spain, Hungary and Portugal. In 1991 he received the “Best Conductor Prize” in the Murcia International Youth Orchestra Festival.
In 1993, he formed the Concertus Novo Chamber Orchestra, realizing his ambition of creating an ensemble to perform contemporary music. There followed numerous engagements with the most prestigious contemporary music festivals. Some of those performances were featured in live radio broadcasts by RNE.
From 1996 to 2012 he assumed the position of Principal Conductor of the Orquesta Sinfónica de la Región de Murcia. He has conducted a wide range of repertoire, from early music to modern works, and has performed with numerous international soloists.
As a guest conductor, he has appeared with major orchestras including the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, Sinfónica de RTVE, Baden-Baden Philarmonie, Aachen Symphony, Filarmónica de Buenos Aires, Beijing Symphony, Hradec Kralove Philarmonie, Szeged Symphony, Toronto Philarmonia, Istanbul State Symphony, Gangneung Philharmonic (South Korea), Rousse State Opera, Bilkent Symphony, Cascais e Oeiras Chamber Orchestra, Martinu Philarmonic, North Czech Philarmonic Teplice, Moravian Philarmonic Olomouc, Czech Chamber Orchestra Pardubice, Karlovy Vary Symphony Orchestra, Sinfónica Municipal de Caracas, Sinfonica di San Remo, FVG Mitteleuropa Orchestra Udine, Filarmónica de Jalisco, Kuzbass Symphony Orchestra in Kemerovo (Russia), Comunidad de Madrid, Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias, Philarmonia Czestochowa, Poznan Academy Symphony, ÂÂ Orchestra da camera Milano Classica, Orchestra da Camera Fiorentina, Sinfonica di Bari, Orquesta de Valencia, Orquesta de Extremadura, Nacional do Porto, Orquestra do Algarve, Radio Bratislava Symphony, Bayonne Côte Basque, Sinfónica de Castilla y León and Ciudad de Málaga.
And a few words about the composer, Manuel Moreno-Buendia (via Wikipedia – gist translation):
Born in Murcia ( Spain ) but his family moved to Madrid in 1942. He studied at the Conservatory of Madrid where he will have as a composition teacher operas and zarzuelero Conrado del Campo .
In 1957 it belongs to the denominated New Music Group , a group whose aim would be to update the Spanish classical music. In it belong authors such as Luis de Pablo , Antón García Abril or Cristóbal Halffter or an interpreter such as Manuel Carra or Alberto Blancafort .
Between 1970 and 1981 he served as musical director of the Teatro de la Zarzuela . Since 1980 he is Professor of Harmony at the Superior Conservatory of Music of Madrid .
Manuel Moreno-Buendía wanted to update the zarzuela . Although already in the 60s he composed pieces like Carolina when the zarzuela genre was already beginning to languish, it would be in the following decade when he made a series of renewed zarzuelas (they contained elements of the musical, dance, the singers had only a lyrical role), with La isla of Impossible Dreams (1971), The Wanderers (1977) based on a text by Máximo Gorki , and Fuenteovejuna (1981) based on the homonymous work by Lope de Vega .
He composed different music for the scene, highlighting the ballet Eterna Castilla for Antonio El Bailarín , which premiered in 1964 at the Teatro de la Scala in Milan . He also composed incidental music for various works: Ligazón (1969) or Antonio and Cleopatra .
In the symphonic field, the concertanta Suite for harp and orchestra composed in 1958 stands out and he provided the National Music Prize, the infantile songs for voice and piano (1956) and the Concierto del buen amor for guitar and orchestra (1992), inspired by the work of the Archpriest of Hita .
So now you know – all you have to do is hit the play button and make a discovery. It’s well worth it and hopefully it will get you exploring.
Relax, enjoy, repeat.
